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Joanna Gaines Holiday Cranberry Sauce

Joanna Gaines holiday cranberry sauce is a quick stovetop simmer that turns fresh cranberries into a chunky, spoonable sauce. It’s bright with orange zest, warmed with cinnamon and ginger, and finished with crunchy toasted pecans.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chill 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 214
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cranberry sauce base
  • 12 oz fresh cranberries Fresh berries preferred for best burst and texture.
  • 0.5 cup sugar
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 tsp orange zest Reserve some for finishing after cooking.
  • 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp ground ginger
  • 0.125 tsp salt Use a pinch, to taste.
Cranberry crunch topping
  • 0.5 cup pecans, toasted and chopped Stir in just before serving to keep them crunchy.

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook the cranberry sauce
  1. Combine sugar, brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil and keep it bubbling visibly. Once boiling, lower the heat if needed to maintain a steady simmer.
  2. Add fresh cranberries and simmer for 10-12 minutes at a gentle bubbling until berries burst and the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
Finish and chill
  1. Remove from heat and stir in orange zest, then let the sauce cool for about 10-15 minutes until no longer steaming.
  2. Cover and chill until serving, at least 1 hour, so the sauce sets into a chunky texture.
  3. Stir in toasted and chopped pecans just before serving so they stay crunchy.

Notes

Pro tip: keep the simmer at a gentle bubble—if the heat is too high, cranberries can over-break and turn less chunky. Store covered in the fridge for up to 5 days; freeze yes, up to 2 months (stir well after thawing). For a lower-sugar option, use a 1:1 sugar substitute designed for cooking (choose one that measures like sugar) to keep the same thickened texture.