Healthy Cranberry Sauce Recipe

This Homemade Healthy Cranberry Sauce Recipe has only 7 ingredients, is ready in 15 minutes and has NO refined sugar! Using apple cider and orange juice gives it a rich & spicy yet bright and citrusy flavor that is out-of-this-world delicious! It’s even best when made ahead of time! Gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free & paleo-friendly!

Today I’m sharing a healthier makeover of one of our family’s must-have holiday side dishes…Healthy Cranberry Sauce! I already have a homemade cranberry sauce recipe on this site, which I have made more times than I can count! 

And while it’ll always have a special place in my heart, this year I set out to make a healthier version! And let me tell you this Healthy Cranberry Sauce might be even better than our old family favorite!

Now you might be a bit skeptical and wonder, does it really taste as good as it’s sugar-laden counterpart? I can honestly say YES! And do you know how I know? I used my husband as a pawn in my recipe testing experimentation {without his knowledge}! He couldn’t even tell the difference! 

How to make healthy cranberry sauce

This healthy cranberry sauce comes together in 15 minutes! It’s so easy to make you’ll never buy store-bought cranberry sauce again!

Cook on the stovetop. 

One of my favorite parts of making this healthy cranberry sauce is that the cranberries “talk” to you while they cook. As they warm up they start popping and snapping. Keep cooking until most of the berries have “burst!”

Texture (Chunky vs. smooth). 

We like our cranberry sauce a little on the chunky side, so we opt to mash our cranberries with a potato masher and leave some cranberry chunks in there! 

However, if you enjoy yours extra-smooth no worries! Simply toss the mixture into your blender (Vitamix) after it’s fully cooked, and blend to the consistency you like.

How to serve homemade cranberry sauce (Hot or cold)? 

We prefer to server our cranberry sauce cold! So I recommend chilling it for at least 6 hours, or overnight! But really it’s up to you!

This Healthy Cranberry Sauce will definitely be making an appearance on our table this Thanksgiving! I’m SO thrilled with the way it turned out, and that it fits so nicely with so many diverse dietary needs.

Just please, whatever you do, do not buy that gelatinous canned goop masquerading as cranberry sauce! Making your own is SO easy and so, so much tastier…I promise!

Healthy Cranberry Sauce: Substitutions

This recipe is actually fairly versatile, especially considering that it’s made with only 7 ingredients! Here are a few possible substitutions:

• Apple Cider: Unsweetened apple juice can be used to ensure there is no added sugar and that the recipe is 100% paleo! I suggest adding a pinch of a few other spices if you opt not to use apple cider {think nutmeg and cloves}. This will compensate for the absence of spices in regular apple juice!
• Orange Juice. This cranberry sauce with orange juice recipe needs a total of 1 cup of liquid. So your options are to make the recipe as written, or tweak the amounts of apple cider and orange juice to your liking. You can even omit the orange juice all together and just use apple cider! However, I love the bright, citrusy flavor it imparts in this recipe! Another option is to omit the apple cider and use 1 cup of orange juice. However you may need to increase the maple syrup or coconut sugar to reach your desired sweetness.
• Maple Syrup. Honey can be used in place of maple syrup, although it is not vegan!
• Coconut Sugar. Any granulated sugar works exceptionally well in this recipe! Just be sure to chose a variety that complies with your dietary needs!

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5 from 2 votes

Healthy Cranberry Sauce Recipe

This Homemade Healthy Cranberry Sauce Recipe has only 7 ingredients and NO refined sugar! Using apple cider and orange juice gives it a rich & spicy yet bright and citrusy flavor that is out-of-this-world delicious! Gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free & paleo-friendly! 

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cranberry sauce recipe, fresh cranberry sauce, homemade cranberry sauce, paleo cranberry sauce, thanksgiving side dish recipes

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Cooling time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 8 Servings

Calories 109.8kcal

Author Laura

Ingredients

• 1 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed
• ¼ cup orange juice
• ¾ cup apple cider or unsweetened apple juice
• ½ cup pure maple syrup or honey
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a medium sauce-pan, whisk together orange juice, apple cider, maple syrup, and coconut sugar over medium-high heat.
• One mixture comes to a boil, whisk in the cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
• Pour cranberries into the saucepan and reduce heat to a simmer.
• Simmer the mixture uncovered for 10 - 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cranberries begin to pop! (You will literally hear popping noises and the berries will burst open)!
• Using a potato masher, gently mash the cranberries to thicken the mixture. The more you mash, the less chunky the sauce will be---your choice! (if you like extra-smooth cranberry sauce, blend the mixture in your Vitamix until smooth).
• Simmer for another 3 minutes and then turn off heat but leave the pot uncovered on top of the burner to cool and thicken for 20-30 minutes.
• Store in refrigerator in an airtight container!

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 109.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 28.2g | Protein: 0.1g | Sodium: 33.4mg | Potassium: 27.2mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 26.5g | Vitamin C: 4.1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.4mg

More Delicious Thanksgiving recipes:

Obviously I recommend making this cranberry sauce stuffing recipe as part of your Thanksgiving feast! Here are some of the recipes we make on Thanksgiving:

• • The BEST homemade sausage stuffing 
  • Brussels Sprouts! This recipe for Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts will turn a sprouts-hater into a sprouts-lover!
  • Beets! We LOVE these balsamic roasted beets! They’re like vegetable candy!
  • Sweet Potatoes. This healthy sweet potato casserole is one of my favorite side dishes! If you like crisp potatoes (as opposed to mashed) try these maple roasted sweet potatoes!
  • Green Beans. I always make these apple cider sautéed green beans on Thanksgiving! These Parmesan roasted green beans are also a huge hit! 
  • Apples. These sautéed cinnamon apples always make an appearance on our holiday table. Or you can combine them with sweet potatoes and make roasted sweet potatoes and apples!
  • Cranberry Sauce. I’m all about homemade cranberry sauce! Try our healthy cranberry sauce.
  • PIE! Try this apple pie, pumpkin pie (from scratch), dairy-free pumpkin pie, apple crumble pie, or this chocolate peanut butter pie!
  • Apple crisp is also a favorite dessert!

I made this paleo cranberry sauce recipe and casually told my husband, “Hey babe, there’s homemade cranberry sauce in the fridge.” He immediately grabbed a spoon and dove right in {because it’s one of his favorites}. I silently waited for his response…which was, “Your homemade cranberry sauce is the best! It’s so good!”

Jackpot. He had no idea that I had switched up the recipe and actually made this Healthy Cranberry Sauce with orange juie! Since it passed the “Ritch test” with flying colors, I knew I had to share it with all of you!

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