A recipe for a tart, tangy cranberry sauce, balanced with wintery spices and naturally sweetened with dates.

Perfect alongside roast veggies, Thanksgiving dinner, swirled into dips, and even on top of winter porridge or Christmas Day pancakes.

this recipe

Made from 5 ingredients, this sauce is ready after 15 minutes. Flavoured with fresh orange juice, dates, cardamom and star anise – my secret ingredients– it beats store bought sauces.

Ingredients in this Cranberry sauce

• Cranberries: Fresh or frozen
• Dates: to naturally sweeten
• Cardamom: To add a nice warmth to the sauce
• Cinnamon Sticks: aka THE spice of winter
• Fresh orange juice: Freshly squeezed! Don’t use bottled, it won’t be as good.
• Star anise: My secret ingredient
• Cloves: All you need is a pinch!
• Nutmeg: What cranberry sauce would be complete without it?!
• Fresh Ginger: To add a little fire to the sauce

A better-for-you version of the classic cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce is one of those classic sauces that is on everyones table at Christmas or Thanksgiving, but store bought versions are full of sugar and stabilisers, preservatives. YUCK!

This one only takes about 20 minutes to make, it fills the house with the smell of Christmas and freezes really well too!

How to store Cranberry sauce:

This sauce freezes really well, I have used cranberry sauce about 6 months after I made it!

• Freeze in ice-cube trays for individual portions – perfect for porridge!
• Freeze in re-usable silicone bags.

Cranberry Sauce | Refined Sugar Free

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5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Megan Jones
• Total Time: 25 minutes

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Description

A recipe for a tart, tangy cranberry sauce, balanced with wintery spices and naturally sweetened with dates.

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Ingredients

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4 Dates, Pitted

1 5cm piece Ginger, Fresh

3 Cardamon pods – de shelled

2 Cinnamon sticks

1/4 tsp Cloves, ground

1/2 tsp Nutmeg, ground

1 Star anise

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

350 ml Water

1 Orange – juiced and zested

300g cranberries – fresh or frozen

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Instructions

1. Blend the pitted dates with the ginger and cardamon seeds in a blender with the water. This ensures a smoother sauce.
2. Add all of the ingredients to a pot and simmer over a med – low heat for 15 – 20 mins. Until the cranberries have cooked down. *See notes for another cooking method.
3. Once sauce has cooled slightly, mash to desired consistency with a fork or potato masher. 
4. Divide out into ice cube moulds or freezer proof pots. 
5. Freeze until ready to use!

Notes

Alternative method of cooking (and my preferred way). Add all the ingredients to a oven safe casserole dish and cook in oven for 20 mins at 180°C  or 356°F

• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 20