The Easiest Cranberry Sauce

This cranberry sauce is the perfect mixture of sweet and tart! It’s made with fresh cranberries and topped with orange zest to really set it apart!

Making Thanksgiving dinner just got more delicious with this cranberry sauce. If you love cranberries like I do try this Cranberry Pecan Sweet Potato with Rice Pilaf, Cranberry Cheesecake Fluff, or this Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball to have at your Thanksgiving dinner table.

The Easiest Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Your holiday dinner just got better with this amazing cranberry sauce! It’s one of my favorite side dishes to make during the holidays! It is simple, easy and so fresh tasting! You will not want to buy a can again and will love how quick and easy it is to make. What sets this cranberry sauce apart from others is definitely the subtle orange flavor. It’s the ingredient that you didn’t know it needed until you taste it! And then you’ll never want to have it without!

You can never go wrong with picking a fresh side dish over one from a can. It’s so delicious that it will for sure have your family and friends passing it around the table until it is gone! It is one of my all-time favorite side dishes, especially for Thanksgiving! I love to make this cranberry sauce with all my Juicy Butter Herb Turkey or Slow Cooker Turkey Breast. It will make your holiday meal complete!

Ingredients to Make Cranberry Sauce

Enjoy this cranberry sauce next to all your other delicious side dishes this holiday season! See the recipe card below for a list of exact ingredient measurements.

• Bag of fresh cranberries: Fresh cranberries are best but you can use frozen if needed.
• Sugar: The sugar sweetens up the cranberries.
• Orange Juice: This ingredient is added as a sweetener and brings out a more flavorful taste.
• Water: The water added to the sauce aids in popping the cranberries.
• Zest from one orange: The orange brightens and adds a hint of sweet orange flavor!

Let’s Make Some Cranberry Sauce!

This cranberry sauce recipe is so simple to make and doesn’t last long. It is simple to make and adds so much color and zest to all your holiday dishes!

1. Mix ingredients together and cook: In a saucepan add the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, water and orange zest. Over medium low heat cook the cranberries until the sugar has dissolved and the cranberries start to soften.
2. Cooking until cranberries burst: Increase the heat to medium and continue to stir and cook for another 5-6 minutes until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

How to Zest an Orange

Orange zest is one of my favorite ways to add zest and a hint of orange zing to any dish that I am making! The color is bright and it just pops!

• To zest an orange you will want to use a grater with fine teeth or microplane. (A vegetable peeler will also work well too.) With a grater, simply run the rough, outside surface of the orange against it and you will then see the orange peel fall. Move your orange around to get the brightest orange skin that you can. You will want to make sure you do not grate past the white layer under the orange. It tends to become bitter at that point. If you are using a vegetable peeler, cut off the outside orange layer and peel from your fingers.

Tips for Making Cranberry Sauce

This sauce is super quick and easy to make! I’ve come up with a few tips that will help it turn out perfectly for you this holiday season!

• How to pick out cranberries: When you are trying to pick out cranberries at the store, look for full and unbroken cranberries. They will be bright pink or red in color!
• Fresh cranberries: If you are using fresh cranberries, gently rinse them and remove any stems or debris on them. Add in your cranberries whole.
• Frozen cranberries: If you dont have fresh cranberries available then frozen will work! Don’t worry about defrosting them first.
• Added flavor: For more flavoring you can add in more orange juice and leave out the water. You can also use other juices to replace the water with. The added citrus enhances this sauce immensely.
• Fresh orange juice: Squeezing your own orange juice is a little more work but the taste is amazing and adds a freshness to your cranberry sauce recipe.
• Thicker sauce: The longer the sauce sits, the thicker it will be become.

Variations to Try

You can totally switch up this sauce to change it up! It’s super easy to do and it adds so much to your holiday dinner! So, if you love to add in more flavoring and extras to make it your own here are a few ways to do so.

• Add more fruit: Diced apple or apple sauce, cherries, crushed pineapple or diced pear.
• Juice: Ginger ale, apple juice or cranberry juice are always great to add in instead of the orange juice.
• Nuts: Toss in a few pecans, walnuts or cashews for an added crunch and texture.
• Seasonings or spices: Add a pinch of ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg are fun to add in for warmth.

How to Store Cranberry Sauce

Whether you are storing leftovers or are making this ahead of time for your holiday feast, this cranberry sauce is delicious!

• Refrigerating cranberry sauce: Let your cranberry sauce cool completely. Then, add it to an airtight container where it can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.
• Freezing cranberry sauce: Cook your cranberry sauce through then let it cool completely. Once it is cooled, add it to an airtight container or a ziplock bag to be frozen. Lay flat if it is in a ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 1 month in the freezer. When reheating, your sauce will not be as thick with the added water from being frozen. You can thicken it up by simmering for a few extra minutes. Thaw in the refrigerator over night before warming up.
• Reheating cranberry sauce:  When you are ready to warm it up then simply reheat it over medium heat in a skillet. Simmering the sauce will help thicken this sauce back up from being frozen!

Make it a Complete Thanksgiving Meal

You know Thanksgiving is approaching us quickly and getting your menu made is a MUST ahead of time. Having a perfect thanksgiving dinner is always a dream for the host! Here are a few ideas that you can make for your Thanksgiving meal! They are all so delicious! Enjoy!

Dinner

Oven Baked Herb Turkey

Side Dishes

Slow Cooker Sausage Herb Stuffing

Dressings, Sauces, and Dips

Easy Turkey Gravy

Side Dishes

World’s Best Green Bean Casserole

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The Easiest Cranberry Sauce

This cranberry sauce is the perfect mixture of sweet and tart! It's made with fresh cranberries and topped with orange zest to really set it apart! 

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cranberry sauce

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 12 people

Calories 80kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup water
• zest from one orange

Instructions

• In a saucepan add the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, water, and orange zest. Over medium-low heat cook the cranberries until the sugar has dissolved and the cranberries start to soften.
• Increase the heat to medium and continue to stir and cook for another 5-6 minutes until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

Notes

Updated on November 6, 2021

Originally Posted on October 31, 2019

Nutrition

Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 27IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg

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Crockpot Olive Garden Chicken

This crockpot Olive Garden chicken is to die for! The juicy and tender chicken cooked with some pasta is insanely delicious! Plus, it’s super easy which is a total win-win!

I love an easy and delicious crockpot meal! If you want to try more meals like this, you should start with Soup, this Beef and Broccoli, and this amazing Lasagna!

Crockpot Olive Garden Chicken (with Pasta!)

I love a recipe that I can whip up at the last minute and still have it taste delicious!! This Olive Garden crockpot chicken and pasta is the perfect meal! It only takes 5 minutes to put together! Then, it cooks all day and you don’t have to do a thing! Cook up some Broccoli, Asparagus, or this delicious salad and you have a meal to remember!

This recipe only uses 5 ingredients! And one is a bottle of Olive Garden salad dressing. The dressing is SO GOOD and when you mix it with the chicken and cheeses, it takes it to a whole new level! I also love that you just throw in some cooked pasta again and the meal is done! My kids go crazy over this and are so impatient that they want to just eat it straight out of the crockpot! Go ahead and try it! You are going to love it!

Ingredients for Crockpot Olive Garden Chicken

This recipe only uses 5 ingredients…. yes, 5! It’s so easy and delicious, you have to try it! See the recipe card below for a list of exact ingredient measurements.

• Chicken breasts: Use fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
• Olive Garden Italian dressing: This dressing is SO GOOD! Using the entre bottle will make it so you get all of that amazing flavor!
• Parmesan:  I just used parmesan cheese from the can! It’s super easy and you probably already have it in your fridge.
• Cream cheese: This makes that sauce texture taste so creamy. And you can’t beat the tangy flavor of cream cheese!
• Pasta: Cook up the pasta right before the chicekn is done and all you have to do is throw it right in and mix it up!

Let’s Cook Some Chicken!

This meal is really a set it and forget it kind of meal! It only takes a few minutes to put it together and then you can enjoy it as soon as it’s done!

1. Add chicken and dressing: Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker laying flat. Pour the whole bottle or homemade olive garden dressing over top the chicken.
2. Add cheeses and cook: Sprinkle parmesan over top the chicken and dressing. Place the block of cream cheese on top. Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high. 
3. Cook pasta: Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. 
4. Shred the chicken, add pasta and serve: Using 2 forks or shredders, shred the chicken evenly. Use ¼ cup parmesan and sprinkle over top the chicken. Add in the pasta and stir until well combined. Serve while hot.

Tips for Cooking with a Crockpot

Using a crockpot is easy but try out these tips and it will make cooking with one even easier! You may never go back to cooking on your stove again! This crockpot Olive Garden chicken is the perfect place to start!

• Keep the lid ON: I know it’s tempting to want to take the lid off and check on your food! But a crockpot is designed to do its thing with the lid ON. Keep the lid on and don’t let out all of that heat that has been built up! Just look throught the glass and trust your recipe!
• Preheat your crockpot: A lot of people don’t do this and it really is a step that should always be taken. Turn your crockpot on to the correct setting about 20 minutes before you plan on putting your food it. You can just turn it on while you prep your food!
• Spray it: If you spray your slow cooker with cooking spray before you put your food in, then your cleanup will be so much easier! This helps so that your food doesn’t stick to the sides. Trust me, it’s an easy step that you will appreciate doing later!

How to Store Leftovers

If you have some leftovers with this dish then consider yourself lucky! This crockpot Olive Garden chicken and pasta is so delicious the next day! Once the food has cooled them store it in an airtight container in your fridge. It will last for 3-4 days! When you are ready to eat, you can heat it up in your microwave for 1-2 minutes or until heated through!

More Delicious Crockpot Recipes

I love crockpot meals beau case they are so easy and always turn out so juicy and delicious. There are SO many tried and true options out there to try! I’ve come up with a few of my favorites that I think that you should try! Because they are all so different, you may even want to try them all!

Dinner

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

Dinner

Slow Cooker Beef Tips

Dinner

Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon

Dinner

Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef

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Crockpot Olive Garden Chicken

This Olive Garden crockpot chicken is to die for! The juicy and tender chicken cooked with some pasta is insanely delicious! Plus, it's super easy which is a total win-win!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword crock pot olive garden chicken, olive garden chicken

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours 15 minutes

Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 414kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds chicken breasts
• 1 (16 ounce bottle ) Olive Garden Italian dressing or homemade Olive Garden Italian Dressing
• ½ cup grated parmesan
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 16 ounces cooked pasta

Instructions

• Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker laying flat. Pour the whole bottle or homemade olive garden dressing over top the chicken.
• Sprinkle parmesan over top the chicken and dressing. Place the block of cream cheese on top. Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
• Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Using 2 forks or shredders, shred the chicken evenly. Use ¼ cup parmesan and sprinkle over top the chicken. Add in the pasta and stir until well combined. Serve while hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 381mg | Potassium: 515mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 614IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 2mg

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The Absolute Best Snickerdoodles

These snickerdoodle are delightfully soft and full of delicious cinnamon flavor! They are SO GOOD and you won’t be able to stop at just one!

Soft and chewy cookies are the BEST! If you love snickerdoodles then you should also try these amazing Sprinkle Cookies, Pumpkin Cookies, and these perfectly soft Peanut Butter Cookies!

Snickerdoodles

Ok, we all know that I have tried my fair share of snickerdoodle recipes. Some turn out ok, some are terrible and a few are actually even really good. But… Trust me when I tell you that these are the absolute best snickerdoodles!! This recipe has been perfected and makes the softest, most mouthwatering cookies that you’ve ever had!

The amount of cinnamon is perfect. It’s not a subtle taste but it’s not too strong either and you taste it in every single bite! These cookies fly off of my counter when I make them! So if you are going to make them then you should just double the recipe from the beginning. You will for sure want the extra cookies so you will be so glad that you did! This snickerdoodle recipe is insanely delicious and your family and friends will all be asking for the recipe!

Ingredients You Need to Make Snickerdoodles

You probably already have all of these ingredients in your kitchen. So these should be super easy to whip up! See the recipe card below for al list of exact ingredient measurements.

• Flour: I used all purpose flour to make these cookies!
• Cream of tartar: This not only helps make the cookies soft but it brings in a slight tang that we all know and love in a snickerdoodle cookie!
• Baking soda: This is used in cookies to help them rise so that they aren’t flat and hard.
• Salt: I use salt to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
• Butter: I used unsalted butter that I softened to room temperature. This helps it so that it mixes in more smoothly!
• Granulated Sugar: You need sweet sugar to make your cookies taste as delicious as they do!
• Eggs: The eggs will bind all of the ingredients together so that they mix well.
• Vanilla extract: The vanilla adds a bit of flavor to the sweet taste.

Cinnamon Sugar

• Granulated sugar and Cinnamon: This is what you will roll the dough in to get that sweet cinnamon sugar flavor!

Let’s Make Some Cookies!

These snickerdoodles take less than an hour to make… and that includes baking time! They are super easy and your kids will love helping you make them!

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk: In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. Beat eggs and sugar, combine: In another medium bowl beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.
4. Combine all ingredients and chill: Add the dry ingredients in to the wet and mix until fully combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
5. Mix up cinnamon and sugar: While the dough chills, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
6. Form balls and roll them, then bake: Form the dough into equal sized balls, about 1 inch and roll in the cinnamon sugar and coat evenly. Place the coated balls on the baking sheet keeping about 2 inches between them. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

Baking Tips

These snickerdoodles are so delicious! You can make them for a party, get together or just for an after school snack! Here are some ideas on how you can make them perfectly!

• Room temperature ingredients: I know that this can take a bit of thought beforehand but it really helps! Make sure to take all of your refrigerated ingredients out and put them on the counter a few hours before you plan on baking. Bringing your ingredients to room temperature really helps them mix nicely together and makes the dough really smooth!
• Don’t open the oven door: I know that it’s tempting to open the oven door while you are baking your cookies. After all, you just want to see how they are doing! But, when you open the door while you are baking, you let a lot of the heat out. This makes it so that your cookies will bake unevenly.
• Underbake: Remove the cookies from the oven while they still look gooey in the center. They will continue to bake on the hot tray after they have been removed from the oven!

How to Freeze the Dough

If you just want to keep some snickerdoodle dough on hand so that you can bake these later, you totally can! Sometimes it’s nice not to have to prep and skip straight to baking the cookies!

1. Freeze: After you roll the dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture then place them on a baking sheet and put them in your freezer for 2 hours. After they have frozen solid the you can take them out and put them in an airtight container . You can store it for up to 2 months!
2. To Bake Frozen Cookie Dough: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Put your frozen dough onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake them for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

How to Freeze and Store Leftover BAKED cookies

If you want to have a quick dessert on hand, then these are the cookies for you! You can do all of the baking beforehand, freeze them and all that you have to do is pull them out of the freezer and you’re done! So, bake the cookies up and let them cool. Then, place them in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Make sure to label it with the date! These will last in your freezer for up to 2 months. You can eat them right out of the freezer or you can set them on the counter for 15 minutes to thaw!

More Amazing Snickerdoodle Recipes

The flavor of a snickerdoodle cannot be beat! That’s why I absolutely love any recipe that includes the flavor in it! SO if you love it as much as I do then you are definitely going to have to try out these recipes! They are all so different but have that delicious sugary cinnamon flavor that we all love! Yum!

Desserts

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Desserts

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Desserts

Rolo Stuffed Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Desserts

Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

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The Absolute Best Snickerdoodle Cookies

These snickerdoodle are delightfully soft and full of delicious cinnamon flavor! They are SOO GOOD and you won't be able to stop at just one!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Snickerdoodle, snickerdoodle cookies

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 30 Cookies

Calories 155kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• ½ Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter Softened but not too soft
• 1 ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 large Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon Sugar

• 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 ½ Tablespoon Cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In another medium bowl beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.
• Add the dry ingredients in to the wet and mix until fully combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• While the dough chills, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Form the dough into equal sized balls, about 1 inch and roll in the cinnamon sugar and coat evenly. Place the coated balls on the baking sheet keeping about 2 inches between them. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies will look quite underbaked, but that's how they should look! Allow to cool for a few minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 81mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 208IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

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