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apple cranberry sauce in a white bowl with a fresh apple
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Cranberry Sauce with Apples

This Easy Cranberry Sauce with Apples is made using fresh or frozen cranberries, orange juice, and cinnamon. This dish will have your home smelling like warm cider and it tastes like it, too!
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword apple cranberry sauce, cranberry apple sauce, cranberry sauce with apples
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 10 servings
Calories 126kcal

Ingredients

  • 16 oz cranberries
  • 3-4 cups diced apples I used Granny Smith, diced into 1 inch chunks.
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 tablespoons sweetener or sugar Start with 1 teaspoon and taste repeatedly until desired taste is met

Instructions

Stovetop Instructions

  • Heat a saucepan or Dutch oven on medium-high heat and add the cranberries, apples, sweetener, orange juice, honey, and cinnamon. Stir.
  • Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.
  • Cook time will vary based on how you like your sauce. If you like for your cranberries to cook down, pop, and form a thick sauce cook it for longer until the cranberries pop.
    If you like to serve it with the cranberries intact, cook for less time. It's up to you.
    Simmer the sauce for at least 10-15 minutes or until your reach your desired texture.
  • Taste repeatedly and adjust sweetener and spices as necessary.
  • Allow the cranberry sauce to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate (covered) until chilled, around 2 hours.

Slow Cooker Crockpot Instructions

  • Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker. (You may elect to add the sugar and sweeteners at the end so that you can adjust to taste.)
  • Cook on High for 3-4 hours or on Low for 7-8 hours.
  • Taste repeatedly and adjust sweetener and spices as necessary.
  • Allow the cranberry sauce to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate (covered) until chilled, around 2 hours.

Notes

You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries in this recipe. If using frozen you don’t have to defrost them, but I recommend rinsing off any ice crystals if present.
I like to use Granny Smith apples because they are really crisp with a sharp taste, but they are tart. If you are looking for sweet cranberry sauce, go with something sweet. Other apples that will work great are: Fuji, Gala, Envy, and Golden Delicious. Pick apples that won’t get soggy (Red Delicious apples are an example).
It is important to decide the texture you will want for your sauce. That will vary the cook time. If you want the apples to still hold their structure, cook the sauce for less time. If you want all of the ingredients to blend together and form an actual sauce, cook it for more time.
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 1g