Homemade cranberry sauce is incredibly easy to make and only takes about 15 minutes! This Keto friendly version of cranberry sauce is every bit as good as the traditional version!
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I add just a little orange zest and lemon juice to brighten up the flavors and tame the tartness of the cranberries a bit, but not to drive up the carbs.
When I first transitioned to Keto I was afraid I would have to miss out on one of my favorite holiday side dishes.
But with a few substitutions, this homemade Keto-fied cranberry sauce came to the rescue and you know what? You'll never be able to tell it's sugar free! Trust me, it's that good!
If you have leftovers, don't worry because there are lots of things you can use leftover Keto cranberry sauce for! You can make Cranberry Sauce and Walnut Muffins or my Cranberry Walnut Crumble Bars, which are absolutely delicious!
You can also spread some over pancakes or waffles, use in a protein shake or even make a vinaigrette with it! Ah, go ahead and a double batch! With all the recipe possibilities, you're going to need it.
What's in Low Carb Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberries
- Water
- Orange
- Lemon juice
- Allulose (see recipe card notes for substitutions)
*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
Add the water, orange zest and sweetener to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Add in the cranberries and lemon juice, then simmer on low for 12-15 minutes or until the cranberries burst open. Be sure to stir occasionally.
If you want your sauce a little chunky, cook closer to 12 minutes, if you want a smoother sauce, cook closer to 15 minutes.
The longer it cooks, the more the cranberries will break down.
Mine took exactly 14 minutes, which was perfect for me.
Remove from the stovetop, transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover and chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
And it's that easy! With 5 ingredients and a just a few minutes and you can enjoy your favorite Keto Thanksgiving recipe to accompany your turkey and Keto Stuffing without the worry of blowing your macros!
FAQs for Homemade Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
Will Cranberry Sauce Thicken Without Sugar?
Sugar is not needed to thicken cranberry sauce. The pectin in the lemon juice helps to achieve that. If you're wondering, "Can you eat cranberries without sugar?" You can, but because fresh cranberries are rather tart, so most likely you'll want to use some sort of sugar substitutes.
I recommended Allulose Powdered. If you can't find allulose, you can use Swerve confectioners, Monk Fruit, Erythritol, or a combination of them. You'll want to use the powdered forms of which ever type sweetener you choose. I prefer allulose because it has no cooling after effect. See recipe card for substitution amounts.
How do You Reduce the Sweetness of Cranberry Sauce?
If you got a little heavy handed with the sweetener and you're needing to tone it down, you can add little more lemon juice. Add a little at a time until you get it just the way you like it.
Does Cranberry Sauce Have a lot of Carbs? Are Carbs Cranberries Keto Friendly?
The holidays were approaching when I first began my low carb journey. One of the first things I had to find out was, " Is cranberry sauce good for weight loss? Can I eat cranberry on Keto?" I was so happy to find out that in moderation cranberries are perfectly fine on Keto or any low carb diet.
Since you're not likely to sit down and eat a whole bowl of cranberry sauce, though it's SO good you may be tempted, a serving along side your turkey will have minimal impact on your carb allowance.
If you are worried about using the orange zest, you can always just substitute it with a little orange extract. But truly, the orange zest doesn't change the carb count enough to worry about.
How Many Net Carbs are in Cranberry Sauce?
This recipe makes 6 servings. Cranberry sauce has so much flavor, a little bit goes a long way. And with only 4 net carbs per generous serving size in this sugar free cranberry sauce you can enjoy it guilt-free.
Can I Freeze Homemade Keto Cranberry Sauce?
Absolutely. All you have to do is take it from the fridge, place it in an air tight container and place a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the sauce before closing the lid on the container. It will keep for about a month in the freezer.
To thaw it, just place it in the fridge over night then set it out on the counter for about 30 minutes prior to serving it.
More Keto Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- Bacon Wrapped Green Beans
- Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Mashed Cauliflower
- Easy Creamed Spinach
- Cheesy Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Prosciutto
- Jalapeño Popper Cauliflower “Mac” and Cheese
- Easy Sautéed Mushrooms
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto
- Loaded Creamy Cauliflower Casserole
- Herb Sausage Stuffing
More Keto and Low Carb Sauces
- Raspberry Sauce
- 5 Minute Lemon Curd
- Strawberry Sauce
- Sugar-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Easy Salted Caramel Sauce
- Blueberry Sauce
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Homemade Keto Cranberry Sauce
Recipe Video
INGREDIENTS
- 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
- 1 cup allulose, (or ¾ cup Swerve, monk fruit, erythritol)
- ⅔ cup water
- zest of ½ an orange
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the water, orange zest and sweetener to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add in the cranberries and lemon juice, then simmer on low for 12-15 minutes or until the cranberries burst open. Be sure to stir occasionally.
- If you want your sauce a little more chunky, cook closer to 12 minutes, if you want a smoother sauce, cook closer to 15 minutes. The longer it cooks, the more the cranberries will break down. Mine took exactly 14 minutes, which was perfect for me.
- Remove from the stovetop, transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover and chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight jar for 5-6 days.
RECIPE NOTES
© Copyright for Keto Cooking Christian LLC. Please use the share buttons to share on social media, but please do not copy/paste the recipe.
*Nutritional data is provided as a courtesy and is accurate to the best of my knowledge. You can verify it using the nutrition calculator of your choice. All data is based on net carbs, without sugar alcohol- Swerve/Erythritol, Allulose, or Monk Fruit.
NOTE: Recipes using Swerve/Erythritol can be substituted 1:1 with a Monk fruit/Allulose blend.
*Originally published on November 20, 2018, updated on November 5, 2021 with improvements to the recipe, new recipe information and helpful tips.
Marlene
I made this today for a cranberry jello salad I make every year. Normally I use a can of cranberry sauce but this year I wanted to try a keto version. Oh wow! Not only was it extremely easy to make, but it tasted WAY better than the canned version. And you know what’s going in it, with no chemicals. I did not have straight Allulose so I used the Besti brand of Allulose with monk fruit. It worked perfectly in my jello salad (well, we’ll know for sure tomorrow). I cannot thank you enough for this!!
Keto Cooking Christian
It really does taste way better than the canned stuff! I am glad you enjoyed it. Save leftovers because I have several recipes on the site that will put them to good use. Happy Thanksgiving!
Sandra
This was amazing! My whole family loved it; even my husband who doesn't typically eat cranberry sauce had 2 servings.
I doubled the recipe so I could try your muffins next. Thank you!
Keto Cooking Christian
How great! It's always a win/win when other family members enjoy them.
Renecha R
I’m excited to make this again! I have a question about sweeteners. I got a great deal on liquid Allulose and thought this would be a good recipe to try it. Do you have any suggestions? I assume I’d omit the water and otherwise follow the recipe. Thanks for any feedback.
Keto Cooking Christian
I have to be honest, I have not tried this recipe with liquid sweetener. I think you're right about omitting or at least reducing the water. Let me know how it turns out if you try it.
Renecha R
Thank you for replying. I tried omitting the water and used the same amount of the liquid Allulose as the sweetener the recipe called for (I had adjusted the recipe for 32 ounces cranberries). Because I was almost tripling the recipe, it took longer to cook. I think I overcooked it slightly, but otherwise it worked well.
I added Serrano peppers to part of it to add to cream cheese for a sweet/spicy/tart dip for the holidays. So many possibilities! Thank you for another great recipe!
Vera
Perfection! Who knew sugar free cranberry sauce could taste even better than the sugary kind. So good.
Keto Cooking Christian
I agree! It really is better than traditional cranberry sauce and I feel a lot less guilty eating it since it is sugar free.
Moira
I look forward to fresh cranberry sauce every year, and with keto, I thought I would have to miss out. Thanks for this recipe! It was great!
Keto Cooking Christian
Glad you liked it!
Cookie Monster
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It looks amazing! What are the main vitamins in cranberries?
Keto Cooking Christian
You're welcome! The main vitamins in cranberries are C, E, K1 Manganese and Copper, but you can read more about the health benefits of cranberries in this article!
Lynn Bradley
Made the keto cramberry sauce it was great. Well be making it again
Keto Cooking Christian
That's great, thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it 🙂
Stacy
I followed the recipe above and it seems a little tart to me. What can I do to sweeten it up after it is made?
Keto Cooking Christian
Hmm, were the cranberries not fully ripe yet? You can add more sweetener on the stovetop and cook just a few more minutes and it should be good to go 🙂
Laurie
First of all, thank you for this recipe and the hard work I am sure went in to creating it. However, I have a question: what do you mean by net carbs if you're not listing the alcohol sugars? Those need to subtracted as well if you want a true net carb count. Are you saying you subtracted the net alcohol sugars ahead of time so that the true net carb count is correct (at 4 carbs per serving - which is kind of high for keto). Or are you saying we need to subtract sugar alcohols on our own, making the net carbs something south of 4 carbs per serving)?
Thanks, looking forward to hearing you from you soon (tomorrow's the day!).
L. Stevens.
Keto Cooking Christian
The sugar alcohol used in this recipe has has already been accounted for in the net carbs. So each (generous) serving is 4 net carbs.
Majestic
I'm going to make this for tomorrow so TYVM for this recipe!!! I see there's a total of 6 servings, but I'd like to know how much sauce is one serving?
Kitty
I'm so excited. I was thinking I wouldn't be able to have cranberry sauce ever again because of the sugar. May I ask, would Splenda work well in this recipe? Thanks!
Keto Cooking Christian
I've honestly never used Splenda, so I can't say for sure. I'd recommend using either Swerve Confectioners or Monk Fruit/Erythritol Blend.
Rebecva
Wondering if you could make ahead and freeze this?
Keto Cooking Christian
I've actually never tried freezing it, so I can't say for sure. I imagine it would work though, because I've frozen my Cranberry Walnut Crumble Bars, which has a layer of cranberry sauce in the center and they thawed out just fine.
Donna Herring
What if I want no chunks at all in it? Would it be okay to puree it or would that make it more soupy? Perhaps some grass fed gelatin in it? What do you recommend? Thanks!
Keto Cooking Christian
Hi Donna,
You can puree it and it shouldn't make it soupy, if anything it should thicken it up a little more. It honestly doesn't need any gelatin at all. Funny you mention that because I initially wrote the recipe to include some. But once I made it, I realized the citrus really helped thicken it perfectly, so no thickener was needed.
Darcie F
Perfect for Thanksgiving. Tastes better than the can stuff at the supermarket.
Keto Cooking Christian
Thanks Darcie! I'm addicted to the stuff, I've already written a couple of other recipes to use it in! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂