Please tell me you are willing to take a few minutes to make a fresh cranberry sauce. It is so worth it. Really. You can make it as sweet or tart as you want and all that is required is simmering some fruit and spices on the stove. I get it that some folks like the canned stuff. If that is part of your Thanksgiving tradition then go for it. If you want to try the real stuff, then I am here to encourage you to go for it. This sauce is bursting with fruity flavor & little pomegranate gems are sprinkled throughout.
I have been loving my daily virtual tours of everyone’s Thanksgiving feasts on the web. Each food & recipe blog I visit has a unique perspective and palate. It is a true joy to read so many vibrant posts. It makes me smile & very hungry too!
Cranberry sauce is an excellent way to highlight seasonal fruits. The last recipe I posted was a Sweet Potato, Bacon & Pomegranate Salad-the colors & flavor would add zest to any holiday meal. From cranberries to pears, apples & citrus, the choice is yours.
My Pear Spice Cake was recently featured on PBS Parents on a post called the Virtual Thanksgiving Dessert Table. That is a sweet compilation of goodies to inspire your holiday sweet tooth.
From casseroles to chutneys to the turkey, the inspiration is out there for the taking. We all have no excuses but to get in our kitchens to cook up something. Even if it is as simple as this cranberry sauce you see right here.
Click HERE for Recipe Details.
Variations
- Add a handful of dried fruit or raisins while your cranberry sauce is cooking.
- Top with some chopped toasted nuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts & walnuts would be great choices.
- Add some chopped candied ginger at the end and sprinkle some on the top of your sauce before serving.
- If you don’t have pear, apple pieces would be great too.
- While cooking add a splash of bourbon for a boozy flavor boost.
Pomegranate on MarlaMeridith.com
- Coconut Oat Crusted Chicken Nuggets & 2 Pomegranate Dipping Sauces
- Spinach Ricotta Turkey Roulade {with Pomegranate}
- Sweet Potato, Bacon & Pomegranate Spinach Salad
Cranberry Sauce Recipe Links
- Basic Cranberry Sauce & Cranberry Sorbet The Delicious Life
- Bourbon Cranberry Sauce Craving Chronicles
- Cranberry Orange Sauce Two Peas and Their Pod
- Cranberry Sauce Recipe Simply Recipes
- Cranberry Apple Chutney Modern Comfort Food
- Spreadable Red Wine Cranberry SauceSomething Edible
Fresh cranberry sauce is the best! Love your version!
I started making fresh cranberry sauce 8 years ago… I will never go back to the canned stuff.
Yours looks beautiful and delicious!
Just beautiful Marla!! Well done!
This is a wonderful new take on cranberry sauce, and I particularly like the way you’ve balanced sweet and tart ingredients here without added sugar. I’ve never understood why people who have access to fresh cranberries would settle for canned sauce. Fresh cranberries take a just a couple of minutes to cook, taste so much better, and allow one to go as sweet or tart as one likes.
This is the prettiest cranberry sauce ever! What a great blend of flavors, especially with the orange zest. Just wanted to let you know, I voted for your pic and posted about it on Facebook…I’m cheering you on, Marla! 🙂
Faith: You are an absolute DOLL!! Thanks so much for your kind support on the CA Raisins contest. You are an awesome & valued friend 🙂 xo
Barbara: I know – the canned thing just could not happen over here. Waaay too sweet for me & not a great mouth feel.
LOVE this. I hope to test this out for Thanksgiving. Stunning photos…love to see you only continue to progress with your photography! I really enjoy good food photography.
what a vibrant, perfect thanksgiving dish! i love the deep rich colors 🙂
Marla, this is genuis! What a lovely sauce, and I love the addition of pomegranate seeds (I have more than I know what to do with at the moment). I will definitely be trying this soon, perhaps with a pork tenderloin – Yum! Thanks for sharing this excellent recipe and these beautiful photos.
A wonderful combination! What a perfect sauce.
Cheers,
Rosa
I usually use apple in my cranberry sauce but I really like the variety with pear and pomegranate. Looks delish!
I put my vote in. 🙂 This is a terrific sauce. I really love the addition of the pomegranate. I bet the flavor and texture really pops! Yum! So pretty as well.
Looks delicious!
Absolutely gorgeous recipe! love the flavors & colors of this cranberry sauce! Bravo!
That opening shot is absolutely stunning! I think if everyone realized how it easy it is to make cranberry sauce, there would never be a canned version to be seen again. This is a wonderful version.
I absolutely love anything with pomegranate!
YUM – I have not mixed these two but they fit perfectly together. Nice recipe.
The first picture is killing me! Absolutely gorgeous.
O! your colourful pics are just feast for eyes. Good recipe, Marla. I need to buy some cranberries now. 🙂
I love hearing the sound of fresh cranberries popping when they are heating up on the stove. This looks like a terrific recipe with the spices and contrasted sweetness of the pear and oranges.
Yep, I”m with you I love fresh cranberry sauce, but I also have to say I like the jellied stuff out of a can too-I know gasp! 🙂
Naomi: Girl we all gotta go with what we love. I would say I would try to convert you, but what fun would that be. I would just mix some of my cranberry sauce into that can you are gonna roll out 🙂
Christine: So funny that you said that about the popping sound of the cranberries as they cook. I love that too! I just don’t like when then splatter all over so I keep a loose lid over them. Yes, the pear & citrus with a touch of stevia is perfect for my tastebuds.
Sonia: Thanks! That is my goal with my photos. A virtual feast of the senses.
Georgia: This sauce would taste great with a pork tenderloin & you are so lucky to have an abundance of pomegranates right now!
Grace: You have been a reader of my bloggy since the beginning. Thanks for your kind words about my photography. I have learned so much & hopefully will progress each day.
Nice combination you have here! I am having some friends over today and I am roasting a turkey and making cranberry sauce. Mine has dates, orange zest/juice, balsamic, cinnamon.. can’t wait to gobble it up – guilt-free, of course, thanks to stevia! This time last year I don’t think I would have realized I could sweeten it with stevia, I’m so glad I know now.
Cara: The dates in your cranberry sauce are an awesome addition. I must try that over here, they would go wonderful in the stuffing too. The balsamic in your sauce sounds good too. Stevia has changed my world. Now I can eat guilt-free sweets any time & actually feel good about it. Best of luck with your early Thanksgiving feast today.
Healthy – so nutritious, delicious, and GORGEOUS! well done! I still prefer mine plain and simple – but LOVE sampling the creations of others when I am out.
🙂
valerie
…and the best part of this cranberry sauce is there’s non of that sucking sound…except for the sucking sound you’ll hear as people get the last bits off their spoons.
Looks delicious! Love the pear in there too!
I always have time for homemade cranberry sauce and I love your use of pomegranates in this! They add such a lovely flavor!
Mmmm….I love the pears and pomegranates in this lovely sauce! Sauce made from fresh berries always has a place on my Thanksgiving table, but I still love the jellied stuff spread on a turkey sandwich. 🙂
Wonderful photos, love the sound of this.
What an amazing looking cranberry sauce Marla! I bet if you bottled it up you could make a fortune! 🙂
These cranberries look beautiful!!!
Oh, what an amazing place you have here! Gorgeous photos and the most delicious recipes. I can tell I am going to be spending lots of time here perusing many of your posts!
I am so happy you stopped by my place and left your comment so I could come by to meet you.
Kindly, ldh
Never understood why anyone would eat jiggly wiggly cranberry “sauce” from a can when it’s so easy to make your own from fresh cranberries. Love the ginger in this recipe. Yummy! 🙂
I love the combination of flavors in your cranberry sauce 🙂 Adaptations of favorites are always fantastic and I’m sure this one doesn’t disappoint. Adding it to my Thanksgiving line-up…thanks! 🙂
Wow! Your pictures are amazing!! This looks delicious. I am definitely going to make this for Thanksgiving! 🙂
Wow this cranberry sauce looks great! I love that it was spiced up with pears and pomegranate…yum!
Looks so fresh and lively. It just leaps out of the pictures and says “make me!” 🙂 I’m off to go vote for ya!
This is the first recipe of yours that I have tried. It was excellent! Thank you so much.
Brandy: I am so happy that you tried my cranberry sauce recipe & loved it. You just made my night 🙂
Love the addition of pear and pomegranate seeds. The “pop” from the seeds must be fun to eat, I love pomegranate seeds.
this is a pretty cool spin on the classic. i might actually try this out.
I just love homemade cranberry sauce and yours sounds fantastic with the pomegranates. I made one very similar and think the fresh citrus in it really kicks it up a notch in freshness. Your photos are fabulous and your cranberry sauce will be the crowning jewel on the table.
Have a great Thanksgiving.
I made this tonight and it was a hit. I love experimenting with different variations on cranberry sauce and this was one of the best, for the cooked variety. I added a couple tablespoons of candied ginger. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hello…
I made this again this year!!! LOVE IT!! I think I’m going to try it with some pineapple next year!! I do love pomegranates!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Making this dish right now!! So yummy!