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

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Cranberry Sauce with Mandarin Oranges Recipe

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

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

3 ½ cups

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

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. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving = ¼ cup, Calories: 129kcal (6%), Carbohydrates: 32g (11%), Protein: 1g (2%), Fat: 1g (2%), Saturated Fat: 1g (6%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 3mg, Potassium: 143mg (4%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 28g (31%), Vitamin A: 443IU (9%), Vitamin C: 20mg (24%), Calcium: 27mg (3%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

© Author Kristen Stevens

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.

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