Clean Eating Cranberry Sauce

by The Gracious Pantry on November 12, 2009

Clean Eating Cranberry Sauce

This is, hands down, the BEST cranberry sauce. I mean it really puts the store-bought stuff with refined sugar to shame. I’m so excited to share this recipe with you today!

And did I mention it’s easy to make? Yep! It’s an “all-in-one-pot” dish. So grab that pot, and let’s get started.

Fresh Cranberries
Clean Eating Cranberry Sauce
(Makes approximately 1 – 1/4 cups)

Ingredients
12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries (approx. 3 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup agave or honey
1 cinnamon stick
zest of one large orange
1 cup distilled water

Directions

Okay. You ready for this? Brace yourself….

Clean Eating Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Step 1 – Put everything in a pot, and turn your stove on.

Phew! That was tough, wasn’t it? I know I broke a sweat with all that hard work. Did you? LOL.

Seriously, that’s pretty much it. Cook over a medium-high heat for about 30-45 minutes. When most of the liquid is cooked out, turn your stove down to a simmer. The longer you let this simmer, the thicker the sauce will get. Just don’t let ALL the liquid cook out or it will burn. Stir more frequently near the end.

Allow this to cool before you eat some. Trust me. I learned the hard way. It really burns right out of the pot! (I have no patience when it comes to good food!)

Eat and Enjoy!

Nutritional Content
1 serving = 2 Tbsp.

Calories: 63
Total Fat: 0 gm
Saturated Fats: 0 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 gm
Sodium: 1 mg
Carbohydrates: 17 gm
Dietary fiber: 2 gm
Sugars: 0 gm
Protein: 7 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 22

Nutritional Information estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate.

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

This recipe goes so quick, you may not require any help. But if the little ones are insistent, let them add the ingredients to the cold pot.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

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  • Jodi

    What’s the scoop on agave syrup? I googled it and got some conflicting info. It seems to be high in fructose, low in glucose. My understanding is that honey is as well. Now 30-35 years ago honey was being hyped as good for diabetics to eat because of the fructose/glucose ratio. But high fructose corn syrup has turned out to be a really bad thing for those of us at risk for metabolic syndrome/pre-diabetes/type 2 diabetes. So how is this different?

  • http://www.thegraciouspantry.com The Gracious Pantry

    Hi Jodi,

    Agave is definitely a clean food like honey. What I like about agave is that it is low on the glycemic index. Which means it has far less of an impact on the blood sugar than honey. I’ve also found that it has less of everything else too. Fat, carbs, and calories. While I do still use honey on occasion, I find that agave does everything I need it to do without causing my blood sugar to spike badly.

    That said, you still have to eat it in moderation.

    Hope that helps,
    Tiffany

  • Jodi

    I wonder how it would be if you just skipped adding any sweetener and used the juice and pulp from that orange you just zested.
    I also wonder if it would work instead of the canned stuff in the tomatoless catsup I make for the big man of the house. I cut the sugar way back from the recipe I found online and left out the corn syrup altogether. But there is still quite a bit in the brand cranberry jelly. Seems to me the nearer things are to the way God made them, the better they are for us.
    I guess I need to do more research. I’m still not convinced any other sweetener is better for us than minimally processed organic sugar in moderation, of course.

  • http://www.thegraciouspantry.com The Gracious Pantry

    Agave is a natural sweetener. It’s taken from the agave plant.

    I tried making it without the agave and it was just to tart for my tastes. But you could certainly try it. Maybe if you used frozen concentrate instead of prepared juice?

    Let me know how it turns out for you!

    Tiffany

  • Dawn

    Hi ~ thank you so much for getting me the link and ofcourse sharing yet another awesome recipe with us!!! You ROCK! One quick question ~ do I have to used distilled water? Thanks again =o) Happy Thanksgiving!

  • http://www.thegraciouspantry.com The Gracious Pantry

    Dawn – Use the best and cleanest water you have. Distilled just happens to be the type of water I use. Enjoy!

  • Leah

    Made this on Thanksgiving and also a traditional full of sugar one. I told my family the difference between the two and almost no one wanted to try the one without refined sugar. I made it again on Christmas but did not say a word about using agave instead of sugar and it was GONE. Everyone loved it. From now on I will cook the way I want to and not let them know it is actually good for them.

  • http://www.thegraciouspantry.com The Gracious Pantry

    Leah – LOL. Yes, sometimes that’s the only way to do what’s best for them. I’m happy you liked the recipe!

  • Emily

    How long do you think this would keep for. I would like to make it a day or two ahead of time. It should be ok… right?

  • Anonymous

    Emily – Definitely!

  • P Rowton

    Thank you for the ratio of agave. I was needing to know that. Also I really love using the orange juice from the orange I have zested, do you think I should lower the agave? I also add a few cloves, star anise, and a cardamom pod.

  • Anonymous

    PRowton – If you lower the agave, I would only do so by about 1 tbsp. Enjoy!

  • Anonymous

    Blakleigh – You can! Just keep in mind that maple syrup may not have the intensity of sweetness that honey or agave will have. So you may end up needing to stir in a bit more to compensate. But it should work just fine. Enjoy!

  • Anonymous

    Erin – Fantastic! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I’ll be making a batch myself tomorrow. Yum!

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