Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Sauce (2024)

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Let’s talk about cranberry sauce! It’s the neglected, afterthought condiment of Thanksgiving, but no holiday table is complete without it. Cranberry sauce adds a very necessary burst of sweet-tart flavor and ruby red color to an otherwise beige meal.

This naturally sweetened cranberry sauce recipe is much prettier than store-bought, not to mention extra delicious thanks to the honey or maple syrup.

Plus, this homemade cranberry sauce couldn’t be easier to make. It’s ready in about 10 minutes. If you need a quick and easy Friendsgiving option, sign up for the cranberry sauce!

Here’s what you’ll need to make this cranberry sauce recipe:

1 bag of fresh cranberries
Honey or maple syrup
Water
Zest from one orange, or orange juice

…and a pot to cook it in. That’s it.

Watch How to Make Cranberry Sauce

Naturally Sweetened vs. Conventional Cranberry Sauce

There is something fantastically retro about a gelatinous, shimmering cylinder of canned cranberry sauce on a plate. I’ve always wondered when we started buying cans of cranberry sauce instead of making it themselves. Did we experience a fresh cranberry shortage in the 50s? Maybe fresh cranberries weren’t readily available back then?

Fortunately for us modern Americans, grocery stores are overflowing with cranberries this season. I picked up a can of cranberry sauce at the grocery store recently and glanced at the list—cranberries, followed by high fructose corn syrup, and that’s about it. High fructose corn syrup is heavily processed, flavorless sweet stuff that I try to avoid, and I know you all do, too.

Most homemade versions call for about a cup of white sugar. Today, I thought I would offer you a more nutritionally redeeming, naturally sweetened option that calls for 1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup.

Uses for Leftover Cranberry Sauce

Swirl leftover sauce into yogurt with granola.
Dollop it into your oatmeal (like this).
Spread it onto toast topped with almond butter or goat cheese (like this).
Basically, treat it like jam.

Please let me know how this cranberry sauce turns out for you in the comments. If you have any other fun ways to use up your leftover sauce, I’ll add them to the list.

Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? Check out my roundup here.

Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Sauce

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Author: Cookie and Kate
Prep Time: 2 min
Cook Time: 8 mins
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 cups 1x
Category: Condiment
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star

4.9 from 140 reviews

This naturally sweetened cranberry sauce recipe is made simply with fresh cranberries, honey or maple syrup and orange zest! It’s easy to make and tastes amazing, too. Recipe yields about 2 cups cranberry sauce.

Scale

Ingredients

12 ounces (1 bag) fresh cranberries
½ cup honey or maple syrup
½ cup water
Zest of 1 medium orange*, preferably organic (about 1 teaspoon)
Truly optional add-ins: ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and/or ¼ cup fresh orange juice

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

First, rinse the cranberries well and drain off excess water. Pick through the cranberries and discard any squishy ones.
In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, honey and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped and the mixture has thickened to your liking, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from heat and stir in the orange zest. If you’d like to add cinnamon or orange juice, add it now. Taste and, if the mixture is too tart (keeping in mind that cranberry sauce is supposed to be a little tart!), add more orange juice, honey or maple syrup to taste.
The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. It will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Recipe adapted from my cranberry crostini.

Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.

Prepare in advance: You can make this sauce up to 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then let it warm to room temperature before serving.

*How to remove zest: I use a Microplane grater (affiliate link) which easily removes the zest. You could also use the fine holes of your box grater. If you want to simplify, skip the zest and stir in ¼ cup orange juice instead.

▸ Nutrition Information

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #cookieandkate.

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By Kathryne Taylor

Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now.
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