A healthy cranberry sauce for the holiday season. This tart sauce is made from fresh cranberries, apples and sweetened with maple syrup.
Is it Thanksgiving without adding cranberry sauce to your plate? Let’s do something right this year.
Healthy cranberry sauce
Your cranberry sauce doesn’t have to come out of a can. Pick up a bag of fresh cranberries from the supermarket. You’re now just a few additional ingredient away from making homemade cranberry sauce.
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How long cranberries stay fresh
A fresh bag of cranberries will last a while.
- 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator
- 8-12 months in the freezer
Keep them stored in original plastic bag or a sealed container. They can be used straight from the refrigerator or freezer in many recipes.
Ingredients
- Cranberries – use fresh or frozen berries
- Apples – select your favorite variety to add to this sauce. I like to finely dice mine to give the sauce a chunky texture. For a smoother consistency, you could also grate them.
- Maple Syrup & Cinnamon Stick – to add sweetness & flavor
- Water – or another liquid (like juice) is used to cook the ingredients. It also controls the texture of the cranberry sauce. Less water will keep the sauce thick and scoopable while more will make it more liquidy and runny. If you want the sauce to simmer on the stove for a while, you can also increase the water to prevent the sauce from burning.
How to make cranberry sauce
Cooking cranberry sauce is easy. All you need to do it add the ingredients to a saucepot and turn on the heat.
Stir the mixture occasionally as it cooks and pay attention to the liquid level. Especially towards the end of cooking, when the fruits breakdown and mixture starts to thicken. Mix to prevent the sauce from sticking (& burning!) at the bottom of your pot.
What can you do with leftover cranberry sauce?
- Mix it into yogurt or oatmeal breakfast bowl.
- Spread onto a sandwich, piece of toast or potato pancake
- Filling for baked goods – like this galette or cookies
- Top a tart
- Dip or topping to your holiday appetizers – like these Butternut Squash Latkes
Recipes with cranberry sauce leftovers
Once the sauce has finished cooking, it can be puréed to your desired consistency. I like to keep it in the pot and use an immersion blender. Gently tilt the pot to gather the sauce onto one side.(Otherwise you might scratch the bottom of your pot while blending.)
Cranberry Apple Sauce
A healthy cranberry sauce for the holiday season. This tart sauce is made from fresh cranberries, apples and sweetened with maple syrup.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200 grams) cranberries
- 2 medium apples (~400 grams), finely diced (2½ to 3 cups/310-372 grams)
- ¼ cup (60 mL) maple syrup
- 1 cinnamon stick (5 grams)
Instructions
Place all of the ingredients along with ¾ cup (180 mL) water into a medium sized sauce pan. Cover with a lid.
Cook over medium heat, for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when sauce reaches your desired consistency. Cool slightly and remove cinnamon stick before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: ¼ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 62Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 2gSugar: 12gProtein: 0g
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