This Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce is an amazingly delicious Thanksgiving or Christmas dish! And you can quickly throw it together from fresh or frozen cranberries in less than 30 minutes! Sweet-tart flavor to complement your turkey!
Alternative Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Are you tired of the traditional Cranberry sauce? This simple delicious sauce made from frozen cranberries will be a game changer for your Thanksgiving Dinner. Let's turn the mundane classic into a different kind of the cranberry sauce this holiday season!
I don't know why we haven't made it this way before. This year I made the most of what fall has to offer. Use frozen, fresh or canned cranberries to create tart and sweet flavors that complement each other beautifully! This cranberry sauce is truly a winner!
I love tart cranberries so much I also made this Cranberry Pecan Dessert from fresh cranberries.
Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce
I'm not sure about you, but in my family cranberry sauce has always been an afterthought kind of thing. Of course, we always had it on our holiday table. But we sort of jammed it onto our plates after they were already full with all the other good stuff. As a result, the cranberry sauce was always more of a runner up to all the other dishes on the table. Now it's the star of the show!
In this Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce, you simmer fresh berries with orange juice and Grand Marnier. And within 15 minutes they become a jammy sauce full of tart, juicy berries. Just beautiful!
Substitutions and Variations That Work
Cranberry sauce can be so much fun! Because you can play around with adding various other flavors and nuances, besides Grand Marnier.
Sweet: Remember that cranberries are very tart by nature, and need sugar to balance their tartness. You can always substitute the sugar with these sweeteners to balance cranberries' tartness.
- Honey
- Blue agave syrup
- Maple syrup
But keep in mind that these sugar substitutes will produce slightly different flavors and textures in the final sauce.
Non-sweet: If you like to add additional flavors to the tart/sweet combination, I would recommend to experiment with the following.
- Cinnamon
- Walnuts
- Crystalized ginger
Storing, making ahead and freezing
Storing: For storage, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 months. That's right! The sugar serves as a preservative and your cranberry sauce can be safely kept in the fridge just like a cranberry jam! It's the same idea.
Making ahead: You can make Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce up to three days ahead. I actually found that it tastes much better if I made it ahead. Especially if I allowed it to sit in the refrigerator for at least one day.
Freezing: For longer storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Transfer to the refrigerator to thaw before serving.
You just made a cranberry cocktail cleverly disguised as a holiday table side dish! By the way, you will really like the taste of liquor in this sauce. You can definitely taste Grand Marnier and orange flavors against tartness of cranberries.
Mouthwatering Cranberry Desserts
- Mini Cranberry Pies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Cranberry Walnut and Spinach Salad
- Almond Cranberry Cookies
More holiday recipes
Not only did I try a different cranberry sauce, but also a different kind of turkey. I made Garlic Butter Roasted Turkey Breast instead of the traditional turkey this year!
I cooked a couple more amazing holiday recipes this year. All are delicious and easy to make.
- Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Gratin
- Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Loin
- Brussels Sprouts Cranberry Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing.
Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- Ultimate Green Bean Casserole in a Skillet
- Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Gratin
- Spicy Maple Glazed Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Green Beans in a Skillet
- Ultimate Green Bean Casserole Skillet
Thanksgiving Casseroles
- Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole
- Ultimate Green Bean Casserole Skillet
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Cinnamon Streusel
- Asiago Cheese Chicken, Ham and Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Cinnamon Streusel
And if you like pinning, follow me on PINTEREST to get more recipe ideas!
Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 bags cranberries, fresh or frozen (12 oz each)
- 1.5 cups cane sugar
- ½ cup orange juice
- 4 tablespoon Grand Marnier or Cognac
- 1 tablespoon zest of fresh orange
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, and orange juice.
- Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring often until syrupy, about 10 minutes.
- Add 4 tablespoon Grand Mariner and orange zest. Continue to cook on low heat for 10 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve with freshly grated orange zest.
Jessica says
Delicious cranberry sauce! Will make this year again.
Donna says
I always cook cranberries from frozen and add whiskey on top of grand mariner to them.
Daniella says
Not overly sweet which I like.
Nellie says
I used whiskey because that's what I had on hand and lemon zest and juice - will make this again and again! Thank you
Mary says
I used 4 oz of PORT instead of Grand Marnier.
Added 1/4 tsp cloves and a stick of cinnamon with the sugar water, then removed to add the cranberries.
Zest and juice of 1 orange and reduced the water by the same amount.
Used self sealing mason jars .
Gina says
I really like to make things different this year than before. And I love booze!!!