Cran-Apple Sauce (Paleo, Gluten-Free)
Cran-Apple Sauce recipe. A delicious homemade cranberry sauce made with spices, lemon juice, and apples!
I love this Cran-Apple sauce. It’s basically cranberry sauce made with apples, lemon juice, honey, maple syrup, nutmeg and cinnamon.
It tastes delightful and smells amazing while cooking.
It’s a great healthy way to change things up this Thanksgiving and holiday season.
Note: this recipe was originally posted in November of 2016, and has been updated and reposted November 2020.
I like making my cranberry sauce at home because then I know that there are no added chemicals, refined sugar, or preservatives inside, which is nice.
This Cran-Apple Sauce tastes like homemade cranberry sauce upon first taste… sour, tangy and delicious.
But it has a wonderful apple aftertaste that is reminiscent of warm homemade applesauce, which adds a really nice sweet dimension to it.
Ingredients need to make this Cran-Apple Sauce
- cranberries
- apple
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
- nutmeg
- cinnamon
- water
- honey
- maple syrup
A note about the sweetener:
If you want, you can use only honey or only maple syrup here, just make sure to have a total of 1/2 cup of sweetener.
I personally like using both honey and maple syrup because I like the resulting flavor.
You can also use less sweetener if you want this cran-apple sauce to be less sweet, but since cranberries are so tart, I find 1/2 cup to be the perfect sweet balance here.
How to make this cranberry sauce with apples
Making this cran-apple sauce is really easy.
You literally put all of the ingredients into a pan, and heat over medium high until it boils.
Then you lower the heat to medium-low and cook until all of the cranberries have popped and the apples have soften, which is about 15-20 minutes.
You do need to mix this sauce every so often, so it’s important to keep an eye on it.
How to serve this cranberry apple sauce:
I like serving this cran-apple sauce as a side dish for a Thanksgiving or holiday type meal.
My personal holiday meal menu includes:
- Roast Chicken with Apples and Potatoes
- Paleo Sausage Apple and Chestnut Stuffing
- Bone Broth Gravy
- Whole30 Mashed Potatoes
- Creamy Brussels Sprouts Casserole
- Paleo Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Cookies
❤️ Check out my favorite Thanksgiving recipes here! ❤️
I also LOVE adding this cran-apple sauce on top of cooked salmon. Honestly, you should try it it’s great.
Cran-Apple Sauce (Paleo, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cranberries
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 large apple peeled and diced I used a Granny Smith Apple
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients into a saucepan, mix, and heat over medium-high heat until the mixture boils.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15-20 minutes, mixing every so often, until all the cranberries have burst and the apples are fork tender.
Nutrition
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