This Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe is such a simple, delicious addition to your holiday dinner spread. Made with fresh whole cranberries, it is the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors and a whole lot less sugar than you'd find in the canned stuff! Low fodmap friendly, gluten free and vegan which makes it a no brainer holiday side dish to accomodate any dietary needs.
Whole berry cranberry sauce is the perfect low fodmap Thanksgiving side dish that's sure to please even the pickiest of eaters. Made using fresh or frozen cranberries and perfectly balanced with sweet, spicy and savory fall flavors like tart cranberries, cane sugar, cinnamon, orange zest and fresh thyme, there's so much to love about this dish. It's truly the best cranberry sauce I've had and perfectly pairs with roast turkey at your Thanksgiving dinner!
If you're looking for more low fodmap friendly side dishes, try this Gluten Free Cornbread which I love using in this Gluten Free Cornbread Stuffing recipe, this delicious Green Bean Casserole, or this Thanksgiving Wild Rice. You might also enjoy these low fodmap friendly Truffle Mashed Potatoes or this delicious Fall Kale Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette on your table this holiday season!
Why You'll Love This Cranberry Sauce Recipe
- It is flavorful. Bursting with balanced flavor from tart cranberries, sweet cane sugar, fall herbs & spices along with zesty orange, this homemade cranberry sauce is so much more flavorful than the overly sweet canned stuff!
- It is perfect for any diet. Whether you're someone who prefers vegan recipes, is on a gluten free diet, or is following a low fodmap diet, or you have guests coming to your home for a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, this will be the perfect side dish to suit everyone's needs.
- It is easy. Made using just 5 base ingredients in under 30 minutes of your time, you can easily whip this easy side dish up in no time this holiday season with no special culinary skills needed.
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Low FODMAP Cranberry Sauce Ingredients & Tested Substitutions
- Cranberries: I prefer using fresh cranberries as they make for the best texture and flavor, but you can also substitute in frozen. Be sure to thaw the frozen cranberries in a colander in the sink to drain out any excess moisture.
- Sweetener: You may use white cane sugar or granulated monk fruit if you'd prefer a refined sugar free version. Coconut sugar or brown sugar would work as well and would add a subtle note of caramel.
- Pomegranate Juice: I prefer using pomegranate juice simply because it adds a different flavor to the dish, but it has not been tested for fodmaps by Monash University, so if you're still in the elimination phase or you know you don't tolerate pomegranate juice, you can substitute in cranberry juice which is low fodmap friendly in 200mL servings.
- Water
- Fresh Orange: You'll need both the zest and fresh orange juice from one whole fresh orange. You can use lemon if you which, but I find orange lends itself a little better to the tart cranberries and is a bit more subtle than lemon.
- Sea Salt
- Orange slices, cinnamon sticks, fresh thyme sprigs for simmering. You can also use fresh rosemary or cloves.
Low FODMAP Cranberry Sauce Step by Step Instructions
- Boil the liquids & herbs/spices. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add water, pomegranate juice, and granulated monkfruit or white sugar if using. Bring to a slow, rolling boil and add in orange slices, cinnamon sticks, and fresh thyme sprigs. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer 8-10 minutes. Remove orange, cinnamon, and thyme and bring heat back up to medium-low.
- Cook the cranberries. Add juice from 1 orange, orange zest, pinch of salt and 1 full package of fresh cranberries. Cook until cranberries begin to burst, around 10-12 minutes.
- Serve. Remove from heat + pour into heat proof container. Serve immediately warm or allow to come down to room temperature depending on your preference.
Low FODMAP Cranberry Sauce FAQs
Are cranberries low FODMAP?
According to Monash University, fresh cranberries are low FODMAP in ½ cup servings while dried cranberries have a much low FODMAP smaller serving size of 1 tbsp. Cranberry juice is low FODMAP in 200mL servings, making it a great fodmap friendly option for holiday cocktails.
Is cranberry sauce gluten free?
Homemade whole berry cranberry sauce made using fresh cranberries is naturally gluten free cranberry sauce. This festive dish is the perfect addition to your holiday dinner because no matter the status of people's diets, gluten free due to celiac disease, vegan, etc, each of your guests will be able to enjoy a serving of delicious cranberry sauce to compliment their holiday meal.
Is white sugar low FODMAP?
Surprisingly, white sugar is low fodmap friendly in ¼ cup serving sizes. If you're not avoiding refined sugars then you can feel free to use white sugar instead of monkfruit in this low fodmap cranberry sauce recipe.
What to do with leftover cranberry sauce
If you have leftover homemade cranberry sauce, you have so many options as to what you can do with it. I love topping my oatmeal with a dollop of leftover cranberry sauce. It makes for a delicious dessert topping for vanilla ice cream, homemade cheesecake with a little fresh homemade whipped cream or even as an addition to festive cocktails.
How to store leftover cranberry sauce
Store leftover cranberry sauce in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days after serving.
If You Enjoyed This Recipe You Might Also Like:
- Spiced Orange & Cranberry Spritz
- Festive Cranberry Pomegranate Mocktail
- Leftover Cranberry Sauce Crumble Bars
- Apple Strawberry Crisp - You can sub in leftover cranberry sauce for the strawberries in this crisp
Did you have a chance to make this recipe? If so, please leave me a 5 star rating below. I always love and appreciate hearing from you!
Low FODMAP Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh cranberries if using frozen see notes
- ½ cup granulated monk fruit or white sugar
- ½ cup pomegranate juice or cranberry juice
- ½ cup water see notes if using frozen cranberries
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice one whole orange
- 2 teaspoon orange zest
- pinch of sea salt
- 2-3 orange slices
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 2-3 fresh thyme sprigs
Instructions
- Boil the liquids & herbs/spices. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add water, pomegranate juice, and granulated monkfruit or white sugar if using. Bring to a slow, rolling boil and add in orange slices, cinnamon sticks, and fresh thyme sprigs. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer 8-10 minutes. Remove orange, cinnamon, and thyme and bring heat back up to medium-low.
- Cook the cranberries. Add juice from 1 orange, orange zest, pinch of salt and 1 full package of fresh cranberries. Cook until cranberries begin to burst, around 10-12 minutes.
- Serve. Remove from heat + pour into heat proof container. Serve immediately warm or allow to come down to room temperature depending on your preference.
Notes
- If using frozen cranberries, be sure to thaw in a colander in the sink so they fully drain away any excess moisture. You may need to use less water when cooking for a thicker cranberry sauce, so add the water in a little at a time when you arrive at that step.
- Store leftover cranberry sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days after serving.
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