3 Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipes

Cooking with Kids

The kids I care for love cranberry sauce and it’s very easy to make. The most basic cranberry sauce simply consists of cranberries boiled in sugar water until the berries pop and the mixture thickens. But we have included a tart recipe that uses orange juice instead of water and a sugar-free recipe that uses honey, apple sauce, and pineapple juice instead of granulated sugar to sweeten the sauce.

Basic Cranberry Sauce

12-ounces fresh cranberries (one bag)
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water

1. Empty a bag of cranberries into a colander, and rinse thoroughly, removing any leaves and stems.
2. Mix sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir continuously, working around the edges to make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and add the cranberries. Stir, and return to boil.
4. Reduce heat. Simmer sauce gently as the cranberries pop open. This will take about five- to 12-minutes.

Tart Cranberry Sauce

12-ounces fresh cranberries (one bag)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup orange juice

1. Empty a bag of cranberries into a colander, and rinse thoroughly, removing any leaves and stems.
2. Blend the sugar and orange juice. Heat the orange juice over medium heat in a medium-sized sauce pan, and stir in the sugar to blend. Stir continuously, working around the edges to make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and add the cranberries. Stir, and return to boil.
4. Reduce heat. Simmer sauce gently as the cranberries pop open. This will take about five- to 12-minutes.

Granulated Sugar-Free Cranberry Sauce
Recipe from wellnessmama

2 bags of fresh cranberries (12-ounce bags)
¾ cup pineapple juice or orange juice
½ cup of applesauce (no sugar added)
½ cup of water
juice and zest of one orange
3 to 4 tablespoons of honey or to taste (optional)

1. Empty a bag of cranberries into a colander, and rinse thoroughly, removing any leaves and stems.
2. Mix cranberries, pineapple juice, applesauce, and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir continuously, working around the edges to make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
3. Keep on medium heat, stirring constantly until the cranberries start to explode (about 10-15 minutes).
4. Reduce to a simmer and pour the juice and zest over the cranberry mixture.
5. Simmer 10-15 minutes and remove from heat.

References:
wellnessmama.com
My mother’s recipe box
Photos by Stephanie Felzenberg