Quick & Easy Cranberry Orange Relish

This tangy, sweet cranberry orange relish is a must-have for our holiday feasts… and only takes 5 minutes to make! Quick tip: I usually bake the leftover relish into a warm cranberry cobbler. Yum!

Quick & Easy Cranberry Orange Relish – This tangy, sweet cranberry orange relish is a must-have for our holiday feasts... and only takes 5 minutes to make! | thecomfortofcooking.com

When trying to pick a favorite Thanksgiving dish, I find it impossible to avoid considering the meal as a whole. Yes, I’m the one who stacks a bit of everything on her fork – turkey, mashed potatoes, butternut squash… and the cherry on top. Which I consider to be a perfectly tangy, citrusy-sweet cranberry relish.

I grew up with rings of canned cranberry “sauce.” You know the ones. Slop it out of can and onto your plate. Such a comfort that takes me back to my kid days, I love it (even though it’s a little laughable). But, believe it or not, I found something even easier. And a bajillion times tastier. Just 4 ingredients (plus a pinch of cinnamon), and made from scratch in less than 5 minutes! 
Quick & Easy Cranberry Orange Relish – This tangy, sweet cranberry orange relish is a must-have for our holiday feasts... and only takes 5 minutes to make! | thecomfortofcooking.com

Quick & Easy Cranberry Orange Relish – This tangy, sweet cranberry orange relish is a must-have for our holiday feasts... and only takes 5 minutes to make! | thecomfortofcooking.com

This cranberry relish was first introduced to me at my in-laws’ Thanksgiving table. It’s been one of their go-to side dishes for decades, and it couldn’t be simpler. Want the secret?

Lean in close, now.

Fresh cranberries, an orange, sugar, cinnamon and a sprinkle of fresh ginger. You don’t need the ginger, but I think it gives it a nice, spicy fragrance. Toss it all into your food processor, pulse it up and you’re done. Insta-scrumptiousness!

This cranberry relish adds a citrusy, fresh and tangy note that a traditional Thanksgiving is otherwise missing. It’s mouthwatering with roasted meats, and if there’s leftover relish, I usually make it into mini cranberry cobblers. Superbly yum!

Quick & Easy Cranberry Orange Relish – This tangy, sweet cranberry orange relish is a must-have for our holiday feasts... and only takes 5 minutes to make! | thecomfortofcooking.com

Quick & Easy Cranberry Orange Relish

Quick & Easy Cranberry Orange Relish

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 navel orange
  • 1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar or sugar substitute
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Finely grate zest from orange. Cut away and discard peel and pith from orange, then cut sections free from membranes.
  2. Pulse cranberries with zest, orange sections, sugar, ginger and cinnamon in a food processor until finely chopped. Chill, covered, at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop.
  3. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

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Join the Conversation

  1. I love the vibrant colour of this, and I bet it tastes amaaaazing :D x

  2. These photos are gorgeous!! Cranberries make me so happy :)

  3. I’m a sucker for a chunky cranberry relish, so good!

  4. this is how i make cranberry relish! this year i added some fresh mint too. now THAT is really good :)

  5. This is gorgeous!!! It sounds so bright and refreshing!!!

  6. 5 stars
    Love this! So simple and fresh! And just so darn pretty too!

  7. That’s a terrific relish. The color is so vibrant and I can tell it’s delicious because everything you make is. :)

  8. that is so cool. I have never thought to do that before in this way with the orange flavor and how you prepared it

  9. 5 stars
    I’m making this for the 2 Thanksgiving meals my family is having. One Thursday, and one Saturday. It says the relish can be chilled for up to 3 days, so I was planning on making a big batch on Thursday and setting some aside for Saturday. How long do fresh cranberries stay good? I’m hoping to avoid the crazy grocery store the week of Thanksgiving. Can I buy the cranberries a week before making this relish, or is that too long?

  10. You can freeze fresh cranberries for months. The relish will stay perfectly fine (might taste even better) for your Saturday celebration. Hope you enjoy!

  11. 5 stars
    Gorgeous and I love that it’s so simple. I can imagine this tasting lovely in a cranberry cobbler!

  12. 5 stars
    This is basically how I have made it for the last 20 years. I usually use a bit more sugar depending on how sweet the orange is and don’t put the spices in. I usually make a big bwtch so we can freeze it to eat with the leftovers we put in the freezer. We just love it and never will do back to the canned stuff!

    I came to your blog looking for a pumpkin gingerbread recipe like the cakes they sell at Corner Bakery. Found you had a similar one but that you mentioned you hadn’t tried the Corner Bakery version–that was a couple of years ago have you tried it yet? And is your recipe like it?

  13. So glad to hear you enjoy a similar version of this classic dish every year! No, I haven’t tried the Corner Bakery pumpkin gingerbread cakes. Mine are easy enough to make from scratch, no need to buy them elsewhere. They’re very moist and delicious!

  14. thanks for your answer! I prefer scratch recipes to store bought and mixes too! Healthier and tastier :-) I have been checking out more posts and enjoying your blog. Happy Thanksgiving

  15. I like to put chopped walnuts and mine sometimes to add a little crunch

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