Change the way you eat apple sauce and make a batch of Cranberry Applesauce using just 5 ingredients that is both gluten free and dairy free. This delicious side dish comes together in under an hours time and makes for the perfect side dish for pork tenderloin or even turkey.
Remember, when I posted about my mom’s homemade applesauce, last year? Well, I started tinkering with that recipe the other week. You see, I love that applesauce but I wanted something a bit different. I served up a juicy pork loin and my Gratin Dauphinois alongside of this gorgeous and uber flavorful (and festive) cranberry applesauce. Cranberries are a luxury food item that we only get to really embrace and cook with for a whopping 2 months (ok, maybe 3 months) out of the year!
I’m a big fan of chunky applesauce. Pureed applesauce doesn’t always fly for me so I tend to keep my applesauce a bit more on the chunky side. However, if you like it 100% pureed — do it! Get your puree on. That’s the great thing about recipes–you can always adapt and modify to your liking. Of course this applesauce doesn’t look like traditional applesauce thanks to the red dye in the cranberries. This is a sweet and tangy applesauce and pairs well with pork and of course you could always serve it next to your turkey tomorrow. Simple enough to make the day of and serve hot or make it tonight and pull it out of the refrigerator just before your ready to serve your Thanksgiving meal.
Directions
- Peel, core, and chop apples.
- Place the chopped apples in a sauce pan on medium heat. Rinse the cranberries and add them to the pot. Add sugar, cinnamon and apple juice. Give the contents of the pot a stir, place the lid on the pot, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for 30 minutes (mixing periodically).
- Serve warm or let cool to room temperature.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks whenever I make cranberry apple sauce.
- Smooth Applesauce – If you don’t like chunky applesauce feel free to run it through a food processor or blend with an immersion blender.
- Cranberries – This recipe requires fresh cranberries. If you don’t have fresh cranberries on hand you can use frozen cranberries.
- Apples – Any style of apple will work. A tart apple like a Granny Smith is what I typically recommend as it holds it shape better.
- Cranberries Cooking – Don’t be alarmed, your cranberries will begin to pop.
- Cooking Varies – Depending on your stove you may need to reduce the heat if the apples and cranberry begin to boil. Apples and cranberries should be soft to touch.
- Storage – Store in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
- Yield – Recipe yields about 2 cups cooked cranberry applesauce.
Cranberry Recipes
Craving more recipes that have cranberries in them? Give a few of these cranberry recipes a try…
If you make this cranberry applesauce recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Cranberry Applesauce
Equipment
- Stove Top
Ingredients
- 3 Apples
- 2 cups Fresh Cranberries
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ cup Apple juice
Instructions
- Peel, core, and chop apples.
- Place the chopped apples in a sauce pan on medium heat. Rinse the cranberries and add them to the pot. Add sugar, cinnamon and apple juice. Give the contents of the pot a stir, place the lid on the pot, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for 30 minutes (mixing periodically).
- Serve warm or let cool to room temperature.
Notes
- Smooth Applesauce – If you don’t like chunky applesauce feel free to run it through a food processor or blend with an immersion blender.
- Cranberries – This recipe requires fresh cranberries. If you don’t have fresh cranberries on hand you can use frozen cranberries.
- Apples – Any style of apple will work. A tart apple like a Granny Smith is what I typically recommend as it holds it shape better.
- Cranberries Cooking – Don’t be alarmed, your cranberries will begin to pop.
- Cooking Varies – Depending on your stove you may need to reduce the heat if the apples and cranberry begin to boil. Apples and cranberries should be soft to touch.
- Storage – Store in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
- Yield – Recipe yields about 2 cups cooked cranberry applesauce.
Nutrition
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Tiffany
This looks delish! I wanna make this for Thanksgiving, but want to make sure its enough to feed everyone. How many does thia recipe feed?
Katie
Hi Tiffany, it should give you about 6 servings. Let me know if you try it! 🙂 Happy early Thanksgiving!
Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake
Wow it really is chunky! I feel like I can eat a whole bowl of it, love the colours and I bet it tastes fab. 🙂
Katie
Thanks! I know I could eat this as a mid-afternoon snack no problem (but its best with pork)!
Julius Droolius
Good one! Apples and cranberries is a great combo, like my favorite, Cran-Apple juice 🙂
Katie
My favorite is cran-apple juice too! Straight up cranberry can be too harsh at times! 🙂
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
Gala apples are my absolute fav!!