Cranberry Relish is that little something extra that makes the Holiday meal more special. This Cranberry Relish recipe could easily be called Cranberry-Orange Relish or a Cranberry Chutney, it's that flavorful. Here’s Sweet Daddy D’s simple and no-angst for Cranberry Relish recipe that will get everyone’s attention.

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Here’s What You Need
Simple recipe, simple ingredients:
-
- Fresh or frozen cranberries (12 ounces bag-if frozen do not defrost)
- Navel oranges (one for pulp and one for zest and juice)
- Golden Delicious Apple (to be chunked for sweetness and texture-like Cranberry Chutney)
- Fresh lemon (used for zest and juice)
- Granulated sugar
- Chopped Pecans (optional)
- A pinch of kosher salt makes everyone play nice together.
Here’s What You Do
First...you have a beer. Holiday meal prep is always a little hectic but can be lots of fun. This is a simple recipe made easy with a little mise en place. Pop a beer and read the recipe top to bottom and get everything organized. It really is a breeze.
Prep all the fruit
Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse with cold water. Pick through them to remove any that don’t look good-smashed or maybe a little overripe. Peel one of the oranges then remove the seeds and as much of the membranes as possible. It's messy but makes a better relish. Zest the other orange, then squeeze the juice. Pour that in a measuring cup and add enough cold water to make 1 cup. Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice. Peel, core and chop the apple into small pieces about ¼ to ½ inch, you’ll want the apple a little chunky but not so big that it won’t soften while simmering for a few minutes.
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Simmer the Sauce
Add the cranberries, sugar and orange juice/water to a saucepan and place over medium-high heat.
Bring it to a boil and add the orange pulp, apples and a pinch of salt, then stir in the orange and lemon zest.
Give it a good stir, then adjust heat to maintain a rapid simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool for about 30 minutes.
Add the chopped pecans and stir to mix everything together. Place the cranberry sauce in the refrigerator and chill.
That’s it, simple as that, all there is to it.
Hints and Tips
- This recipe yields approximately 4 cups (that's 32 2- tablespoon servings) of cranberry relish.
- You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries for this recipe. If you use frozen cranberries, do not defrost them before you cook, just put them in the saucepan frozen.
- This recipe could easily be called Cranberry Chutney because the chunky nature of the apples adds a nice dimension to the texture.
- Resist the temptation to cook this more than 15 minutes. It will set up once it is allowed to cool.
- How long will this keep in the refrigerator? You can keep the cranberry relish in the fridge for about 2 weeks if its properly covered and sealed. It can also be frozen for a couple of months. Here's more on storing cranberry sauce.
- Try Louisiana Pecans, they are delicious. Walnuts are also a good substitute but you can also leave the nuts out altogether.
- Where do Cranberries come from? Cranberries, one of the few commercially grown fruits that are native to the United States, go back to the 17th century when Native Americans were known to mix cranberries and sugar in simple recipes. Over the years, cranberry sauces became known as a Thanksgiving accompaniment but now are actually associated with all Holiday meals. Interested in learning a little more about Cranberry Relish? Check out this article.
Here are some other recipes from Sweet Daddy D which go great with Cranberry Relish:
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Yeah You Right!
Recipe
Cranberry Relish
Here's What You Need
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 large navel orange peeled and membranes removed
- Juices of one navel orange
- Zest of one navel orange
- 1 large golden delicious apple peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup broken pecans optional
- Pinch kosher salt
Here's What You Do
- Rinse the cranberries and remove any that don’t look good.
- Peel one orange and remove the seeds and as much of the membranes as possible.
- Juice one orange and add enough cold water to make 1 cup
- Zest the orange and the lemon
- Peel, core and chop the apple into small pieces, ¼ to ½ inch. (See Notes)
- Combine the cranberries, sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice/water in a sauce pan and place over medium-high heat. Stir well.
- Bring to a boil and add the orange and lemon zest, orange pulp, apples and a pinch of salt.
- Adjust heat to maintain a heavy simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often. (See Notes)
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 30 minutes.
- Add the pecans and mix well.
- Place in the refrigerator and chill.
Tonellaz
Excellent recipe and perfect for any occasion, but especially Thanksgiving and Christmas! I will definitely make again and again and appreciate the 'tips' given. Yes, DO remove the white segment casing from the oranges...it makes a huge difference. I'm glad I took the time to do it.
Sweet Daddy D
Yeah You Right. @tonellaz! Glad you liked it. If you get a chance, throw a 5-star rating on it for me! Thanks for the note!
Tonellaz
Sorry, I thought I hit the 5-stars on the first reply...but, actually...this should get a 10-star rating, to be honest!
I took it to my Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and of the 3 other couples there, 2 have already asked for your recipe.
I make a lot of your dishes and have loved them all. Unfortunately, I never took the time to reply on the recipe as to how good they are. I will try to be better on that.
Now, get busy and get some more recipes to us!
Sweet Daddy D
@Tonellaz, thanks so much for taking the time to let me know how much you liked my recipe. Stand y, there's more coming! Thanks for the 5-Stars!!