The Best Vegan Cranberry Sauce

This vegan cranberry sauce just a few minuets minutes and small a handful of ingredients to make. Made with brown sugar, spices and orange juice, it’s full of flavor — so much better than the stuff you buy at the store!

White wooden surface set with orange napkin, orange slices, fresh cranberries and bowl of Vegan Cranberry Sauce.

I’ve been the go-to cranberry sauce girl at my family’s Thanksgiving and holiday dinners for well over a decade now. Everyone is always so impressed with my homemade cranberry sauce. It’s so good, especially when you’re used to the canned stuff!

I’ve shared a few creative cranberry sauce recipes on this site over the years, including my red wine cranberry sauce, jalapeño cranberry sauce, and even cranberry crisp (okay, not a sauce, but my family has gladly served it in place of one!).

Today’s recipe is my simplest, most classic vegan cranberry sauce. But it’s anything but basic! While there’s no booze or hot peppers in this version, it does include delicious flavors that complement the natural tartness of fresh cranberries, like orange, brown sugar, and cloves!

It’s also as easy as can be to make. You literally throw everything in a pot and simmer for a few minutes. That’s it! But if you’ve never made homemade cranberry sauce you may be looking for some guidance. Fear not: we’ll go through the process in detail below.

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Ingredients You’ll Need

Fresh cranberries. These are generally available in the produce section of the supermarket from September or October through January. If you’d like to make this recipe during another time of year, feel free to substitute frozen cranberries.
Water.
Orange juice. I like to use freshly squeezed juice for this recipe, since I’ll be buying an orange or two for zest anyway. Bottled juice will also work, but make sure the orange juice you’re buying is vegan, as some varieties may contain non-vegan additives. Read up on how to identify vegan orange juice in this guide.
Brown sugar. Make sure your brown sugar is organic. Conventional brown sugar may be processed using animal bone char, so it’s not always vegan.
Ground cloves.
Orange zest.
Salt.

How It’s Made

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

Ingredients for making Vegan Cranberry Sauce in a saucepan.

Place your berries, water, orange juice, brown sugar, and cloves into a medium saucepan. Stir it all up!

Cranberries in simmering liquid in a saucepan.

Place the pot over medium heat. Bring the liquid to a boil, giving it a stir every now and then.

Vegan Cranberry Sauce simmering in a saucepan with spoon.

Lower the heat so that the liquid is at a low simmer. As the mixture cooks you’ll see the berries start to burst. Keep simmering and stirring the mixture until almost all of them have burst.

Orange zest being stirred into a pot of Vegan Cranberry Sauce.

Take the pot off of heat, then stir in the orange zest and a pinch of salt. Let the sauce sit until it it’s just warm, then transfer it to an airtight storage container and stick it in the fridge to chill.

Tip: Your sauce will seem a bit runny when it has just finished cooking. Don’t worry! It’ll thicken up and gel in while it chills.

Bowl of Vegan Cranberry Sauce with orange slices, cranberries and fresh rosemary in the background.

Your homemade vegan cranberry sauce is ready to serve and enjoy!

Leftovers & Storage

This cranberry sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. It can also be frozen for up to two months.

Tip: Since vegan cranberry sauce needs time to chill and keeps for so long in the fridge, consider making it a day or two in advance to save time on the day of serving.

More Vegan Holiday Side Dishes

Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!

Bowl of Vegan Cranberry Sauce with orange slices on top.

The Best Vegan Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

12
ounces
fresh cranberries
½
cup
water
½
cup
orange juice
¾
cup
organic brown sugar
¼
teaspoon
ground cloves
1
teaspoon
orange zest
Pinch
salt

Instructions

Place the cranberries, water, orange juice, brown sugar, and cloves into a medium saucepan and stir to combine.
Place the saucepan over medium heat. Bring the liquid to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Lower the heat so that the liquid is just at a simmer. Allow the mixture to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the berries have burst.
Remove the pot from heat and stir in the orange zest and salt.
Let the mixture cool until it is just warm, 20 to 30 minutes, then transfer it to an airtight container and chill for at least 2 hours.