Cranberry Apple Sauce

Name: Cranberry Apple Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces of fresh cranberries; 1 large apple, peeled and diced; 3/4 cup of apple juice, cranberry juice or cider; 3/4 cup of brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger; 1/8 teaspoon of salt

December 3, 2024
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Cranberry sauce can be a very controversial topic. Like it or leave it? Whole berry or jellied? Homemade or store bought? These choices may seem basic, but many people have very strong opinions on what a cranberry sauce should be.

I grew up with ocean spray jellied cranberry sauce on every holiday dinner table and I will say that I have a very nostalgic connection with it, but once I started making my own cranberry sauce… I never looked back…

Using just a few simple ingredients and taking less than 20 minutes, fresh cranberry sauce is so easy to make from scratch. In additional to being able to make it ahead, you have complete control over what goes into it and the overall flavor profile, which I love, because my husband has a love/hate relationship with cranberry sauce and adding apples to this recipe has official brought him over to “my side”.

Adding apples to this classic holiday side dish helps to mellow the cranberries bold flavor and adds yet another layer of flavor.

Let’s get started…

The ingredients for this recipe are fairly flexible. I make this sauce a lot and have substituted different things depending on what I have on hand and it always turns out delicious. Here are some of the variations I have had success with…

- - - I have used a wide variety of apples in this sauce. Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady, Red Delicious and Granny Smith all worked great, but pears will work great here too!
    - Cranberry sauce recipes often call for water to be added, but why not add something flavorful to loosen up the mixture? If you are cooking for someone who is not in love with a cranberries tartness, I would suggest using apple juice or apple cider to help mellow the flavor out a bit. Cranberry juice and orange juice works great here too.
    - Sweetness is an important element in making this sauce palatable. Cranberries are quite tart, so they need a sweet element to help balance them out. Brown sugar is my favorite, but granulated or raw sugar works well too. If you prefer to avoid processed sugar, you can go with pure maple syrup!
    - The spices really help round out the flavors in your cranberry sauce. Cinnamon is traditional and in my basic cranberry sauce recipe, I add a cinnamon stick during the simmering portion, but I love adding ground cinnamon and ginger to this one. The ginger and apples go great together! If you love warm spices, add a pinch of nutmeg, cloves or cardamom too!

Now that you have decided on your ingredients, add them all into a small saucepan and bring to a low simmer over medium heat. Stir occasionally and as soon as the cranberries and apples are tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened, transfer the sauce off of the heat.

It is ready to serve now or you can chill the sauce until you are ready for it. If you prefer a texture somewhere in between whole berry and jellied, you can smash some of the berries and apples down a bit while the sauce is still quite warm.

This cranberry apple sauce is just lovely. The apples and cranberries play so well together, the brown sugar and spices bring warmth that really adds something special to any holiday dinner.

Buon appetito!

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