3-ingredient paleo cranberry sauce is so easy and takes just 15 minutes from start to finish. Once you try this simple cranberry orange sauce it will become a family favorite on your holiday table!
This 3-ingredient paleo cranberry sauce is incredibly simple. It’s made with fresh whole cranberries and orange juice – and it’s one of the easiest Thanksgiving dishes to make from scratch. Fresh cranberry sauce takes just 15 minutes to make. You can make it the day before. And it’s naturally gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free.
How do you make homemade cranberry sauce? It really couldn’t be easier—just add the ingredients to a saucepan and simmer until the cranberries start to burst. If you’ve never made cranberry sauce before, just watch the video below to see how easy it is to make!
I always make fresh cranberry sauce for the holidays. It is so fast and easy, there’s no reason to buy it. And the great thing about making your own is that you can control the ingredients. Make it as sweet or as tart as you like by adjusting the amount of honey. Make a vegan version by swapping out the honey for maple syrup. Or stir in your favorite holiday flavors to make your own signature cranberry sauce.
Paleo cranberry sauce three ways
Cranberry Orange Sauce – This simple 3-ingredient cranberry sauce is great on its own, or as the base for different flavor variations.
Here are a couple of different flavors to try:
Dijon Cranberry Sauce – Stir in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard once the sauce is cooked. This is a great variation for sandwiches the next day.
Spiced Cranberry Sauce – Add a cinnamon stick and a few whole cloves to the sauce while cooking. Cut a strip of orange peel and poke the cloves through it so it will be easy to remove the whole spices once the sauce has cooked.
The possibilities are endless for this 3-ingredient paleo cranberry sauce. However you make it, add fresh cranberry sauce to your paleo Thanksgiving menu. (And if you have any leftovers, try this super-easy cranberry salad dressing.)
How to make paleo cranberry sauce
3-Ingredient Paleo Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup to taste
Instructions
- Combine cranberries, orange juice, and honey or maple syrup in a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat, until berries pop and sauce thickens, about 10 - 15 minutes.
- Cool completely and refrigerate.
- Serve at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
More paleo Thanksgiving recipes
Paleo Thanksgiving Stuffing
Paleo Pumpkin Pie
Easy Paleo Gravy
Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole
jesusdiedandlives
Been wondering how to do this. Thank you for posting how to make cranberrry sauce paleo style. Jesusdiedandlives
Lisa
You’re welcome. It’s really easy – hope you enjoy it!
christie
Can we substitute anything for honey?
Lisa
I haven’t tested it with any other sweeteners, but this recipe is pretty flexible so you should be able to substitute. I would add the sweetener to taste, and add extra liquid if it’s too thick, or simmer it a little longer if it looks too thin. It may take a little experimenting to get it right.
Ruth Peach
Lisa, I understood that we can’t use any sweeteners in a paleo eating plan, including honey or agave etc. Can you explain? Because I love cranberry sauce and have missed it. Thank you.
Lisa
Hi Ruth, that’s a great question. Stick to limited use of natural sweeteners, like raw honey, for treats or special occasions. Here’s a link to a great guide to sweeteners from Diane Sanfilippo’s Practical Paleo: http://www.balancedbites.com/PDFs/BOOK_EXTRAS/PracticalPaleo_GuidetoSweeteners.pdf.
Pamela Carneal
I was in a pinch. I’m the only one in the house that likes cranberries and usually just forget them. I grabbed a bag of fresh ones on my last trip to the store, but it had been years since I cooked any, so thanks for posting this. I didn’t have any OJ in the house (just grapefruit juice). So I peeled 2 oranges and popped them into my a Breville Hemisphere blender then hit liquify. Worked out great, I used 1 cup (I wouldn’t necessarily want this in a glass to drink, but the added pulp is fine in relish 😉 I also used SugarLeaf (SweetLeaf stevia/cane sugar blend, I didn’t have enough honey), about 1/4 cup and two droppers of Lemon Drop liquid stevia. Perhaps not Paleo perfect but it scratched my cranberry itch just enough.
Lisa
Pamela, I’m so glad you got to have your cranberry sauce – the pureed whole oranges sound like a great option!
Amy
Great recipe. How long does this last in the fridge? Thanks
Lisa
Amy, I have kept this in the fridge up to a week.
Tami
We made this recipe using 32 oz of cranberries, 1/2 cup honey and 2 1/4 cup orange juice, 1t cinnamon, 1t allspice, 1/4t ginger and 1/4t cloves and it was great! Not sure if the spices helped sweeten the cranberry sauce, but I think we could have used less honey. Thanks for the recipe!
Beej3
As a side note, I have used frozen or fresh rasberries in a cranberry relish as well for sweetness/tartness. It’s fabulous.
Melissa B.
I just made this and it is awesome! Last year I tried a recipe that used maple syrup which I didn’t care for, so this is my new go-to recipe! Thank you so much!
Lisa
Yay! It’s my go-to recipe too, Melissa!
Lisa
Thank you for a simple yet tasty recipe!
Becky
Awesome, perfect, easy! Thanks!
Sabrina
love this and a great reminder that it can be made ahead, no excuse to use a canned recipe, not with this, thank you!
Mary
This is my go-to cranberry sauce recipe for Thanksgiving now. I do add zested orange peel, 3 cloves and a cinnamon stick and left out the honey since the oranges were very sweet. Thank you!
Kaley Wied
If you are on the brink of trying this recipe, JUST GO FOR IT!! 3 ingredients and 15 minutes is all you need to make an AMAZING cranberry sauce! I used frozen cranberries and it turned out too delicious for words! Thanks for the recipe!
Ume
Hey! I’m looking forward to trying this recipe out but, I would just like to know how much one serving is, (in like Tbsp or tsp) thanks!
Lisa
Can dried or frozen cherries be added to this? Im not concerned about keeping it paleo but just keeping it healthy. Thank you!
Lisa
Hi Lisa, I think you could do either. You may want to use a little less honey or maple syrup if the cherries are sweet. Let me know how it turns out!
Chris
I discovered this recipe when preparing for Thanksgiving many years ago. I switched it to the vegan version about 5 years ago, and I still continue to use the recipe EVERY Thanksgiving…so thank you!!
Lisa
Yay! I’m so glad you love it, Chris!
Debora Dodson
I made it at Thanksgiving and it was perfect. I have again twice.amd it will not thicken up. I havefollowed the recipe exactly. I know it is something I did wrong
Please help
Lisa
Hi Debora, the pectin from the cranberries is what thickens the sauce. Be sure you are cooking it long enough for all the cranberries to pop and release the pectin. If you’re still having trouble, you can always simmer it a little longer to reduce the liquid. Hope this helps!