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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Clean Eating / Low-Sugar Cranberry Sauce with Apple

    Low-Sugar Cranberry Sauce with Apple

    Published on Nov 20, 2015 ยท Last updated on Aug 24, 2021 ยท

    1.9K shares
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    Try this low-sugar cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving. Sweetened with orange juice, apple and brown sugar, it's so much better than the canned stuff! | Find this recipe on NotEnoughCinnamon.com #holidays #thanksgiving

    This Thanksgiving, try my homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice, apples and a hint of spice! It's easy to make, has less sugar than store-bought products and tastes so much better!ย 

    a white bowl of homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice on a rustic white table with a blue napkin in the background

    Tick tock, Thanksgiving is in less than a week away! What are your plans this year? Are you hosting or in charge of bringing a dish?

    This will be my very first Thanksgiving in the US and I can't wait. We've celebrated a few times before in France, just for fun, but it's not the same.

    It's not the real thing! This year, we will be in Philly with my husband's family and they've planned a big family reunion. I don't know much of the details but apparently, there will be plenty of people so I'm guessing...plenty of holiday FOOD! Woohoo.

    overhead shot of homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice in a white bowl with a blue napkin on the side

    Making Homemade Cranberry Sauce is easy and it's 10x healthier than store-bought sauces!

    Cranberry sauce is a staple on any Thanksgiving table - and a lot of Christmas tables for that matter. In Australia, for Christmas, we had a big turkey as well and of course, homemade cranberry sauce to go with it.

    Now, there's cranberry sauce and there's homemade cranberry sauce. The canned stuff has seriously nothing to do with the homemade sauce.

    Seriously, it's like night and day. And dare I say, this homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice and zest, apples and a hint of allspice is 10x better.

    The good news is that homemade cranberry sauce is super simple to make and you can control the amount of sugar that goes into it.

    Obviously, the canned sauceย is mostly made of...sugar - yikes!). If you like your cranberry sauce a bit tart, follow the recipe to a T. If you like it a bit sweeter, add ¾ cup to 1 cup of sugar.

    To keep the sugar content to a minimum, I added natural sourced of sweetness like orange juice and apples, and it makes the sauce even more delicious!

    close-up of a white bowl filled with homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice and apples

    P.S: I'm currently aboardย the Trans-Canada train until Saturday morning, without internet connexion, so I won't be able to answer your comments before then. This post was scheduled before I left and automagically posted this morning ๐Ÿ™‚

    If you tried this Homemade Cranberry Sauce, donโ€™t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments โ€“ I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

    Try this low-sugar cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving. Sweetened with orange juice, apple and brown sugar, it's so much better than the canned stuff! | Find this recipe on NotEnoughCinnamon.com #holidays #thanksgiving
    5 from 1 vote
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    Low-Sugar Cranberry Sauce with Apple

    This Thanksgiving, try my homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice, apples and a hint of spice! It's easy to make, has less sugar than store-bought products and tastes so much better! 

    Course Condiment
    Cuisine American
    Keyword clean eating, cranberry sauce with orange juice, from scratch, healthy holidays, healthy Thanksgiving recipes, homemade cranberry sauce, light Thanksgiving sides
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Total Time 25 minutes
    Servings 32 tablespoons (2 heaping cups
    Calories 19 kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup orange juice
    • ½ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar โ€“ up to 1 cup (see notes)
    • 13 oz fresh cranberries - 370g - 3.5 cups - you can also use thawed frozen cranberries
    • ½ heaping cup Granny Smith apple peeled and chopped very thinly (about ½ apple)
    • ½ tsp allspice
    • 1 strip of orange peel
    • a pinch of salt
    • freshly cracked black pepper

    Instructions

    1. In a medium pot, combine orange juice and coconut sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved.

    2. Add cranberries, apple, allspice, and the orange peel. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until cranberries have busted and the sauce has thickened a bit. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
    3. If not using immediately, transfer in an airtight container once cooled and store in the fridge.

    Recipe Notes

    This cranberry sauce is a bit tart. If you don't like your cranberry sauce tart, use ¾ cup to 1 cup of sugar.

    Nutrition Facts
    Low-Sugar Cranberry Sauce with Apple
    Amount Per Serving (1 tablespoon)
    Calories 19
    % Daily Value*
    Sodium 5mg0%
    Potassium 29mg1%
    Carbohydrates 5g2%
    Sugar 3g3%
    Vitamin A 25IU1%
    Vitamin C 6.1mg7%
    Calcium 2mg0%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    « Skinny Pecan Date Bars
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Susan

      November 20, 2015 at 10:55 am

      I like the idea of a more tart cranberry sauce. Of course my husband would like it sweeter. So I figure he can add sugar to his portionโ€ฆ

      Hope you have a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with Solal's family!

      • marie

        November 28, 2015 at 7:01 pm

        Absolutely, it's a recipe you can easily adjust to suit everyone's taste ๐Ÿ™‚ I hope you had a lovely thanksgiving!

    2. Bea Shu

      November 21, 2015 at 9:54 pm

      This sounds absolutely delicious! I have a large bag of cranberries in my freezer. I would like to make it and preserve it in jars. Do you have an ideas how best to preserve? Should I cook it up and out it in sterilized jars and seal, or should I seal it in a water bath?
      I think either would work, but it d hate to over cook it.
      Cheers
      Bea

      • marie

        November 22, 2015 at 2:47 pm

        Hi Bea! I would cook it and seal it in sterilized jars but I'm definitely not an expert in canning so I'm not positive. Sorry I can't help you more! ๐Ÿ™‚

    3. Firdauz Rusdy Santary

      December 03, 2015 at 5:30 pm

      it looks delicious. i would try to make one someday so if my neighbours coming to my house, they have something to eat with a pasta

      • marie

        December 03, 2015 at 9:19 pm

        Thank you! I've never tried cranberry sauce with pasta. It sounds a bit odd but why not! ๐Ÿ™‚

    4. 40A.

      October 04, 2018 at 7:55 pm

      This sauce looks delightful! I love, that you left the cranberries chunky and I like mine on the tart side as well! This is the perfect recipe for me.

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