Try this easy sugar-free cranberry sauce recipe for your next holiday feast. You need only 3 ingredients and it is ready in 10 minutes.
There is something wonderfully comforting about festive food. I love the ritual of eating the same trusted and tested meals during the holiday season.
I am serving this ketogenic cranberry sauce every year as a side dish to my turkey. I also use a variety of this sauce in my Keto Cranberry Streusel Bars.
In my opinion, homemade cranberry sauce tastes so much better than the sugary sauce you can buy in the shops. It is packed with flavor and contains only the natural sugars occurring in the cranberries.
Even better, you can make your own sugar free cranberry sauce with only 3 ingredients (plus water). It is SO SIMPLE you can hardly call it a recipe.
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Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
Cranberries. These can be fresh cranberries or frozen. There is no need to thaw frozen cranberries first, just use them straight from the freezer.
Sweetener. I used powdered Bocha Sweet in the recipe. I like it because it has no aftertaste. However, any sweetener works. Just make sure it is a powdered version, such as powdered erythritol, monk fruit sweetener, xylitol or allulose.
Brandy. This is optional, but it gives the sauce a festive flavor.
Water. As needed to loosen the sauce.
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Step 1: Put the frozen or fresh cranberries in a saucepan with the other ingredients.
Step 2: Stir and bring the mixture to the boil. Then reduce to a medium heat and let the sauce cook until the berries begin to pop.
Expert Tip
#1 The pectin in the fruit helps the sauce thicken all on its own. There is no need to add xanthan gum or other thickeners.
#2 The sauce should still be a little runny when you take it off the stove. It thickens further once it cools down.
Variations
Below are ideas how you can change up the flavor:
Basic. Use only cranberries, powdered sweetener and water.
Cinnamon. Add a cinnamon stick into the saucepan or add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Nutmeg, ginger and a tiny pinch of cloves would also work well here.
Orange. Regular cranberry sauce is made with orange juice. For a sugar-free cranberry sauce, add 1 tablespoon of grated orange zest instead. You could also add a squeeze of lemon juice. This will give the same flavor without the carbs.
Vanilla. Another alternative to the brandy. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract will lend a warming note.
Recipe FAQs
I have made this low carb cranberry sauce with powdered erythritol and also with powdered Bocha Sweet. Basically, any 1:1 sugar substitute works, as long as it is powdered. Granulated erythritol will re-crystallise as it cools, which means you'll end up with crunchy bits in the sauce. The exception is granulated allulose, which does not re-crystallise.
Yes. Use 2 teaspoons of stevia glycerite, which is equivalent to 1 cup of sugar.
Absolutely. Cranberry sauce keeps in the fridge for several weeks. In fact, I have used leftover sauce as a topping for my morning yoghurt months after I made it. The pectin in the sauce preserves it well. There is no need to freeze it.
Traditionally, cranberry sauce is served at room temperature.
Uses
Sugar-free cranberry sauce does not only taste great with turkey, pork, keto Swedish meatballs or goose.
I have used it as a topping for my coconut flour pancakes and my keto pancakes.
It is also delicious with sugar free cheesecake and served warm over sugar free ice cream or this Keto Rice Pudding.
If you let the mix simmer on the stove for a little longer, it reduces enough to make a delicious cranberry jam. Then you can spread it over toasted and buttered low carb bread.
Keto Thanksgiving Recipes
Here is a selection of low carb recipes to serve at Thanksgiving:
- Keto Pecan Pie
- Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie
- Keto Turkey Gravy
- Cauliflower Stuffing
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Keto Pecan Pie Bars
More Keto Cranberry Recipes
Below are more easy keto recipes using cranberry as an ingredient.
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Recipe
Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce (Keto)
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- 12 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen 350g
- 1 cup powdered sweetener 150g (use ¾ cup if you prefer more tartness)
- 1 tablespoon brandy optional
- ¼ cup water 60ml
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a pot. Bring to the boil.
- Reduce to a medium heat and cook for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat once the cranberries have popped and the liquid is reducing. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
Alison Tuohey
Hi, I can only get dried cranberries. Can I use these? Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
In theory you could, because all you'd need is to add water again. But first of all, most dried cranberries contain sugar. And also, you may not be able to get a properly juicy sauce using dried cranberries. I'd see if you can find frozen fresh cranberries somewhere. They are normally for sale all year round.
Alison Tuohey
I'm in Spain and just can't get them. I'll have a bash with dried and keep you posted. Many thanks 🙂
Autumn02
Excellent !!!!
Philippa
I made 2 batches, one with stevia and another with ground up erythitol. Threw the stevia version away - didn’t like the aftertaste, but the other was amazing .... I’ll be having that with yoghurt, cheese, Turkey, ham ......
Catherine
Yum! Made my first batch with orange zest. It's delicious! And perfectly sweetened, without the overload of sugar from the canned stuff. Next time, I'll make it plain. My husband is a purist! Can't wait to try this on yogurt in the morning. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Norton Karp
The recipe sounds interesting. And I have a question; My local market doesn't carry powdered erythritol and I'm not a fan of Stevia. Can I use any other artificial sweetener like Sweet 'n Low, or Equal?
And also, how would it taste on ice cream? I've never seen cranberry flavored ice cream and I was wondering if the combination might be conflicting and cause it to be bitter. What has your experience been?
Thank you for the recipe and I look forward to making it for Thanksgiving.
Katrin
Hello, I would not recommend artificial sweeteners such as sweet'n'low or Equal. I think they're ok as a one-off, but not good for regular use. Erythritol or xylitol are sugar alternatives of natural origin and are not harmful for our bodies. If you can, get hold of erythritol, even if it's in granulated form. You can always grind it down in a food processor or with a pestle and mortar. You can order it from Amazon if you can't get it in your supermarket, or from Lakanto.
I think using it on ice cream is a GREAT idea. I have never tried it, but can imagine it would be delicious. You could make your life really simple and use a vanilla ice cream and put a cranberry swirl through it.
Lisa woods
Erythritol granular can be made in powdered by putting it into a bullet type blend
Katrin
That's good to know that other booze works well in this recipe too 🙂
Katrin
You can give it a try, though I do find that erythritol has the least amount of aftertaste. If I use stevia in recipes, I tend to mix both stevia and erythritol. My stevia drops equal 4 drops = 1 tsp of sugar. Start with 16-20 drops and take it from there?
Katrin
And even better, it's sugar free 🙂
Katrin
That sounds great! What's on the menu?
Katrin
Thank you! It's ready in no time at all.