This Low-Carb/Keto Cranberry Sauce is made with fresh cranberries and a sugar substitute and it turns out just like the cranberry sauce you’re used to, but without all the extra sugar.
» You might also like this Easy Keto Turkey Gravy.
Especially during the holidays, you might be worried about all that sugar intake. This recipe uses a substitute sugar that has no impact on blood sugar levels and contains no net carbs, so you can enjoy a delicious cranberry sauce with your Thanksgiving or fall meal.
This sauce is so simple to make. It takes just 15 minutes to boil down the cranberries into a thick and flavorful sauce. You can also add natural fruit flavor to spice things up. We add a bit of orange zest to give it a citrusy kick.
Ingredients You Need
- Cranberries – The cranberries can be frozen or fresh. But the one we used in this recipe are fresh.
- Sugar Substitute – We use allulose sweetener. It’s my preferred sugar substitute because it doesn’t have any bitter aftertaste or cooling effect and it dissolves well. Another example you can use is erythritol or Swerve.
- Water – This is the liquid base of the sauce. Don’t worry about it making the sauce watery or diluted. It doesn’t.
- Orange zest – This is the peeled of the orange. You could also add lemon or grapefruit zest in place of the orange.
- Salt – The salt really boosts the flavor.
Learn more about low-carb sweeteners and conversion here.
How to Make Low-Carb/Keto Cranberry Sauce
In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add all the ingredients and stir them together. Bring the pot to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Once it’s reached a boil, reduce the heat to medium. Simmer the cranberries, uncovered. They will start to split open and eventually incorporate themselves into a nice bubbly sauce. It takes about 10-12 minutes for it to reach the right consistency, which is almost like a jelly or jam.
Add the orange zest to the sauce and stir. Cook for 1 more minute, to really integrate the orange aroma. Then remove the pot from the heat and pour the sauce into a serving dish. It’s best served warm.
Tips and Notes
- You must stir the cranberries occasionally while they cook so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- If you want the sauce to be very smooth and thick, you can use your spatula to break up the cranberries more after they burst. The more cranberries that burst as you cook, the thicker and smoother your sauce will be.
- I would recommend using a powdered sweetener to avoid your sauce crystallizing. Some sugar substitutes will harden back up as they cool. Allulose works exceptionally well in this recipe because it does not crystallize when cold.
- You don’t need to add any thickeners to the sauce. The pectin in the fruit helps to thicken the sauce. The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools down.
- If you prefer to serve the sauce cold, let it cool down in the pot before transferring it to a container to put in the refrigerator.
- The cranberry sauce can be made in large or small quantities. All you have to do is adjust the recipe accordingly. I find that for 4 people, halving the recipe is enough.
How to Store and Use Leftover Cranberries
If you want to make the cranberry sauce in advance, you can store it in the refrigerator for about 5 days and reheat it when you’re ready to use it. You can also store it in the freezer for up to 2 months, in an airtight container, with plastic wrap adhered to the top of the sauce to prevent freezer burn.
Before using it, remove it from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator to defrost. Before serving it, remove it from the fridge and leave it for 30 minutes on the table to come up to room temperature, or heat it in a sauce pan. You might need to add a bit of additional water to loosen a thick sauce.
We eat this sauce with turkey, beef, or pork. It can also serve as a side dish for your festive meals.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you reduce the sweetness of cranberries?
If you find that your sauce is too sweet for your taste, then don’t worry much because you can tone it down using lemon juice. Add it until you get the desired sweetness you want.
Which sweetener is best?
First of all, your sweetener should be powdered. When granulated sweeteners cool, they crystallize. This could make your sauce crunchy, which we don’t want. I prefer to use allulose because it does not crystalize – even if you use granulated. You can also use powdered erythritol, powdered monk fruit sweeter (a type of erythritol), xylitol, or Swerve.
Can you eat cranberry sauce on a keto diet?
Store-bought cranberry sauce is loaded with sugar, so it has carbs and is not allowed on a keto diet. But this recipe contains no extra carbs! Cranberries have low carbs and are high in fiber. They’re good for you, provided you don’t eat them in large quantities.
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Low-Carb/Keto Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounce package whole cranberries
- 1 cup allulose sweetener or powdered erythritol, swerve, etc
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add all the ingredients and stir together. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered until cranberries have split open and reached your desired consistency, about 10 minutes. Add the orange zest to the sauce and stir. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and serve.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Laura is dedicated to a low-carb lifestyle after losing 52 pounds on the keto diet. As many of us do, she struggles with her weight and has found that one of the only diet lifestyles that allows her to maintain a healthy weight is a low-carb diet. She shares her favorite low-carb recipes here that are both easy to make and full of flavor, so you don’t even miss the carbs.