Healthy Homemade Cranberry Sauce that’s naturally sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup and orange juice. Fresh cranberries cooked on the stovetop, thickened with chia seeds, and all gussied up with toasted walnuts and orange peel, and ready in just 15 minutes. Say goodbye to the sad canned stuff and hello to a healthier cranberry sauce that you can serve on Thanksgiving and with all the leftovers too.
I have an entire roundup of Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes, if you need decadent and delicious recipes that use wholesome ingredients to go with your Cranberry Sauce…
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I consider homemade cranberry sauce an integral part of the Thanksgiving Meal. Not only the holiday meal, but what would leftovers be without cranberry sauce to slather on top?
If you aren’t a cranberry sauce fan, then maybe you’ve only had the sad, canned cranberry sauce. Things are looking up for you though…you’ve found this healthier version that is so tasty…and made with simple ingredients. My healthy homemade cranberry sauce recipe is perfectly sweetened with maple syrup…no refined sugar for us, thank you very much!
Stick around and I’ll even divulge the secret ingredient that I use, along with fresh oranges to tweak my cranberry chia jam into this decadent and delightful, saucy wonder.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- No refined sugar. None. No corn syrup, no white sugar, no brown sugar.
- Naturally sweetened with fresh oranges and maple syrup.
- Easy recipe, made with just a handful of wholesome ingredients.
- Ready in just 15 minutes
- Thickened with chia seeds rather than pectin.
- Chunky…full of great texture.
- The perfect addition to your Thanksgiving menu.
- Leftover cranberry sauce…to go with all the leftovers!
- Stays good in the fridge for 2 weeks and is freezer friendly too.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Fresh Cranberries
- Oranges: this recipe uses orange zest, orange juice, and orange flesh!
- Pure maple syrup: a natural sweetener so no processed sugar is needed to offset the tartness of the cranberries.
- Walnuts: Buy them raw and toast them yourself. Save money and buy walnut pieces since they’re cheaper and you’ll be chopping them up anyhow.
- Chia seeds: an awesome thickener so no pectin is needed.
- Cinnamon
- OPTIONAL: a splash of triple sec
How to make it
Take one orange and use a microplane to zest the peel into a medium saucepan. Then squeeze the juice into the pot.
With the second orange, use a julienne peeler to shave off some long strings of orange peel(alternately, use a vegetable peeler and a knife). Use a knife to remove remaining peel and then roughly chop the orange flesh.
Rinse cranberries under cold running water, removing any stems or damaged ones, then add them to the pot with the orange juice and zest along with maple syrup and water.
Cook over medium-low heat. Cranberries will start to pop after about 5 minutes. Use the back of a wooden spoon to smash most of the rest against the side of the pot.
While cranberries cook, roughly chop walnuts. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and dry toast the walnuts, shaking pan so they don’t burn.
Remove cooked cranberries from the heat and stir in chia seeds and cinnamon.
Next, stir in toasted walnuts, chopped orange and orange peel. Cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools and the chia seeds gel.
I like to add a generous splash of triple sec to the finished cranberry sauce. It adds a deeper orange flavor plus a bit of pizzazz. It took me years to discover this was what my neighbor “spiked” her cranberry sauce with…and even though I make a no sugar added cranberry sauce that’s different than hers, this one ingredient really makes a difference.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- I list the triple sec as optional…but just a splash is all that’s needed to take your homemade cranberry sauce to the next level…go for it!
- This recipe makes 2 cups of insanely delish cranberry sauce…use small mason jars and package it up to take to friends/neighbors/hostesses for the holiday season.
- Whip up a batch of my vegan dinner rolls…this cranberry sauce is divine spread onto a fresh roll….and you can build from there, depending on what else you have leftover from the big feast.
Storage
- Let cranberry sauce cool completely before transferring to airtight container.
- Store in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
- Cranberry sauce can be frozen for 6 months. Be sure to leave room in the jar for expansion. Or, freeze in silicone molds and pop them into freezer safe bags for storage.
Wishing you an abundant season filled with good health, good food, plenty of laughter and lots of love.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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📖 Recipe
Healthy Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12-oz bag fresh cranberries
- 2 oranges
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Optional Ingredient
- splash triple sec
Instructions
- Wash cranberries under cool water, picking out any that are soft or bruised.
- Zest one orange over a small saucepan, then squeeze out the juice in same pan.
- Place cranberries, and maple syrup into saucepan where the orange juice and zest is. Add 2 tablespoons water. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Cranberries will start to soften and pop.
- Continue to cook for about 3 more minutes, until cranberries are tender enough to mash with the back of a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat, then sprinkle in the chia seeds and cinnamon. Mix well.
- While cranberries are cooking, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Coarsely chop the walnuts and dry toast them for about 3 minutes, until golden. Shake the pan often while cooking, so they don’t burn
- Now take the other orange and use a potato peeler to grab a few long and thin slices of peel, then finish peeling and roughly chop the flesh.
- Stir in the walnuts, chopped orange flesh and orange peel. It will continue to thicken as the chia seeds gel and the jam cools.
- Mix again and then swirl in a generous splash of triple sec, if desired. Let jam completely cool and then mix again before transferring to airtight containers. This recipe will make about 2 cups of cranberry sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Laurie
While I still make a traditional cooked cranberry sauce (with maple syrup and dried cranberries), the past few years I’ve also added this as a side dish. It’s very refreshing and delicious–perfect to cut all the rich traditional Thanksgiving food.
Debra Klein
Yes! Always need a few lighter things to balance things out on Thanksgiving. We like this swirled into oatmeal all winter.
Erina
This is se I d time I am making this recipe. It’s amazing and so wonderful for a winter night!