Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
Our homemade sugar free cranberry sauce recipe is nearly as easy to make as popping open a can, but it's much healthier! And, the flavor of fresh cranberries can't be beat!
Sweet, tart, bright and festive. What's not to love about cranberry sauce?
Its potential is so much greater than just breaking it out once a year with the holiday Turkey.
This homemade cranberry sauce recipe is so simple, you'll wonder why you haven't been making your own for years!
Cranberry sauce in the US vs UK
Confession time.
Tim and I love canned cranberry sauce.
That sweet cranberry jelly, meets thick jello, with the ridges of the can imprinted on the side of the cylindrical mass.
So good!
What can we say? It's what we grew up with. It brings back childhood memories and makes us feel like kids again.
While we know that cranberry sauce is a staple on the Thanksgiving table in the States, we didn't know that it can also be found gracing Christmas dinner tables in the UK.
In the US, the sauce is typically sweeter, while in the UK the sauce is often a bit more tart.
Our easy sugar free cranberry sauce recipe
How do you make cranberry sauce from scratch?
Making homemade cranberry sauce is incredibly simple!
Basically, cranberries are simmered until they pop and the mixture thickens.
It's that easy. (Seriously, with the way our can-opener has been acting lately, this was even easier than opening up a can!)
Making cranberry sauce healthy using natural sugars
Typically you need a sweet element to contrast the tartness of fresh cranberries. And most commonly this is done with lots of refined white sugar or corn syrup.
Instead of loading our cranberry sauce up with white or brown sugar, we gave it sweetness from some apple cider and a bit of maple syrup.
We love the way the maple syrup gives the sauce a bit of extra depth. But, honey would be a great option too, giving you a bit of a lighter and brighter sauce.
We found the flavor of this cranberry sauce to be an incredible balance of pleasantly tart cranberries and a light, fall-inspired maple sweetness.
We threw in a pinch of orange zest and nutmeg too, just for a little extra boost in festive flavor.
We're pretty sure you won't be disappointed.
How to use cranberry sauce
We ate our homemade cranberry sauce with our holiday turkey dinner. But that wasn't the end of this sauce. Oh no!
The next morning, we put it on our pancakes.
The following day, we had just a little left, and we ate it with some pork chops.
And now we need to make another batch because we really want to try this cranberry sauce coffee cake, these cranberry overnight oats, and a cranberry sauce apple crisp. Oh, and these cranberry sauce breakfast rolls.
It really is such a great sauce to have on hand this time of year. The possibilities are endless!
How long does homemade cranberry sauce last?
Homemade cranberry sauce should last up to two weeks stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
If you would like to keep it for longer, we recommend freezing it in portion-sized containers. (Like ice cube trays or muffin tins.) Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before using. (The consistency might be a bit thinner after thawing.)
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ¾ c pure apple cider
- ⅓ c pure maple syrup (or honey for a sweeter and lighter flavor)
- 1 orange, zested
- Pinch nutmeg
Instructions
- Rinse the cranberries, if they are fresh and place them in a medium saucepan.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened slightly.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool completely before serving. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Nutrition
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
It's sometimes hard to beat the basics, isn't it?! This simple cranberry sauce looks beautiful, but what's really exciting me is the idea of eating it with pork. I have never thought of that and I imagine it's wonderful
Tim is the one who introduced me to the idea of pairing pork with sweeter accents. It makes for such a beautiful pairing.
I love seeing how easy homemade cranberry sauce is - I've yet to try it at home, but as with most things it sure sounds better than the canned version! 🙂 Glad you gave it a try!
I cannot not stand canned cranberry sauce. This looks like a winner.
Yum! Sometimes the simplest things are the best! It's hard to beat a Good cranberry sauce!
I love making my own cranberry sauce. It also makes great jam and cookie filling for later. I love your bowl too!
Ooh! Now I' really want to use this for thumbprint cookies! Thanks for the idea!
Yay love that you tried something different and used apple cider. I do actually have a third version of this on my blog using pomegranate juice (part of my thanksgiving for two post). I will have to try the cider next time!
Great pick this month! Maple and apple cider would be a fabulous combination with cranberries. LOVE!
Ok, if we are being honest here...I also have a soft spot for canned cranberry sauce. But, I also enjoy homemade. We usually have both on our Thanksgiving table, just to cover all the bases. Great recipe this month 🙂
I like the idea of having both at Thanksgiving. You get the best of both worlds that way!
Great choice ... basic cranberry sauce is the absolute best! Lovely photo too!
This sounds absolutely DEEELISH!
I'm so impressed by everyone making homemade cranberry sauce lately! I've never done it but I really need to!! Love the flavors in yours!
Thanks Jess! You would love it. And it's super easy!