Easy Homemade Cranberry Relish Recipe (2024)

This easy homemade cranberry relish is made with just 6 simple ingredients and can be whipped up in less than 10 minutes! Made with fresh cranberries, orange segments, and apples, this easy cranberry relish makes the perfect side dish, especially during the autumn and winter months!

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This fresh cranberry Relish has been a staple at our Thanksgiving dinner for years now, its tart flavors just seem to blend perfectly with roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing! Plus it adds a fun array of fresh flavors, to the usually rather dense Thanksgiving menu.

Cranberry relish(not to be confused with homemade cranberry sauce), is a quick and simple recipe that can be whipped up in no time! It can be made just before serving or days in advance.

If you’ve never had cranberry relish before, then you might be wondering what makes this dish any different from the usual canned stuff seen on most people’s tables during the holiday season.

While for starters this cranberry orange relish isn’t a sauce at all, and it certainly doesn’t come from a can!

This Cranberry relish is made up of shredded raw cranberries, a whole orange, a chopped apple, and a little bit of sugar to take the edge off the tart berries. It is served raw and generally cold, though it can also be served at room temperature.

While it might not be as famous as its saucy counterpart, this homemade relish makes a lovely addition to the Thanksgiving table, as well as the perfect autumn side dish. And it’s a great way to use up any leftover fresh cranberries you might have in the fridge.

And it just so happens I have the easiest and very best cranberry relish recipe ever!

What to serve with cranberry relish

While cranberry relish seems to be the most popular during the holidays and you seldom find it anywhere but on a holiday table. (it’s mostly served at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. ) Homemade cranberry Relish can be served with or on top of a variety of different dishes, here are a few ideas!

• leftover turkey
• pork chops
• roast chicken
• duck
• use it to top salads
• add it to your favorite coleslaw
• serve it with roast sweet potatoes
• create a delicious appetizer, using leftover cranberry relish, cream cheese, and roast chicken or turkey

Our favorite way to use up leftover cranberry relish is to put it on salads or sandwiches made up of other Thanksgiving leftovers. Or eat it for breakfast along with yogurt or oatmeal!

How to Make Homemade Cranberry Relish

Equipment

• a sharp knife
• vegetable peeler
• mixing bowl
• food processor

Ingredients

• a bag of raw cranberries. -only use fresh raw cranberries for this recipe, frozen or thawed berries won’t work!
• an orange peeled and sectioned
• an apple peeled and cored -You can use any type of apple you like, my favorite is McIntosh
• ​white sugar
• brown sugar
• *chopped pecans

Place the peeled orange and apple into a food processor, and pulse 2-3 times or until roughly chopped. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and set aside.

Dump all of the cranberries into the food processor, and pulse 5-6 times, or until the cranberries are coarsely shredded.

Add the shredded cranberries to the apple-orange mixture, be sure to use a spatula to scrap all the shredded cranberries out of the food processor. Toss to combine.

Add the white sugar and brown sugar, and mix until everything is completely coated in the sugar.

Finally, add the chopped pecans, and toss to combine. Cranberry relish can either be served immediately or transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge until ready to eat.

Enjoy!

Notes

*while pecans are my first choice for this recipe, you can use any kind of nuts you like, walnuts or almonds would both work great!

If you are looking to make this recipe a little healthier, you can use honey or maple syrup in place of the white and brown sugar. However, the finished relish with be a little more liquidy.

Feel free to adjust the sweetness of this recipe to your liking. Add more or less sugar to make this recipe more palatable to you!

If you want a stronger orange flavor, try adding some orange zest, dried orange peel, or even a little orange juice.

This cranberry relish can easily be ahead of time. Simply prepare as usual, place it in an airtight container, and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days before serving!

Cranberry relish with last in the fridge for up to 7 days!

Be sure to check out these great cranberry recipes!

Cranberry Orange Bread