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5.0 from 18 votes

Vegan Cranberry Sauce (No Refined Sugar)

Easy and healthy vegan cranberry sauce! Just 3 ingredients and great for so much more than Thanksgiving. No refined sugar and only 15 minutes of prep/cook time. *See the Notes section below for flavor variations.Yield: makes about 1 ½ cups cranberry sauce; double or triple the recipe if serving more than a few people.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
20 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 90 kcal
Course: Condiments
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 1 large orange
  • 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and sorted discard soft or bruised ones
  • ⅓ cup maple syrup see Notes for sweetener options depending on end use.

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Slice a 2-inch piece of peel from the orange. Place in a small sauce pan along with the juice from the orange. Turn the stove eye to medium-high heat. Add the cranberries and maple syrup, and bring to a low boil. 
  2. Reduce heat to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, cook until cranberries burst and the liquid thickens, about 10 to 12 minutes (takes a little longer if using frozen cranberries).
  3. Let the cranberry sauce cool, remove the orange peel, and refrigerate until chilled, 4 hours to overnight.

Notes

  • Variations
  • Boozy - add 1 or 2 tablespoons of your favorite vegan bourbon, whisky, or dark rum. And for even more orange flavor try a splash of Grand Marnier orange liqueur.
  • Holiday Spice - add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, scant ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, and scant ⅛ teaspoon cloves.
  • Ginger - peel a small, thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, and slice it into coins. (Keep track of how many coins you drop into the pot.) Add the ginger to the pot along with the other ingredients. Remove the ginger when the sauce is done.
  • Extra Sweet - for sweeter cranberry sauce, you can add 2 to 4 tablespoons of organic cane sugar to the pot, or drizzle in more maple syrup until it's as sweet as you like.
  • Storage
  • Cranberry sauce can be made 1 to 2 days in advance. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. May also be frozen for several months.
  • This recipe makes about 1.5 cups cranberry sauce. For large gatherings it's best to double or triple the batch (be sure to use a large pot).
  • Choice of sweetener
  • If you're making this cranberry sauce for use in my Cranberry Cream Pie recipe, which is sweetened with sugar, feel free to sub sugar for the maple syrup in this recipe, and increase the amount to ½ cup. Either way you choose to sweeten the cranberry sauce is fine. It just depends on whether you want a hint of maple in the finished pie.

Nutrition Information

Calories 90kcal (5%) Carbohydrates 24g (8%) Protein 0.5g (1%) Fat 0g (0%) Saturated Fat 0g (0%) Polyunsaturated Fat 0g Monounsaturated Fat 0g Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg (0%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 18g (36%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 90

% Daily Value*

Calories 90kcal 5%
Carbohydrates 24g 8%
Protein 0.5g 1%
Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g 0%
Monounsaturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 18g 36%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.