Cinnamon Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce

Name: Cinnamon Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 3 cups
Ingredients: 12 ounce bag fresh cranberries; 2 red apples; 1 cup light brown sugar; 1 cup apple cider*; Zest from one medium to large orange; ½ cup fresh orange juice; 2 cinnamon sticks; ½ teaspoon allspice; ground cinnamon

User Reviews

5.0

12 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Servings
3 cups
Calories
254 kcal
Course
Side Dish, Salad
Cuisine
American

Cinnamon Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce

Jade Rice

Report

Spice up your holiday celebrations with this scrumptious FAST and EASY homemade cranberry sauce that's made with cranberries, apples, apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and allspice for the PERFECT must-make side dish! A lovely balance of sweet-yet-tart with warmly spiced flavors so you'll never want to think about using store bought sauce again! 🍎😋❤️

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Ingredients

Servings

12 ounce bag fresh cranberries frozen and thawed may be used
2 red apples peeled, cored, and diced small (Gala, Fui, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, etc.)
1 cup light brown sugar packed OR 1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup apple cider* NOT apple cider vinegar
Zest from one medium to large orange
½ cup fresh orange juice about the yield from one medium to large orange
2 cinnamon sticks
½ teaspoon allspice or to taste
ground cinnamon optional and to taste

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Instructions

To a large or high-sided pot, add all ingredients, making sure to zest the orange (only taking off the outermost layer of orange and not going down into the bitter white pith), and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low or low, depending on if you're seeing an excessive amount of bubbling up and splattering. Allow the sauce to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Tips - Some people like to mash or mush the cranberries while they simmer however this reduces the nice texture of homemade cranberry sauce and makes it smoother. Plus, cranberries are going to burst with or without mashing them when they're boiling so I just leave it alone to simmer and do it's thing naturally.
Simmer as long as necessary so it's not too thin or soupy noting that it will tighten and thicken up considerably once you take it off the heat and it cools to room temperature, and then again once it's chilled in the fridge it will thicken even more.
Remove the cinnamon sticks, and optionally if desired, add ground cinnamon to taste (1/2 to 1 teaspoon approximately) and stir to combine.
Cranberry sauce can be served warm and fresh, or chill it in the fridge before serving. Cranberry sauce will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To make ahead, feel free to make a batch and store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days before serving it at a holiday meal.

Notes

*It’s highly recommended that you use apple cider, not apple juice. Apple cider is fresh, unfiltered, and usually doesn’t contain any added sugar.
However, apple juice can be used in a pinch if it’s all that you have. They both lend sweet apple flavor to your cinnamon apple cranberry sauce and if you do want a sweeter cranberry sauce, apple juice may be better suited since it usually is bottled with lots of added sugar.
Do not make the mistake of using apple cider vinegar. That is a definite no!