Can you imagine Thanksgiving dinner without cranberry sauce? I can’t. I have too many memories of my mom’s fresh, homemade sauce gracing the Thanksgiving table each year. But for many people, serving cranberry sauce means deciding between jellied or whole cranberry, then opening the can, and sliding it out into a dish and onto the table.
Yet this sauce can be so much more. The canned variety has loads of added sugar – often from high-fructose corn syrup, and none of the vitamin C that’s in fresh cranberries. This Thanksgiving why not try an easy-to-make healthier, homemade cranberry sauce?
It’s naturally sweetened with a reduction made from frozen 100% fruit juice concentrate. The cranberries are not cooked and therefore retain some of the of vitamin C that’s naturally present in the fruit. Cranberries are also high in antioxidants. All this makes a fresh, homemade sauce a healthy choice to add to your dinner table.
This recipe makes about 3 1/2 c. fresh sauce. Nutrition information: 1/2 c. provides approximately 160 calories, 32 gm carbohydrate, and 3 gm fiber. By contrast, 1/2 c. canned, jellied cranberry sauce contains about 220 calories, 56 gm carbohydrate, and 2 gm fiber (USDA)
How do you like to serve cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving? Homemade or canned? Share your thoughts in the comments below and consider sharing this post on Facebook or Twitter.
You may also enjoy these recipes!
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz. frozen canned 100% fruit juice concentrate I used cherry-pomegranate
- 3 c. fresh or frozen cranberries 12 oz. bag
- 1 apple cored, peeled, and cut into chunks
- 1 peeled orange sectioned
- 1 pkg. unflavored gelatin about .25 oz.
Instructions
- To make the syrup, empty the frozen fruit juice concentrate into a small sauce pan.
- Bring to a boil using medium to medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. I put the pan in the refrigerator while I made the rest of the cranberry sauce.
- Place the cranberries, apple chunks, and orange slices into a food processor and blend until smooth, or until desired consistency if you like cranberry sauce with larger pieces.
- Add cooled fruit juice syrup to the cranberry mixture and pulse all ingredients together.
- Pour into a medium bowl and sprinkle unsweetened gelatin on top, stirring to evenly distribute the gelatin.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled the next day. Makes 3 1/2 cups.
G’day! Homemade cranberry sauce always tastes best, true!
Your photo makes this look really mouth watering too!
Cheers! Joanne
Viewed as Party of Foodie Friends Friday Breakfast + Lunch Brunch Party
Why thank you, Joanne! I’ve always liked homemade cranberry sauce the best. 🙂
This looks so delicious, Marie! I never thought of pomegranates with cranberries, perfect! You and I are on the same page about trying to find healthy eating during the holidays. I was just experimenting with cranberries this morning 🙂
Thanks for visiting. Hope your weekend is going great.
Thank you, Robyn! Cranberry sauce is one of my favorites so it was fun experimenting with it to see what would work with it. Thanks for stopping!
Your Cranberry Sauce will be delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your great recipe with Full Plate Thursday and enjoy your Thanksgiving week!
Come Back Soon
Miz Helen
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Thanks for visiting again, Miz Helen!
I love this recipe! May I share it with the readers of our online Christian women’s magazine, Ruby for Women? I will, of course, give credit and a link back here to your blog. Let me know if that’s OK! thanks, Nina @ mamas*little*treasures and Ruby for Women
Nina – I’ll be contacting you about the recipe. Thanks for visiting!
Thanks Marie! Whenever you have time . . . . we love to include recipes from bloggers and feature them in each issue. I’ll wait until you have a chance to get back to me about the recipe in the winter issue of our magazine. Nina
Hi Nina – I tried emailing you. If you don’t get it, you could try using the contact page from here. Thanks again!
Thanks so much for sharing with Wednesday’s Adorned Link Party. Have a great Thanksgiving.
Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above
http://www.adornedfromabove.com
Congratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and enjoy your new Red Plate.
Miz Helen