Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Thanksgiving is without a doubt one of the truly high-impact culinary events of the year. For that reason (and it makes sense), no one wants to commit to making something from scratch if it's going to take hours and/or tie up valuable kitchen resources. Especially not when the can opener beckons.

That's right, I'm talking about cranberry sauce. Like much of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, cranberry sauce earns a spot on your crowded plate because of the flavor and moisture it brings to an otherwise dry and flavorless turkey.

Sure, we rely on gravy to add flavor and moisture. Creamy, buttery mashed potatoes help, too (in addition to their secondary role as a delivery system for still more gravy). But your palate needs more than that — which is where cranberry sauce comes in.

Cranberry sauce brings a marvelous tartness that cuts through all that rich, buttery gravyness. Without it, everything on your plate would kind of taste the same.

But you know all that. What you might not know is that it's incredibly easy to make — so easy that you'll never reach for the canned stuff again. Here's a simple cranberry sauce recipe that I make every year.

Finally, if you'd like to see the procedure in more detail, here's a step by step tutorial on how to make cranberry sauce.