healthy cranberry sauce

This healthy cranberry sauce is so easy and can be made on the stovetop in under 10 minutes. Sweetened naturally with maple syrup and orange juice, this recipe is paleo, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and perfect for the holidays.

The days of canned cranberry sauce are over!

This homemade healthy cranberry sauce recipe only uses orange juice and a little maple syrup to sweeten it up.

It is much lower in sugar than the traditional cranberry sauce sauce.

This easy cranberry sauce is a wonderful addition to holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter where cranberry sauce is often a staple item on the holiday menu.

With this homemade recipe, you get that nostalgic holiday taste (even better if you ask me) without all of the holiday guilt!

Is Cranberry Sauce Healthy?

No more cranberry sauce that holds the shape of the can!

The store-bought versions are loaded with high fructose corn syrup and there’s just no need for it.

Traditional cranberry sauce is often made with a lot of sugar. Cranberries are naturally very tart which is why you often see cranberry juice mixed with another kind of fruit juice and lots of sugar added.

This low sugar cranberry recipe couldn’t be further from that.

It’s made with 3 simple ingredients, has no preservatives and best of all, is refined sugar-free!

Made with whole-food ingredients, this homemade cranberry sauce is also Vegan, Paleo, and Gluten-Free.

Health Benefits of Cranberries

Like many fruits, cranberries contain numerous vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that play a role in disease prevention and optimal health.

They are filled with vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, manganese, vitamin E, vitamin K, and copper along with other plant compounds that have anti-inflammatory and UTI-fighting properties.

If you do use cranberry juice as part of your treatment/prevention in urinary health, make sure you are using pure cranberry juice, not the cranberry cocktail juice.

Plain cranberry juice will be very tart, and the only thing on the ingredient list should be cranberries.

Cranberry cocktail will have added sugar that can actually feed the bacteria when you have a UTI.

You can Read More Here.

Ingredients Used to Make Healthy Cranberry Orange Sauce

To make this healthy, refined sugar free cranberry sauce you will need:

1. 1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries (or frozen)
2. 1-2 naval oranges- save a couple of pieces of orange peel to zest (~1 tsp zest), then juice the rest into orange juice.
3. Maple syrup

Note: To make this recipe a Keto Cranberry sauce, you can simply use keto friendly maple syrup.

How to Make Healthy Cranberry Sauce

This is a quick and easy stress-free holiday recipe that you can whip together in no time.

First, in a saucepan, bring orange juice, maple syrup and orange peel to a boil then turn it down to simmer.

Then, add fresh or frozen cranberries and allow the mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes. Cranberries will start to burst, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, and done!

Feel free to add spices to warm it up!

Optional add-ons to homemade cranberry sauce:

Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and allspice are all festive flavors that will put you in the holiday spirit.

If you want some whole cranberries left in the sauce, save a small portion of the cranberries and add them towards the end of the cooking time.

Additionally, as a bonus, your house will smell amazing when you’re making this!

You get a yummy healthy cranberry sauce and your house will smell like a holiday scented candle too. Win-win!

How to Store Healthy Cranberry Sauce

This cranberry sauce will stay good in the refrigerator for 10-14 days.

It’s perfect for making ahead of time so you can take one thing off your holiday to-do list.

Even better yet, you can freeze it too!

Place cranberry sauce in a freezer-safe bag or container, and it will stay good for up to 2 months. To thaw, transfer the cranberry sauce from the freezer to the fridge the night before serving.

To reheat, simply stir sauce in a skillet over medium heat.

How to Serve Healthy Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is the perfect addition to any holiday meal.

It goes well with turkey, ham, stuffing…

You can eat it by itself or mix it in with a little bit of everything!

How to Use Leftover Cranberry Sauce

If you happen to have any leftover cranberry sauce, you can incorporate it in some other recipes! Some of my favorite ways to use it are:

1. Turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich.
2. Yogurt mixed with cranberry sauce
3. Cranberry orange bread/muffins
4. Savory cranberry meatballs
5. Topped over brie cheese
6. Mixed with salads
7. Cranberry sauce with oatmeal
8. Cranberry salsa
9. Turkey salad mixed with cranberry sauce
10. Smoothies

This healthy cranberry sauce is such a versatile recipe and because it stays so well in the fridge and freezer it’s great to make extra and save it for other recipes!

What’s your favorite way to eat cranberry sauce? Leave a comment below!

More Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes you will love:

1. Cauliflower Sweet Potato Mash (Whole 30)

2. Roasted Brussels Sprouts with spiced apples

3. Vegan Pecan Pie Bars

4. Healthy Pumpkin Pie {Paleo, Low Carb}

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS