As I become more of a nutrivore (someone who pays attention to the nutrient density of their food), I tend to challenge myself to make family favorites from scratch with the healthiest most nutritious ingredients. This recipe for homemade cranberry sauce is healthier than the canned version because it uses honey, whole cranberries, tart cherry concentrate, orange rind, and takes less than 30 minutes to make.
Can you make cranberry sauce with honey
You can make a more nutritious version of cranberry sauce using whole food ingredients like honey. While honey is mostly sugar and water, it contains several vitamins, minerals, and micro-nutrients. For example, honey contains potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin C, and many B vitamins. Not only that, honey has been prized for generations all around the world. You can read about the benefits of honey in this informative PubMed article.
Is cranberry sauce good for you
Cranberry sauce made with clean, organic, whole food ingredients can be a benefit. Having a small spoonful of cranberry sauce on your plate is a nice “acid” bite to cut through a lot of other rich foods on your plate and can aid digestion. Plus, it provides vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants mainly from the cranberries, cherry concentrate, orange rind, and honey.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce Ingredients
1 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 1 orange)
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup tart cherry concentrate
1 lb cranberries
1/8 cup bourbon (optional)
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
How do you make homemade cranberry sauce
Gather all your ingredients so that everything is ready. The recipe comes together quickly.
- Zest the orange with a microplane or zester and set aside in a small dish.
- Juice the orange, usually 1 orange will be about 1/4 cup of juice.
- Measure out 1/4 cup of cherry concentrate.
- Have 1 cup of honey ready.
- If using, measure out 1/8 cup of bourbon (I use Buffalo Trace).
- Have ready 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon (or more if you like).
- Rinse cranberries and throw away any that are bad or dried up.
Place honey, orange juice, and cherry concentrate in a medium-sized sauce pot and bring to a low boil. Give the sauce a stir and turn down the heat.
Add the cranberries to the sauce.
Time to add all the rest of the ingredients: the orange rind, bourbon, and cinnamon. Keep the heat on medium low and cook for 12 to 15 minutes tops.
Stir periodically, and listen for the cranberries to burst open, releasing the pectin that will thicken the sauce.
After simmering for 12 to 15 minutes, remove the cranberry sauce from the heat and set aside to cool down for 5 minutes. Then pour into a glass bowl with lid and refrigerate until needed. I’ll serve it right from this dish.
Tip: one of the things I love to do with leftover cranberry sauce is mix it with some mayonnaise for added flavor on a left-over turkey sandwich.
Can you make cranberry sauce ahead of time
You can make the cranberry sauce a couple days before you need it and have it ready ahead of time.
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Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Honey
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 1 orange)
- zest of 1 orange
- 1/4 cup tart cherry concentrate
- 1 lb cranberries
- 1/8 cup bourbon (optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
Directions
- Step 1 Gather all your ingredients so that everything is ready.
- Step 2 Zest the orange with a microplane or zester and set aside in a small dish. Juice the orange, usually 1 orange will be about 1/4 cup of juice. Rinse cranberries and throw away any that are bad or dried up.
- Step 3 Place honey, orange juice, and cherry concentrate in a medium-sized sauce pot and bring to a low boil. Give the sauce a stir and turn down the heat. Add the cranberries to the sauce.
- Step 4 Add all the rest of the ingredients: the orange rind, bourbon, and cinnamon. Keep the heat on medium low and cook for 12 to 15 minutes tops.
- Step 5 Stir periodically, and listen for the cranberries to burst open, releasing the pectin that will thicken the sauce.
- Step 6 After simmering for 12 to 15 minutes, remove the cranberry sauce from the heat and set aside to cool down for 5 minutes. Then pour into a glass bowl with lid and refrigerate until needed. (Can be made two or three days ahead of time).
