Cranberry sauce for one is perfect for the holidays when you’re on your own or with a friend or partner and still want all the holiday flavours without a ton of leftovers! It only takes 3 ingredients and about 10 minutes for sweet-tart, juicy cranberry sauce.
When it comes to food, downsizing the holidays for one or two people can be a challenge. Is it even worth it? I think it depends a lot on what you like to eat! When it comes to the traditional big dinner, I can take it or leave it. But what I DO love is leftover turkey sandwiches with loads of cranberry sauce and mayo. So I make cranberry sauce for one (or two). And it couldn’t be easier!
Cranberry Sauce for One
This single serve cranberry sauce is ridiculously easy to make and only needs three ingredients and about 10 minutes. The trick, as we know when cooking for one, is getting the quantities right! So I’m here to help with that.
This recipe actually makes enough for 2-3 servings so you could definitely serve it for a small Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with no leftovers. But I make it because I love the leftovers.
This will make enough for me to have with dinner as well as 2, maybe 3 sandwiches. It keeps very well for up to a week in the fridge (you could probably stretch that but use your own judgement). Besides turkey, it also goes very well with chicken and pork and is an excellent condiment for sandwiches.
Roadblocks You Might Encounter
When you’re making cranberry sauce for one there’s one annoying roadblock you might run into.
It’s hard to buy cranberries, fresh or frozen, in a small quantity. It’s pretty rare to find them available to purchase loose like apples or tomatoes. They usually come in a bag with enough berries to make a HUGE amount of sauce. Don’t worry, they freeze really well.
If you buy them fresh, toss the rest in a zipper lock freezer bag, squish all the air out and put them in the freezer or, just buy a bag of frozen cranberries and take out what you need and put the rest back in the freezer.
Why You’ll Love It
- super easy & quick to make
- small yield making it perfect for one or two people
- versatile – it goes great with turkey, chicken & pork
- lots of ways to use up any leftovers
- the recipe easily scales up if you decide to have people over!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Single Serve Cranberry Sauce
- cranberries: fresh or frozen will work but be sure to rinse your cranberries in cool water before using
- sugar: straight up white sugar. I haven’t tested with with other sweeteners
- water
- orange zest or orange juice (optional): not required but I really love the hint of orange flavor
Cranberry Sauce for One
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen and rinsed in cool water
- 1 tsp orange zest or orange juice optional
Instructions
- rinse the cranberries in cool water and drain
- in a small saucepan over low heat, combine water, sugar and optional orange zest and stir until sugar is completely dissolved
- increase the heat to medium, bring the water to a boil and then add the cranberries
- let the berries simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. The berries will pop and the sauce will thicken
- pour the sauce immediately into your serving dish and let it sit for 30 minutes - it will continue to set
- store covered, in the fridge, for up to a week
What To Do With Leftover Cranberry Sauce
If you do have leftovers, there’s lots of options:
- as a condiment in sandwiches or with other types of proteins like pork or chicken,
- added to muffin batter
- a flatbread pizza with leftover rotisserie chicken or turkey
- I’ve even added leftover cranberry sauce to morning smoothies!
Other Recipes You Might Enjoy
Peanut Tuna Noodle Bowl for One
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