Cranberry Sauce with Caramelized Onions recipe

Cranberry Sauce with Caramelized Onions

by Pamela Anderson
One Star Two Stars Three Stars Four Stars Five Stars read reviews (5)

Slow-cooked onions bring extra flavor to this simple sauce, and cloves add warmth. Yields 2-1/2 to 3 cups

Make-Ahead: Can be completely prepared ahead (may need reheating and a garnish to serve) Vegetarian: May contain eggs and dairy ingredients Test Kitchen Guaranteed: All recipes that run in Fine Cooking magazine are thoroughly tested in our test kitchen
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ingredient discovery
Ingredients cranberries onions cloves more more
1 Tbs. vegetable or canola oil
1 large yellow onion, cut into medium dice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
One 12-oz. bag fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, rinsed and picked over (3-1/2 cups)
1 cup granulated sugar

In a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, cloves, a pinch of salt, and a grind or two of pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden-brown and very soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium high, and cook the onions, stirring often, until deep caramel-brown, an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the cranberries, sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for 1 minute, then cover, turn off the heat, and let cool to room temperature.

Make Ahead Tips

The sauce may be prepared up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.

Serving Suggestions

Let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature before serving so it has time to thicken properly.

nutrition information (per serving):
Size : per 1/4 cup; Calories (kcal): 90; Fat (g): 1; Fat Calories (kcal): 10; Saturated Fat (g): 0; Protein (g): 0; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 0.5; Carbohydrates (g): 21; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0.5; Sodium (mg): 25; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Fiber (g): 2;
photo: Scott Phillips
From Fine Cooking 101 , pp. 32
September 3, 2009

user reviews

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Star Star Star Star Star by Cref, 11/29/2010This recipe is simple to make and the result is elegant. The cloves adds an exotic flavor. The sauce has just the right balance of sweet and tartness. I cooked the berries until they popped, then transfer to a bowl, let it cool completely and refrigerate overnight, before serving. The sauce gel beautifully. WONDERFUL recipe. Family members have asked for the recipe. I will definitely make this sauce again for other occasions, besides Thanksgiving.
Star Star Star Star Star by rstone15, 11/22/2010I followed the suggestions by llucja by letting the cranberries cook until they popped and this sauce came out DELICIOUS! Perfect marriage of sweet and savory and tart! The consistency was great and it was so easy to make- I'm never buying ready-made cranberry sauce again!
Star Star Star Star Star by llucja, 10/9/2010I used butter to carmelize the onions and let the cranberries cook until they popped. The sauce came out thick and just the right balance of sweet and tart... wanderfull!
Star Star Star Star Star by Editorx, 11/9/2009This simple recipe was easy to make and brilliant! The cloves are a surprising element, and combined with the caramelized onions this created a very sophisticated complex flavor. I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup for health reasons, and because cranberry sauce should not be too sweet.
Star Star Star Star Star by Kathleen_G, 10/12/2009There is nothing to gel this recipe, so it's different than the usual cranberry sauce. The berries don't cook enough to burst, so the effect is whole berries in a sweet sauce. Eaten together the sweet sauce and tart berry balance well, but as the very runny sauce escapes they are very tart berries to bite into by themselves. The cloves smelled very strong in the beginning, but by the time we ate I didn't detect them, didn't taste the onions either.
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