Paleo Cran-Cherry Sauce
This Paleo and Whole30-friendly version of cranberry sauce—inspired by the cranberry-cherry-apple juice blends from my childhood—is perfect for your Thanksgiving feast. By themselves, cranberries can be unpalatably bitter and sour. But by adding an equal amount of cherries and simmering the fruit in apple juice, I was able to counter the mouth-puckering tartness of the cranberries with some natural sweetness. Prefer a sweeter sauce? Just a touch of honey will do the trick. And if you make this Cran-Cherry Sauce a day ahead and allow the flavors to meld further, it tastes even better. In fact, you can make this dish a week ahead and it’ll still be awesome!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 6 ounces frozen cranberries
- 6 ounces frozen sweet cherries
- ¾ cup apple juice I like Martinelli’s brand
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- Pinch of salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons honey optional
Instructions
- Measure out the cranberries and cherries and place them in saucepan. (No kitchen scale? Just use half a 12-ounce bag of cranberries and measure out an equal amount of frozen cherries. Easy peasy.)
- Pour in the apple juice, minced ginger, and a pinch of salt.
- Bring the contents of the pan to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook the sauce for 8 to 10 minutes or until it’s thickened and the fruit has broken down.
- Taste for sweetness and add honey if needed. Cool to room temperature and serve with your Turkey Day dinner—or better yet, make it up to 5 days in advance and keep it in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.
Notes
Serving size is calculated as 1/4 cup (approximately 1/8 the recipe).
Nutrition
Calories: 42kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 0.1g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g