This 3-ingredient Cranberry Relish has been a family favorite for generations! It’s sweet and tangy and perfect paired with Thanksgiving turkey or served with chicken or pork.
In our family there are two groups of people; the gravy lovers and the cranberry lovers. I am the leader of the latter group and I love to serve this cranberry relish on just about everything, but especially on my famous Thanksgiving Turkey!
Guys, I’ve already started my Thanksgiving menu planning. I’m going to throw in some new favorites this year to accompany our regulars.
We’ve been enjoying this Fresh Cranberry Relish at Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until recent years attending Thanksgiving dinner at friends homes that I’ve come to realize an ugly truth: Not everyone likes cranberry sauce!
GAH! How can this be, right? I’ll tell you how–> they have never tried this type of cranberry “sauce”. It’s technically a “relish” because the cranberries are not cooked and everything is cold and raw, BUT this stuff is pure gold. Honestly, it’s good enough to eat with a spoon.
What I LOVE about this recipe:
- 3 ingredients. Real, raw ingredients that are packed with flavor!
- 5 minute prep. No cook time! Just throw everything in a food processor and it’s ready to go!
- Sweet and tangy. The flavors from the orange zest and the fresh cranberries go perfectly together, and the sugar adds the extra sweetness that the raw cranberries need.
Cranberry Relish or Cranberry sauce?
There is an important difference between cranberry sauce and cranberry relish and that is that cranberry relish is made from raw ingredients blended in a food processor (it’s more fresh and tart tasting) and cranberry sauce is cooked and often much sweeter than relish.
Serve Cranberry Relish on:
You could serve cranberry relish on many things but I particularly recommend:
- Homemade rolls
- Sandwiches (I love to use it in place of mayonnaise)
- Turkey (or other roasted meats)
- Yogurt – stir it into your favorite yogurt
- Waffles – I love to serve it on top of homemade Belgian waffles.
Make ahead, Storing and Freezing Instructions:
To make-ahead: Cranberry relish can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Store cranberry relish in a freezer safe container for 2-3 months. To use, remove it from the freezer and thaw it in the refrigerator.
More recipes for Fresh Cranberries:
- Cranberry Fluff Salad
- Apple Cranberry Fruit Salad
- Brussels sprouts with cranberries and pecans
- Cranberry Orange Bread
Don’t miss these Thanksgiving staples:
- Broccoli Casserole
- Perfect Mashed Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Souffle
- Cranberry Fluff Salad
- Apple Cranberry Fruit Salad
- Triple Berry Pie
- Other pie recipes
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Recipe
Fresh Cranberry Relish
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 orange , with the peel ON
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Slice the very edge root ends off of the orange, just until you see the flesh. Leave the rest of the skin ON the orange and slice it into 8 pieces.
- Place the fresh cranberries, orange slices and sugar in your food processor and process until smooth (or until no large chunks remain).
- Refrigerate until ready to serve (it tastes best after being in the fridge for at least on hour) or for up to 1 week. Serve over turkey, chicken, pork loin etc.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe November 2016. Updated with improved photos and instructions October 2019.
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This exact cranberry relish has been a Thanksgiving tradition in my family since the early sixties, maybe longer! My mother would use a hand-crank grinder (the kind that would clamp onto the edge of the countertop). My sister, Sheila, continued the tradition and the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, we would drag out that food grinder and prepare this cranberry relish. It was somewhat of a messy task, so several years ago, we upgraded to an electric food processer and surprisingly, the cranberry relish is justas delicious! I can still hear the distinctive “pop – pop – pop” of those cranberries making their way through that old fashioned grinder as they were coaxed along with the wooden pestle.
As a bonus, mom (and Sheila) would take a portion of the cranberry relish and add it to Raspberry Jell-O. At the dinner table, when asked to pass the cranberry sauce, the question was, “relish or Jell-O?” and the answer was invariably, “Both!”
And even though I’ve long since had this recipe committed to memory, Thank You for sharing! I especially appreciate the tip on freezing. I’ll be having cranberry relish wth oranges much more often than just Thanksgiving!
Super simple! I was so relieved that I could make such a sweet and fancy side dish for our holiday meals. I’m following a more ‘keto’ diet, & substuting monk fruit for the sugar was absolutely fine! Tasted amazing😍
This is AMAZING !!! So simple, so easy & TOTALLY delicious !!! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Add a few granny smith apples (skins left on) to the mix and just a dash of ground cloves you will be amazed I promise you.
My mom always added a large apple to this recipe. It’s so yummy!
Yummy cranberry relish! Just like my mom and grandma made it. Glad I found this. I added chopped pecans- 1 cup to the recipe- but it was great without.
Thank you.