The best Cranberry Relish recipe is made with just 3 ingredients, tastes so fresh, and has been a family favorite for generations! It has an incredible sweet, tangy flavor and is perfect served with Thanksgiving turkey, chicken, or pork.
Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? Don't miss my Thanksgiving Turkey or Turkey Breast (for a smaller group), Homemade Dinner Rolls, Thanksgiving Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, or Sweet Potato Casserole!
It's not Thanksgiving at our house without Cranberry Relish
It's not Thanksgiving at our house without Cranberry RelishIt wasn't until I was an adult that I learned some people don't like cranberry condiments paired with their turkey. What?! Then I'm convinced they haven't tried this fresh, uncooked cranberry sauce. I'm just obsessed with the fresh citrus flavor of this cranberry relish and I love how easy it is to make; no cooking required and it will keep in the fridge for days if you want to make it in advanced.
I also love a delicious, traditional cooked cranberry sauce as well, but if I had to choose between the two, fresh cranberry relish wins every time. It makes great leftovers too, smothered on leftover homemade rolls with leftover turkey meat.
Make sure to give yourself a stress-free Thanksgiving by checking out all of my Make-Ahead Thanksgiving recipes and my go-to Thanksgiving Menu!
Cranberry Relish vs Cranberry Sauce?
Cranberry Relish is made from uncooked, raw ingredients blended in a food processor. It tastes fresh and tart. Cranberry Sauce is the traditional sauce that is cooked on the stove, thicker, and often much sweeter. They are both delicious, it really just comes down to personal preference.
How to make Cranberry Relish:
Combine: Slice the two ends of the orange, just until you see the flesh. Leave the rest of the skin on and cut orange into 8 wedges. Add orange wedges, fresh cranberries, and sugar to food processor and pulse until smooth and no large chunks remain. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Serve Cranberry Relish On:
- Turkey
- Chicken
- Pork tenderloin
- Homemade Rolls
- Spread on Sandwiches or Wraps instead of mayonnaise
- Yogurt – stir it into plain greek yogurt
- Belgian Waffles
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make-Ahead: Make ahead and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
To Freeze: Store in a freezer safe container and freeze for 2-3 months. Thaw completely in the fridge before using.
Have leftover fresh Cranberries? Make:
- Cranberry Fluff Salad
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Orange Scones
- Apple Cranberry Fruit Salad
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Recipe
Cranberry Relish
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 orange , peel ON
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Slice the ends off of the orange, just until you see the flesh. Leave the rest of the skin on the orange and slice into 8 wedges.
- Add fresh cranberries, orange wedges and sugar to a food processor and process until smooth (or until no large chunks remain).
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving (or up to 1-2 weeks). Serve over turkey, chicken, pork loin etc.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe November 2016. Updated October 2019 and November 2024.
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This is an excellent and tasty recipe. I have made same recipe before with addition of a few pecans and today substituted a small amount of maple syrup for the sugar. Still the best side for roasted turkey!
The cleanest, freshest simplest cranberry orange relish. I had only raw sugar, that has a very slight brown sugar flavor so there was a trace of that but it was great..I used 3/4 cup.
Love this it tastes amazing!
If using frozen cranberries should they defrost first before using
No, they are still soft enough when frozen to chop easily in a food processor.
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!
Greg, This makes me happy–I still use my mom’s (grandma’s?)
grinder with various available grandchildren every year!
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.