With a few simple ingredients you can make sugar free Cranberry Sauce Recipe a healthy option at your next holiday meal. Made with fresh or frozen cranberries, orange zest, spices and a bit of sugar free sweetener and you will never want to serve cranberry sauce from a can.
Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
Your holiday meal will be even better when you include this delicious sugarfree cranberry sauce. It’s lower in carbs than traditional cranberry sauce. Which makes it perfect for those on a keto diet or those who need follow a low carb diet such as those with diabetes.
Cranberries are natural tart in flavor and have the lowest amount of sugar when compared to a similar sized serving of other fruits. This helps to make cranberries lower in carbs and a keto friendly fruit.
But most people enjoy the tartness of the cranberries when it is sweetened a bit. By using one of the available sugar substitutes you can still continue to enjoy cranberry sauce without lots of extra carbs and calories from added sugar.
Traditional cranberry sauce, made with real sugar, has the following nutritional stats:
- 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce contains 27 grams of net carbs
- 1/2 inch thick slice of jellied cranberry sauce contains 22 grams of net carbs
Sugarfree Cranberry Sauce contains:
- 1/4 cup cranberry sauce contains 3 grams of net carbs
Ingredients for Sugarfree Cranberry Sauce:
Cranberries – You can use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries in this recipe.
Pick up an extra bag of cranberries, place them in a freezer storage bag and store them in the freezer for up to 12 months. Once you see how easy this fresh cranberry sauce is to make you won’t wait until the holiday to make it again. Check out the list below of how we love to use this sauce.
- Water – traditional recipes use fresh orange juice to add a bit of liquid for the cranberries to simmer in as well as a delicious orange flavor to your sauce. To keep the carbs lower I use water in place of juice.
- Orange Peel or Orange Zest – to keep that hint of orange flavor found in this sauce recipe I like to use orange peel or orange zest. Use the peel of 1 orange, either cut in strips or the zest of the orange.
- Cinnamon – this is optional. Not everyone adds a bit of cinnamon to their cranberry sauce. I like to add a little bit. It adds another layer of flavor to the sauce. You can use ground cinnamon or add a piece of cinnamon stick to the cranberries while they simmer.
- Sweetener – you’ll need about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of your favorite sugarfree brown sugar substitute.
Store bought cranberry sauces are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. You can find recipes for healthy homemade cranberry sauce that use other sweeteners such as maple syrup, coconut sugar, date sugar and other types of sweeteners. All of these are high in carbs.
I like to use a sugar substitute that is created to replace brown sugar. Splenda, Swerve, Truvia, monk fruit and several other companies offer a “brown sugar”. You can find variety of sugar free sweeteners at your local grocery store.
Personally, I prefer Splenda sweeteners or an allulose based sweetener as these do not have the cooling sensation that you get with erythritol based sweeteners. Use your favorite brand of sugar free sweetener.
Cranberry Sauce Variations:
Cranberry Vanilla – making cranberry sauce to use in baked good such as muffins or quick bread? Try adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract when you mix in the orange zest and cinnamon. The combination of vanilla and cranberry tastes delicious in just about anything you bake.
Cranberry Lime – in place of the orange zest use lime zest and add in a squeeze of lime juice. The lime adds a refreshing twist to the usual cranberry sauce flavors.
How to make Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce:
Start by sorting through the cranberries to remove any that may be damaged. Once you are done, rinse them under running water.
Place the sweetener and the water into a pan or pot and place over low heat. Stir until the sweetener is dissolved.
Add the cranberries to the pot and stir well. Bring to boil then reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The cranberries should pop and the sugar syrup in the pot will begin to thicken.
Mix in the orange zest and, if you are using it, the cinnamon.
Turn off the heat, cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time.
Making your own cranberry sauce is so easy and it doesn’t take much time. You can use the cranberry sauce as a side for your holiday meals.
Use leftover cranberry sauce to:
- Serve with chicken or pork
- Use as a dipping sauce for your chicken tenders
- Add a spoonful to cottage cheese or yogurt
- Use as a topping for pancakes
- Swap out the sour cream on a baked potatoes or sweet potatoes with a bit of cranberry sauce
- Place a tablespoon of cranberry sauce on your muffin batter to make cranberry muffins
How to store Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce:
In the refrigerator: homemade sauce will last 7-10 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. Make sure to place your freshly made cranberry sauce into the refrigerator as soon as it cools to room temperature.
In the freezer: your homemade cranberry sauce will last about 1 to 2 months in the freezer. Depending upon the type of sugarfree sweetener you use the sauce may get a little watery once it is thawed.
How long do fresh cranberries last?
In the refrigerator: fresh cranberries will last 3 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator in a covered container or in a sealed plastic bag.
In the freezer: place fresh cranberries in a sealed freezer bag or in an airtight container. They will keep about 10-12 months in the freezer.
There’s no need to defrost frozen cranberries to use them in your cooking or baking. Simply add right to the recipe while they are frozen.
How to freeze cranberries:
Only a small portion of cranberries are sold as fresh. The remainder are used to make other products sauce, dried, added to baked goods, etc. Grab your fresh cranberries while you can find them in the local store as they are often not found year round.
Rinse the cranberries under cold water and allow them to drain. Sort through and remove any that are mushy or damaged.
Spread the cranberries on a clean dishtowel and allow them to dry for about 10 or 15 minutes. You can also gently towel dry them.
Spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet or some type of pan with sides (to keep them from rolling off of course).
Place the cranberries in the freezer for several hours. They don’t need to be completely frozen but you want them at least partially frozen before bagging them. This keeps them from turning into a giant cranberry brick.
Transfer the frozen, or partially frozen, cranberries to a heavy duty freezer bag or a airtight container. Remove any excess air from the freezer bag and seal it.
Keep fresh cranberries frozen for up to 10 months for best use. They can last longer but you start to run the risk of them getting freezer burned.
Check here for more information about freezing fresh cranberries as well as other forms such as dried cranberries and cranberry juice.
If you love cranberry sauce perhaps you might also enjoy Cranberry Relish – similar to sauce but made with fresh cranberries rather than the cooked berry.
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Easy Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce Recipe (Keto, Low Carb)
Equipment
- Large pot
- Mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cranberries
- 1/2 cup Swerve or other no calorie sweetener
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Start by sorting through the cranberries to remove any that may be damaged. Once you are done, rinse them under running water.
- Place the sweetener and the water into a pan or pot and place over low heat. Stir until the sweetener is dissolved.1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup Swerve
- Add the cranberries to the pot and stir well. Bring to boil then reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cranberries should pop and the sugar syrup in the pot will begin to thicken.12 ounces cranberries
- Mix in the orange zest and, if you are using it, the cinnamon.2 teaspoons orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Turn off the heat, cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time.
Notes
Nutrition
Try this homemade sugar-free cranberry sauce with one of these recipes:
Thanksgiving Leftover Sliders: use low carb rolls or traditional rolls for your family members who don’t eat low carb to create these delicious sliders.
Rosemary Pork Chops – grill, bake or pan sear these pork chops seasoned with rosemary, basil and thyme and serve them with a side of cranberry sauce.
Low Carb Pigs In A Blanket – make these low carb appetizers and use the cranberry sauce as a dip.
Swap out the strawberry jam in this Strawberry Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls recipe for cranberry sauce to create a tasty roll to serve with dinner.
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