Cranberry Sauce with Mandarin Oranges
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.

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.

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!

Popular Thanksgiving recipes
- Pretty Sweet Potato Casserole with Peppery Pecan Topping
- Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
- Brandy Mulled Wine
- Healthy Green Bean Casserole
- Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken

Cranberry Sauce with Mandarin Oranges
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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
- Begin by peeling the mandarin oranges. Set 6 oranges aside whole. Separate the remaining oranges into segments.10 mini mandarin oranges
- 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.12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, 1 cup honey, ¼ cup bourbon
- 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
Pin this cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges to save it for later!

I haven’t made it yet but know this will be amazing!
I was looking for something a little extra special for Christmas dinner this year, and this is it! Really easy to make and tastes great. Thank you!
I use a similar recipe with any orange , peel top,not pith ,about 3, 2 inch long pieces & boil for one min.,remove to cold water then dice and set aside . To one small orange like sweet naval, remove all skin, membrane and string and cut up, add to fresh or cooked frozen berries and add back the blanched orange peel w some clover honey to taste. Marinate in frig 1-2 days . I will try this cooked version w bourbon now. Sounds very good. Thank you.
is that using each of the liquors or a selection of one?
That should have read or not of! Just choose one of the liquors. 🙂