Cranberry and Pear Sauce

This ruby red Cranberry Pear Sauce is a great addition to your Thanksgiving table, and is totally make-ahead friendly!

Tell me…when it comes to the holidays, are you a plan ahead kind of person or a last minute kind of person? If you’ve already finished your Christmas shopping, strung the lights around the front windows, and decided what wine you’ll pair with your Orange Glazed Ham, I’m going to go ahead and answer this one for you. You’re a planner. Could I maybe just sleep on your pillow for a couple nights? Because I need all that proactive energy to osmosisize itself right into my brain.

I happen to be of the last minute variety. Sure, I’m a great planner in my head. There, I create festive tablescapes that rival the cover of Real Simple magazine, make all my Christmas gifts from recycled pallets and twine, and have a cinnamon candle lit and soft holiday music playing at all times.

But real life looks more like this:

You know your holiday planning has reached an all time low when you don’t even have enough time to shower before your guests arrive.

All of you planners out there, I gotta know. How do you do it?! How do you turn all those great ideas into real life actions? And how do you fit it all in before the doorbell rings?

Make Ahead Friendly Cranberry Pear Sauce

This Cranberry Pear Sauce is a dish for the planners and the fly by the seat of your grease stained sweatpants folks alike. It takes maybe 15 minutes to throw together, only requires 5 ingredients, and happens to make a beautiful jewel-toned centerpiece for your table (ya know, just in case you didn’t have time to create that epic DIY cornucopia you saw on Pinterest.)

But you planners will love this too, because this dish can be made several days ahead of time. It’ll be there in the fridge, tucked neatly away in its crystal serving bowl just waiting to take it’s place next to the origami folded napkins.

A little sweet, a little tart, and a lot beautiful, this stuff will be the perfect accent to your Thanksgiving table, whether you have time to light the candles or not.

More Thanksgiving Recipes to Try

Cranberry lovers will also appreciate this gorgeous Cranberry Jello Salad and these festive Sugared Cranberries.

For a main dish, you simply must try our no-fuss Oven Roasted Turkey. Pair it with Easy Cheesy Potatoes, Make Ahead Butterhorns, and a classic green bean recipe for a full feast!

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Cranberry and Pear Sauce

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
• 2 pears, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and orange zest and juice. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.

Add cranberries and pears, return to a boil, and continue to cook until cranberries pop and pears are softened-about 7-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool then refrigerate until ready to serve. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

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