Here’s a twist on a holiday favorite: orange cranberry sauce made healthier…and tastier!

In an earlier post, I shared some of the many good things about cranberry sauce and some of the things to watch out for.  Yes, sad to say that commercial cranberry sauce is loaded with added and refined sugar. You might as well be putting a handful of candy on your dinner plate!

In that same post, I also shared a healthier version of cranberry sauce, but now I’m sharing another version that we often make as well that includes oranges for a twist on flavor.

Or maybe not oranges…

Although it’s called orange cranberry sauce, I often make this with clementines.  (If you’ve read my earlier post about clementines, you’ll know why I like them and highly recommend that low fodmap food!)

Instead of using the orange in the recipe below, replace it with two clementines.  Scrub one of the clementines well before peeling it.  Then finely chop the skin and use this in place of the orange zest.  The skin of the other clementine should be discarded.

What about the membrane around the citrus sections?

To be honest, however, I don’t bother “supreming” (what the processing of removing that membrane is called) the citrus I use in this dish. Why? For three reasons:

1. Not supreming the citrus saves time.
2. Keeping the membrane on adds to the fiber in the sauce.
3. You won’t notice the difference in this chunky cranberry sauce.

If you want to take the time to remove the membrane that encases each section of the orange or clementine, you can do this. Not sure how to supreme a piece of citrus?  Click here for a short video.

Why the apple?

Like the other cranberry sauce recipe I’ve shared, this sauce uses an apple.  It adds to the sweetness of the dish, so the amount of sugar used remains far less than is typically used in cranberry sauce.  It also adds to the chunky texture of the sauce.  The skin of the apple also adds to the fiber from the dish.  This is why I almost never peel apples when I am cooking with them or using them in any salad (such as my apple chicken salad) that I am making.

Take a minute…

Regardless of whether you are making this during the busy holiday season or at another time of year, take a few minutes as you are making this dish to appreciate the aroma of it and the colors of the ingredients.

All too often we’re in a hurry to make our food and we forget to appreciate the color and aroma of the food we’re preparing. Sadly, this often also leads us to cheat ourselves out of the full enjoyment of the food as we eat it.

Orange cranberry sauce recipe

2 cups whole cranberries, washed
1 medium apple peeled (I recommend Cortland or Macintosh)
1 orange (or 2 clementines)
1 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Rinse cranberries, remove any that are bad. Place into pan.

Core apple, coarsely chop, and add to pan.

Zest orange and add zest to pan.

Peel orange, remove pith and bundle of membranes in center. Coarsely chop and add to pan.

Add water.

Cover and heat on medium-high for about 5 minutes or until mixture starts to boil. 

Remove cover and simmer at medium heat for another 3 to 5minutes until berries begin to pop. Stir as needed.

Add in sugar and stir for 1 minute.

Remove from heat, pour into a serving dish, and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. (The sauce will keep for several days, so it can be made ahead of time.)

Nutrition facts:
Serving size: 1/4 cup
Calories: 68
Carbohydrates: 16 grams
Fiber: 2.4 grams

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