Ditch the canned sauce and make this homemade cranberry sauce instead! This lower sugar cranberry sauce is so simple to make with just 3 ingredients and goes perfectly with your Thanksgiving turkey! (gluten-free, vegan)
For as long as I can remember, we have never had canned cranberry sauce at our family's Thanksgiving. Never.
And why should we when homemade cranberry sauce is so simple to make? The original recipe you'll find on most bags of fresh cranberries calls for only 3 ingredients: cranberries, water, and sugar. That's it! And that simple recipe has always been a thousand times better than the congealed junk that flops out of the can. (Sorry if the can is your jam, no judgment here.)
Why You'll Love This Cranberry Sauce
I decided to make a reduced sugar version of the original cranberry sauce with just as much flavor as the full-sugar kind. It only takes one extra ingredient that you probably already have lying around in your kitchen - orange juice - and it takes no extra time.
Seriously, this reduced sugar cranberry sauce is ridiculously easy, and it's the perfect complement to that turkey you've been slaving over for days. If you've never made homemade cranberry sauce before, give this recipe a try. You'll wonder why you didn't try it sooner, and I promise you'll never go back to the canned stuff again!
How To Make Low Sugar Cranberry Sauce
- Add everything to a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and gently boil for 10 minutes, or until cranberries start to burst.
- Remove the cranberries from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Refrigerate, covered, until completely chilled.
Tips For Making The Best Cranberry Sauce
- We always make the cranberry sauce the day before Thanksgiving. That way, it's one less thing to worry about, and you know it will be chilled and set up. You can make it up to 3 days ahead.
- Leftover cranberry sauce can be frozen in a freezer safe container.
- If you prefer sweeter sauce, increase the sugar to ⅔ cup.
Recipes For Using Leftover Cranberry Sauce
- Turkey, Cranberry and Brie Sandwich
- Cranberry Orange Pecan Crumb Muffins
- Cranberry Brie Crostini
- Use it in place of cranberries in Cranberry Chipotle Pulled Pork
- Stir into yogurt or oatmeal, or spread on toast
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!
PrintLower Sugar Cranberry Sauce
Ditch the canned stuff and make this homemade reduced sugar cranberry sauce instead! It is so simple to make and goes perfectly with your Thanksgiving turkey! (gluten-free, vegan, nut-free)
- Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: about 2 cups 1x
- Category: sauce
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 (12 oz) bag fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)
- ⅓ cup orange juice (bottled or freshly squeezed)
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar, cane sugar or raw sugar
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring.
- Gently boil for 10 minutes, stirring, until cranberries have burst.
- Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, until chilled and set.
Notes
- We always make the cranberry sauce the day before Thanksgiving. That way, it's one less thing to worry about, and you know it will be chilled and set up. You can make it up to 3 days ahead.
- Leftover cranberry sauce can be frozen in a freezer safe container.
- If you prefer sweeter sauce, increase the sugar to ⅔ cup.
Keywords: easy homemade cranberry sauce, low sugar cranberry sauce
Lynne says
Just wondering if this recipe can be canned.
Dottie Barker says
Using Swerve or Truvia in place of the sugars listed. I know it won't gel the same as if we used sugar but that's OK.
★★★★★
Kaleigh says
Let us know how it works! If using Stevia, be sure it's an equal measuring one or reduce the amount you use!
Mel Miller says
Used equal amounts of Truvia and a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin to the water! Set up great! no added calories and no sugar added! Tasted GREAT!
★★★★★
Kaleigh says
I'm glad it worked out well! Thanks for sharing your tips.
Michele Fuglestad says
Great recipe! Can you tell me what your serving size is that you used to calculate the 7.6 g of sugar per serving?
★★★★★
Kaleigh says
I'm glad you like it, Michele! It's based on a 2 tbsp serving.