This homemade cranberry sauce is really simple and only has 5 ingredients: Cranberries, orange, water, honey, and cinnamon. It is perfect for your holiday meals, such as turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Skip the store-bought version with lots of added sugar and make your home smell divine in the process. This recipe is refined sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, and AIP.

Page Content

• Ingredients
• How to Adjust the Sweetness
• Where to Buy Cranberries
• Why You Should Make this Homemade Cranberry Sauce
• Recipes That Taste Even Better with Some Cranberry Sauce
• More Thanksgiving Recipes

Cranberry Sauce

I am excited to share with you all that this cranberry recipe is part of my new cookbook “Enjoy – healthy, festive foods for you and your loved ones”. For more holiday and special occasion recipes including a full Thanksgiving menu, grab yourself a copy. All recipes are gluten and dairy-free, Paleo, and mostly AIP.

Now back to this delicious cranberry sauce. If there is one thing that you should immediately try to do yourself and never buy the store-bought version again, it is homemade cranberry sauce. I was shocked by how easy it is. Somehow in my head, I thought it would be really complicated and I would have to add lots of things to make it taste good. But the great news is that it is super simple and fast to make and that you need very few ingredients.It tastes really really good and makes your house smell like heaven.

Wanna get more holiday and special occasion recipes? Get my AIP/Paleo holiday cookbook, including a full Thanksgiving spread.

Ingredients

• Cranberries
• Orange
• Water
• Honey
• Cinnamon Stick

How to Make this Cranberry Sauce

1. In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Peel and cut the orange into small pieces. Wash and dry cranberries.
2. Add the fruits and cinnamon stick to the boiling water.
3. Cook on medium heat until all cranberries have popped and until it reaches your favorite consistency. Stir occasionally. Reduce temperature to medium/low if the cranberry sauce is starting to stick to the pan.
4. Add honey and taste. If you would like it sweeter add more honey.
5. Store for up to a week in a glassjar in the fridge or freeze.

How to Adjust the Sweetness

I thought I would have to add massive amounts of sugar but I only used 2 tablespoons of honey. I personally think that that’s enough. It is not overly sweet, but feel free to make it exactly the way you want by adding more or less honey. You could also use other healthy sweeteners such as maple syrup.

Where to Buy Cranberries

Cranberries are in season only for a short amount of time, typically from October through December. This is the time when you can buy fresh cranberries at your local supermarket or farmer’s market. For the rest of the year, some supermarkets sell frozen cranberries all year round. You can use frozen cranberries for this recipe as well. I love to stock up on fresh cranberries when they are in season since they disappear from the supermarket very quickly after the holidays.

HOT TIP: Buy a lot of cranberries when they are in season and freeze them to use throughout the year.

Why You Should Make this Homemade Cranberry Sauce

• It is a lot healthier than store-bought: Next time you go to the store and want to buy cranberry sauce, check the ingredients. Many brands are loaded with sugar or even worse high fructose corn syrup. Wouldn’t it be so great not having to add potentially harmful substances and lots of added sugar etc? Well, the solution is really easy with this recipe.
• It is super easy: If you are new to cooking, this recipe is foolproof and quick to make. If you want to make something from scratch for Thanksgiving this is where you should start.
• It is fun: It is actually quite fun and satisfying to make cranberry sauce. A great activity you can do with the whole family.
• Makes all your dishes taste better: Of course, this sauce is a classic for Thanksgiving. But most hearty winter meals taste really good with a little bit of cranberry sauce. And of course, it works great using it as a fruit spread for bread, pancakes, oatmeal, etc. Below are a few examples of how to use it.

HOT TIP: Most store-bought cranberry sauces are loaded with sugar. Making homemade cranberry sauce is not only easy but also a much healthier choice.

Recipes That Taste Even Better with Some Cranberry Sauce

• 5 Minute Grain-free Oatmeal (AIP) – Add a dab as a topping to your oatmeal.
• Fluffy Paleo Pancakes (Paleo) – Spread it on these delicious pancakes.
• Crepes (AIP) – Use crnaberry sauce instead of berry compote.
• Herb Roasted Chicken (AIP)
• Baked Apples (AIP) – Add cranberry sauce instead of jelly.
• Rosemary Crusted Lamb Chop Holiday Meal (AIP)

More Thanksgiving Recipes

• Grain-Free Stuffing (Paleo)
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts (AIP)
• Mom’s Special Gravy (AIP)
• Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Soup (AIP)
• Delicious Apple Crisp (AIP)
• Gingerbread Squares (Paleo)

For even more holiday recipes, make sure you check out my holiday cookbook. Featuring a full Thanksgiving menu with a pumpkin pie, collard greens, cauliflower mash, and more.

So what are you waiting for? Next time you are shopping for your groceries, grab some cranberries and try this recipe. It will make this time of the year so much more enjoyable.

Now I would love to hear from you. Try the recipe and let me know what you think in the comment section below. And as always don’t forget to tag me in your food pictures on Instagram.

Happy cooking

~Annika

Cranberry Sauce

This homemade cranberry sauce is really simple and only has 5 ingredients: Cranberries, orange, water, honey and cinnamon. It is perfect for your holiday meals.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings 1 small bowl

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
• 1/2 orange
• 1 cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 Tbsp honey

Instructions

 

• In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Peel and cut the orange into small pieces. Wash and dry cranberries.
• Add the fruits and cinnamon stick to the boiling water.
• Cook on medium heat until all cranberries have popped and until it reaches your favorite consistency. Stir occasionally. Reduce temperature to medium/low if the cranberry sauce is starting to stick to the pan.
• Add honey and taste. If you would like it sweeter add more honey.
• Enjoy
• Store for up to a week in a glassjar in the fridge or freeze.