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Home / Course / Side Dish / Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce

Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce

November 2, 2020 Leave a Comment

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This is the best sugar free cranberry sauce recipe! This healthy cranberry sauce uses orange juice, vanilla extract and grated apple instead of sugar. With hints of cinnamon and vanilla it’s perfect for the holidays and is safe for those with diabetes and on a vegan, low carb, paleo or Whole30 diet.

Bowl of sugar free cranberry sauce

Why you will love this recipe:

  • It’s so easy to make and doesn’t require any sugar!
  • This healthy cranberry sauce can be made with fresh or frozen cranberries. 
  • Instead of sugar substitutes like monk fruit, stevia, Splenda or Truvia, which many sugar free cranberry sauce recipes use, this one relies on the natural sweetness from fruits instead. It’s the best no sweetener cranberry sauce. 
  • It has the perfect amount of sweetness from the orange juice, vanilla extract and shredded apple, which combines beautifully with the tart cranberries.
  • It is a great diabetic cranberry sauce and it’s great if you are counting carbs or looking for a lower carb cranberry sauce.
  • This is a healthy cranberry sauce that is also gluten free, dairy free and safe for paleo, vegan, SCD, GAPS, keto and Whole30 diets and is entirely plant based. 
  • It is the perfect side dish to serve with turkey dinner, and all your favourite Christmas and Thanksgiving recipes like pecan pie, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and stuffing. 

Key ingredients and substitutions: 

  • Fresh or frozen cranberries – the star of this recipe! Cranberries are a healthy fruit that are full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. You can use either fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries for this recipe. 
  • Apples – to make the grated apple which helps gives this cranberry sauce it’s natural sweetness, without adding any sugar. 
  • Oranges – for making the orange juice that is used to help naturally sweeten this cranberry sauce.  
  • Vanilla extract – to help enhance the flavours and give this cranberry sauce a hint of vanilla flavour.

How to make this recipe:

Step one:

First you will need to grate your apple and measure it.

Measuring cup filled with shredded apple

Step two: 

Then place all of the ingredients into a medium pot or medium saucepan and place it on the stove. Turn it on to medium heat and bring the ingredients to a boil.

A pot filled with shredded apple and cranberries
A pot filled with cooking apples and cranberries

Step three: 

Next, reduce heat and let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, until it reaches the consistency and thickness you desire.

A pot of cooked cranberry sauce

Step four:

Now serve and enjoy!

A bowl of cranberry sauce

Tips and variations: 

  • You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries to make this cranberry sauce – if you use frozen cranberries you will need to add a few minutes of cooking time.
  • To make this recipe a little sweeter feel free to add a little honey or maple syrup. 
  • If you would like a stronger orange flavour add 1-2 tablespoons of orange zest.
  • If you are serving a crowd feel free to double or triple this recipe.

How to store: 

This cranberry sauce makes great leftovers and can be stored in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 7 days.

Bowl of sugar free cranberry sauce with cranberries around it

Frequently asked questions:

Can diabetics eat cranberry sauce?

Many traditional cranberry sauce recipes do use a lot of sugar so diabetics would have to be careful when consuming them and watch their sugars closely. This sugar free cranberry sauce is perfect for diabetics because it doesn’t use any sugar. 

Will cranberry sauce thicken without sugar? 

Absolutely! The longer you simmer cranberry sauce, even if it doesn’t have any sugar added, the thicker it will get as the amount of liquid will decrease the longer the cranberries are cooked. 

How do you make cranberry sauce less sweet?

Instead of sugar you can sweeten cranberry sauce with fruit including fresh orange juice or grated apple to make it less sweet.

Is this a keto cranberry sauce recipe?

This cranberry sauce recipe has 9 grams of carbohydrates, with 5 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber and a net carb count of 7 grams per serving. It could fit in with a keto diet as long as the rest of the food you are eating does not push you over your carb count for the day. 

Other recipes you will love:

  • Christmas Chicken
  • Glazed Carrots and Parsnips
  • Slow Cooker Cranberry Maple Beef Roast
  • Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Drizzle
  • Dairy Free Brownies with Caramel
  • Carrot Cake Donuts

If you make this recipe be sure to give it a star rating below! And be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook too!

4.67 from 15 votes
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Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce

This sugar free cranberry sauce is so easy to make with orange juice, grated apple, vanilla extract and cinnamon. It's perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas and is paleo and Whole30 compliant!

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword healthy cranberry sauce, low sugar cranberry sauce, whole30 cranberry sauce
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 38 kcal

Ingredients

  • 227 grams fresh cranberries (or frozen cranberries)
  • 3/4 cup packed grated apple (use a sweet apple such as gala or honey crisp)
  • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • pinch sea salt

Instructions

  1. Add all the ingredients to a medium pot and place it on the stove.

  2. Turn on the heat to medium and bring the ingredients to a boil.

  3. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the cranberries are the texture you desire.

  4. Remove from the heat and serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  1. This cranberry sauce makes great leftovers and can be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days.
  2. If you want to make it a little sweeter feel free to add a little honey or maple syrup. 
  3. If you would like a stronger orange flavour add a bit of orange zest.
Nutrition Facts
Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 38 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Sodium 1mg0%
Potassium 93mg3%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 73IU1%
Vitamin C 16mg19%
Calcium 10mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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DISCLAIMERS: The statements made on this website have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration or Health Canada. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. You assume full responsibility for how you use this information. Always consult with your physician or other health professionals before making any diet or lifestyle changes. This post may contain affiliate links whereby if you purchase these products I receive a small percentage of the sale price. This allows me to keep the blog running and I thank you for allowing me to do that!

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Hi friends! I'm Dr. Erin Carter

I'm a physician by day and health and wellness blogger by night. I believe that real food and healthy living are medicine and that eating healthy shouldn't be boring or restrictive. Here you'll find many easy and delicious recipes and tons of healthy living tips! Meet Dr. Erin Carter

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