The smooth version of this No Sugar Cranberry Orange Sauce is a hit with holiday meals, but also makes a fantastic chicken marinade and salad dressing. Easy to make ahead of time or in large batches for freezing.
No Sugar Cranberry Orange Sauce
A versatile No Sugar Cranberry Orange Sauce you can make ahead of time.
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2.5 cups 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
- 3 medium oranges: juice and zest from 2 (about 1/3 cup; fruit from 1
- 1/2 cup date paste (or 8 – 10 pitted dates, soaked in water overnight then drained)
- 2/3 cup water, divided
- 1 tbsp monk fruit sweetener
- 1 tsp Swerve Brown Sweetener, packed
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
Instructions
Do the Prep
- Thoroughly rinse, sort and drain cranberries, removing any debris. Add berries to a medium sauce pan with a heavy bottom.
- Zest and juice two oranges, then remove peel and pith from a third. Add the juice, zest and fruit to the pot.
- If using whole dates, discard any liquid not absorbed and pulse the dates in a food processor or blender, then add to the pot. If using date paste, simply add to pot.
Cooking the Berries
- Add 1/3 cup water, sweeteners and cinnamon to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and and simmer until the cranberries split (some will make an audible “pop”) and soften, 10-15 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning the dates.
Chunky or Smooth
- Remove from heat and carefully transfer to a food processor or blender. Pulse for a chunky sauce, or blend until as smooth as possible, then press through a fine mesh strainer for a velvety smooth sauce.
- Add part or all of the reserved 1/3 cup water, if needed, to achieve desired consistency.
Notes
- Refrigerate in an airtight container 3-4 days. Freeze in a zip top freezer bag with air removed for up to 3 months.
- Make date paste in large batches, divide into 1/2 cup portions, and store in zip top freezer bags with air removed for up to a year. You’ll have it on hand whenever you need dates for a recipe. Just remember 1/2 cup is equal to 8-10 soaked dates.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Sauces, dressing, holiday, marinade
- Method: Stove top
