Homemade Cranberry Sauce (Vegan, Gluten Free)

This Homemade Cranberry Sauce is an easy one pot recipe that can be on the table in about 15 minutes. Fresh tart cranberries, sweet apples, & orange zest bring bold simple flavors to this delicious easy cranberry sauce. Refined sugar free, GF, & Vegan.

When it comes to the holiday meal, it just isn't complete without a big bowl of cranberry sauce.

And this is the best cranberry sauce to serve since it's fresh, simple to prepare and requires only a few ingredients.

It compliments this Cornbread Stuffing and these Garlic Roasted Mashed Potatoes perfectly!

Why make homemade cranberry sauce?

• Flavor- when using fresh quality ingredients it's always going to taste better than anything you can buy pre made.

• Easy- making homemade cranberry sauce is really quick and so simple to make. It's almost as easy as opening up a can.

• Sugar- this is made without refined sugar and you can actually control the amount you add.

Here is what you'll need

Ingredient notes

• Apples- I recommend organic fuji apples for this cranberry sauce. You can substitute with your favorite apples, but if they're not organic I would make sure to peel the apples first.

• Orange zest- I have made it before without the zest so if you find you don't have an orange you can totally make it without that. I recommend you use organic oranges for the zest.

• Maple syrup- Make sure you are using pure maple syrup for this and you can definitely control the amount you add to this cranberry sauce.

How to make it

Start by rinsing and sorting the fresh cranberries. Discard any cranberries that are mushy or appear to have gone bad.

Peel and dice your apple into small pieces. You can leave the peel on if you prefer, which I do if using organic apples . I do recommend removing the skin if they're not organic apples though.

Place all them in a large soup pan.

Add the remaining ingredients, stir and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture starts to thicken.

Transfer to a serving dish to cool.

Storage notes

This can be stored in glass mason jars or any container with a tight fitting lid for up to two weeks in the fridge.

Just make sure to cool the sauce before storing in the fridge.

For longer storage you can freeze cranberry sauce in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to three months.

Other holiday sides

• Apple Cranberry Kale Salad

• Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

• Brussel Sprouts Au Gratin

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5 from 2 votes

Homemade Cranberry Sauce (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Healthy Homemade Cranberry Sauce is simple to make with fresh ingredients and no refined sugar.

Course Side

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 104kcal

Author Stephanie

Ingredients

• 2- 12 ounce bags fresh cranberries
• 2 Fuji apples diced & peeled can leave on peel if using organic apples
• Zest of medium orange
• 4 tbsp. maple syrup*
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups water

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Instructions

• Rinse and sort out any bad or mushy cranberries and place rest in large pot.
• Peel & chop apples into bite sized pieces and place in pot with cranberries.
• Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to boil.
• Simmer over medium high heat about 15 minutes till cranberries have started breaking up & you have a nice thick consistency.
• Remove from heat & spoon into serving bowl or allow to cool before placing in mason jars and storing in fridge.

Notes

* you can taste and adjust the amount of maple syrup depending on how sweet you like it.

This can easily be made ahead and stored in an airtight container(like a mason jar) in the fridge for up to two weeks. Freeze for longer storage.

**Disclaimer

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.5g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 226mg | Fiber: 4.8g | Sugar: 14.9g | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

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Updated- originally posted November 2017