Cranberries are a very tart fruit and most products like cranberry sauce and cranberry juice have a large amount of added sugar. After testing several ways of making homemade cranberry sauce with less sugar, I came up with a simple recipe that is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. This recipe uses 100% juice instead of water and less sugar than a typical recipe.
You can change up the flavor by using different types of juice, adding zest (orange, lemon, lime) and/or different spices.
My family loves this cranberry sauce so much that I typically make a double batch.
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Homemade Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 package fresh cranberries (12 ounces)
- 1 cup 100% juice – we typically use pomegranate blueberry juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
- Rinse cranberries in cold water and remove any stems.
- In a medium pot, combine cranberries, juice, and sugar.
- Cook over medium-high heat, bringing mixture to a boil.
- Boil for about 5 minutes or until most of the berries have popped open, be sure to stir often.
- Carefully taste-test as it boils. If you prefer a sweeter sauce, you can add additional sugar, either 1/4 or 1/2 cup.
- Carefully pour cranberry sauce in a bowl and set aside to cool.
- Serve once cool or store in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will naturally thicken as it cools.
