Healthy Cranberry Sauce

This Healthy Cranberry Sauce is naturally sweetened made with maple syrup, fresh orange juice, cinnamon, ginger and deep rich flavors from a little port wine.  Sweet, tangy and the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving and Christmas table this season!

No need to use boring cranberry sauce from a can when you can easily make your own homemade cranberry sauce in just 10 minutes!  This healthy cranberry sauce recipe has zero added sugar and is naturally sweetened with maple syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice and a little port wine to really deepen the flavor.  Don’t worry, this won’t taste boozy!  If you want to make this non-alcoholic, simply use water in place of the wine or even more orange juice.  I also like to add in a little cinnamon and fresh ginger as it really makes all these flavors pop and let me tell you, this sauce is always a hit on our Thanksgiving and Christmas table.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Sweet, tangy and so delicious!
• A lighter take on a classic holiday side dish.
• Easy to make with just 6 simple ingredients in 10 minutes.
• The perfect Thanksgiving side dish that can easily be prepped ahead of time!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• cranberries – you’ll need a 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, but frozen cranberries will work just fine, no need to thaw them out.
• orange juice + zest – I squeezed about 2 oranges to get a 1/2 cup of fresh orange juice along with a teaspoon of orange zest.
• maple syrup – this naturally sweetens the cranberry sauce without using refined sugar, but you could also use honey or other natural sweetener.
• port wine – this adds additional sweetness and a deep rich flavor which really balances out the tartness of the cranberries.  If you don’t have port wine, feel free to use your favorite red wine or simply use water to make this non-alcoholic.
• cinnamon sticks – I added two cinnamon sticks to the cranberry mixture when boiling, but if you don’t have sticks you can use a half teaspoon of ground cinnamon.  You could also use cloves, star anise or even a little vanilla extract.
• fresh ginger – I love the subtle taste fresh grated ginger adds to this cranberry sauce, but if you aren’t a fan of ginger, feel free to just leave this out.

How to Make Healthy Cranberry Sauce

1. Mix together ingredients.  In a small or medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, maple syrup, port wine, cinnamon sticks and fresh ginger.
2. Simmer.  Bring the cranberry mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover and let the cranberry sauce simmer for about 10 minutes on the stove, stirring frequently.  Once the cranberries start to pop and burst, turn the heat off so that the sauce doesn’t get too mushy.  The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
3. Cool and serve.  Feel free to leave some of the cranberries whole or you can mash them using a fork or the back of your spoon.  Let the cranberry orange sauce cool for about 20 or 30 minutes, serve and enjoy!  You can also garnish your cranberry sauce with extra orange peel or some fresh herbs to make a pretty presentation.

Prepping and Storage

To Prep:  You can make this cranberry sauce up to 3 days ahead of time so it is a great side dish to prep prior to Thanksgiving or Christmas and the flavors get even better as they marinate!

To Store:  I love having leftover cranberry sauce because there are so many great ways to use it (hello leftover turkey sandwiches!) and you can store the leftover in a sealed, airtight container in the refrigerator for  one week.

To Freeze:  You can also store this cranberry sauce in the freezer for up to 3 months and thaw out in the fridge overnight when ready to use.

How to Use Leftover Cranberry Sauce

More Holiday Side Dishes