Impress your guests with this cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges. It's the prettiest (and tastiest!) cranberry sauce around.

Complete the meal with a lemon herb butter roast chicken, some smoky roast potatoes, and spicy honey roasted carrots. And if you like trying new things, also try our ginger orange cranberry sauce.

A close up of cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges in a bowl.

Cranberry Sauce with Mandarin Oranges

We're bringing back a recipe that we first shared here YEARS ago. Since then, we've made some adjustments to the recipe so that you'll love it even more.

Without a doubt, this is the prettiest cranberry sauce ever. The bright orange mini mandarins sitting in a pool of scarlet cranberries are like bow-topped presents under the tree.

It will be the star of your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner!

The idea for this recipe came from Bon Appetit's Candied Mandarin Oranges with Cranberries.

We've made some pretty major changes to it, both to make it easier to make and easier to eat with your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

We love the combination of honey sweetened cranberries with mini mandarin orange segments. Not only does it look beautiful, but it's also really tasty.

Cranberry sauce with whole mini mandarin oranges in a blue bowl.

How far in advance can I make cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges?

This mandarin orange cranberry sauce will keep well for at least a week in your fridge so it's the perfect Thanksgiving meal-prep recipe!

Can cranberry sauce be frozen?

Yes! Leftovers can be frozen for 3 months.

What to make with leftover cranberry sauce?

If you also have some leftover turkey and gravy, try making these Thanksgiving leftovers eggs benedict. It's a delicious breakfast recipe!

Or try these cranberry meatballs!

A mason jar with this cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges recipe ready for gifting.
Print
A close up of cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges in a bowl.

Cranberry Sauce with Mandarin Oranges

  • Author: Kristen Stevens
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 3 ½ cups 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: North American

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews
Print Recipe

Description

Impress your guests with this cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges. It's the prettiest (and tastiest) cranberry sauce around!

If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star review in the comments!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 10 mini mandarin oranges
  • 12-ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 cup honey (can sub sugar – see notes)
  • ¼ cup bourbon (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Begin by peeling the mandarin oranges. Set 6 oranges aside whole. Separate the remaining oranges into segments. 
  2. Add the cranberries, honey, and bourbon to a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook the cranberries for 5 minutes. 
  3. Add the whole mandarin and segments to the pot and carefully stir them in. Simmer for 5 minutes more then remove the pot from the heat. Let the cranberry sauce cool slightly before transferring it to a jar. 

Notes

Maple syrup is another option for a sweetener, but it will give a different flavor to the cranberry sauce. 

If you don't have or don't want to use bourbon, simply sub water.

Not all the mandarins will remain whole after you cook them. Some will come apart into segments, but you should have a few left to place on top when you serve it. 

Pin this cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges to save it for later!

Cranberry sauce with whole mini mandarin oranges in a blue bowl with the recipe title on top of the picture.