Apple Cranberry Sauce

Loaded with apples and fresh cranberries, this Apple Cranberry Sauce is the perfect addition to you Thanksgiving spread, delicious and easy!

The best part of this Apple Cranberry Sauce is that it is ready in less than 15 minutes! I love recipes that are quick and easy and seem to gravitate toward them.

The addition of cinnamon, rosemary, and orange is an unexpected and unique flavor enhancer to this recipe. It adds pops of flavor from all angles and works so well together.

This is a must have at our Thanksgiving table, we make it every year. This is the one that every one has come to love so we keep it up and no one complains! 

We love cranberries in all aspects and some of our favorite recipes we have on our site include Apple Cranberry Pie, White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake Bars and Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins.

Why this recipe works:

• With minimal and easy to find ingredients it’s easy to make.
• It is done from start to finish in 15 minutes.
• You can easily double this recipe to serve a larger crowd.

What is whole cranberry sauce?

There are two kinds of cranberry sauce – one is jellied and one is “whole berry”.

Jellied cranberry sauce is basically a jelly like any other fruit such as grape, or strawberry. It is smooth, thick and perfect for slathering on biscuits like other jellies.

Whole berry cranberry sauce is where they leave whole chunks of cranberries in with the jellied portion. Making it chunky and more substantial to eat during a meal.

This Apple Cranberry Sauce would be considered more along the lines of a whole cranberry sauce since it is not smooth and chunks of the cranberries still remain.

What do you serve this sauce sauce with?

Traditionally, Cranberry Sauce is served with a large meal on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Other items the meal includes a whole turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, rolls, stuffing, and lots more!

Cranberry Sauce is just another staple side dish to go with these items. The tartness from the cranberries pairs perfectly with the other heavy items, making a great contrast for the entire meal.

You can’t go wrong with roasted turkey dinner and a side of this sauce!

I know, making homemade cranberry sauce may seem unnecessary but the flavor is something you just can’t get from a can.

Plus it’s super easy, once you make it for the first time you won’t want to buy from a can ever again because the flavor difference is just amazing.

Especially when it also includes apple and orange flavors like this sauce does.

How to make Homemade Cranberry Sauce:

1. In a large saucepot over medium-low heat, add in the diced apple, fresh cranberries, orange rind, water, sugar, and salt. Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved.
2. Turn the heat to medium and add the cinnamon stick and the rosemary sprig. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the cranberries burst and half of the liquid is absorbed. Remove the cinnamon, rosemary, and orange rind and discard.
3. Using the back of a spoon, crush the cranberries to form your desired consistency. Let cool completely, serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold.

Tools used to make homemade cranberry sauce:

• Large saucepan
• Wooden Spoon

How to store?

If you have any leftovers of this sauce place it in a ziptop bag or airtight container and place it in the refrigerator. This actually has a longer refrigerator life and will last up to 10-14 days.

This can also be frozen. According to RealSimple.com, freezing homemade cranberry sauce works perfectly. Just freeze the cranberry sauce in an air-tight container or freezer bag. Use within a couple months.

Defrost frozen cranberry sauce in the refrigerator overnight, after this you can heat it up on the stove for a warmer version or keep it cool and sere it that way.

Tips and Tricks:

• I use a Honeycrisp apple in this recipe as it is one of my favorite baking apples, but any baking apple will do.
• You will want a small dice on those apples, but if you want larger texture then you can cut them larger if you would like.
• Make sure when you are done you remove your cinnamon stick, rosemary and orange rind before serving.
• The longer you cook it the less chunky it will be so you are able to cook longer for a thinner sauce or less time for a thicker sauce.

 

If you want the perfect side dish for your next Thanksgiving gathering then you need to make this Apple Cranberry Sauce, you won’t regret it.

If you like this recipe you might also like:

• Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Italian Sausage Stuffing
• Mini Pumpkin Pie Cups

If you’ve tried this APPLE CRANBERRY SAUCE let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!