Quick Look: Homemade Apple Cranberry Sauce
- Ready In: 35 minutes
- Serves: 10
- Main Ingredients: cranberries, apple cider, coconut sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and apples.
- Dietary Info: Paleo, dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian
- Flavor-Profile: slightly tart with a touch of natural sweetness from the apples and coconut sugar that can be adjusted to your liking.
- Best For: Thanksgiving, Christmas or any holiday (family gathering), plus the leftovers are great in a turkey cranberry wrap!
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Why You Need This Holiday Side Dish
- Forget the can – this easy, homemade cranberry sauce is significantly better!
- Adjust the sweetness to your taste or try our cranberry orange sauce for a bit of citrus.
- Great for any holiday table, like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- Make ahead of time and store in the fridge or freezer!
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Cranberries – option to use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries, both have been tested.
- Apples – highly recommend using a sweeter, red apple (like honey crisp) to offset the tartness of the cranberries but any variety of apples will work (they just give different flavors).
- Apple Cider – feel free to use apple juice instead.
How To Make Apple Cranberry Sauce
Step 1 – Bring everything (except the apples) to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 2 – Mix in the diced apples.
Step 3 – Simmer for another 15-20 minutes or to your desired consistency. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon but can be a thicker or thinner consistency depending on your preferences. Enjoy!
Erin’s Testing Tips: What We Learned
– Two-Stage Simmer: cranberries need a longer simmer time than apples do. Therefore, after testing, we found it was best to wait on adding the apples until later in the simmering process so they don’t become mush.
– Sweetness: during testing we found that ¼ cup of coconut sugar helps balance the tart cranberries while still letting some of that classic cranberry tartness come through. Add more if you prefer a sweeter sauce.
– Tartness: Adjust the tartness in this easy cranberry sauce by adding a bit more coconut sugar or switching to apple juice instead of apple cider.
Prep Ahead Tips
Easily make this cranberry sauce the night before your holiday meal and store it in the fridge. It will last up to 1 week in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze it if you want to keep it for longer! Place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months and thaw by placing it in the fridge and serve it the next day.
Best Ways To Serve Apple Cranberry Sauce
This quick and easy cranberry sauce is a must on the Thanksgiving table! The beautiful red color also makes it great for Christmas dinner. Either way, any holiday meal will be better with this sweet and slightly tart side dish. We also love pairing it with turkey leftovers to make Turkey Cranberry Wraps.
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Ingredients
- 10-12 ounces raw cranberries, sub frozen cranberries
- 1 cup apple cider
- ¼ cup coconut sugar*
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 cup apple, diced
Instructions
- Combine: In a saucepan, add 10-12 ounces raw cranberries, 1 cup apple cider, ¼ cup coconut sugar*, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and a pinch kosher salt; Stir to combine.
- Simmer + Add Apples: Bring to a boil and then immediately reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Add diced apples and continue to simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. The finished sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, with soft, chunky pieces throughout. Note that the sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Cool & Serve: Remove from heat and let cool before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Apple Cider: you could also use apple juice.
- *Coconut Sugar: feel free to taste and add more coconut sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, if you think it needs more sweetness to offset the tartness of the cranberries!
- Consistency: for a thicker sauce, simply let it simmer a little longer (just keep an eye on it, so it doesn’t get TOO dry). For a thinner sauce don’t let it simmer as long or add an additional splash or two of apple cider to thin it at the end.
- Make ahead: This is the perfect dish to make ahead for a Thanksgiving dinner! Simply store in the fridge overnight in a covered container.
Bridget says
Love the apples is this one! Delicious!