The best sugar free cranberry sauce, with 4 delicious flavor options. It’s the perfect keto side dish for all of your holiday celebrations and goes perfectly with turkey or ham.
I love the holidays and I have so many delicious Keto Thanksgiving Recipes. From keto stuffing to the best keto pecan pie, I devote huge amounts of time every year to creating recipes for a healthy and keto-friendly holiday.
And this keto cranberry sauce has been in my family for generations. No really! My stepmother taught me the secret to the best cranberry sauce ever years ago, and I am going to share it with you today. Secret family recipe. You ready?
It goes like this: Follow the directions on the back of the bag.
Now, over the years, I’ve put my own little spin on it. Which really means just subbing keto friendly sweeteners for the sugar listed on the bags from every major cranberry producer out there.
Yes, my friends. That is all you need to do to make the best sugar free cranberry sauce. It’s seriously as simple as that. But there are also plenty of delicious ways to flavor the basic cranberry sauce recipe, and I’ve got several great ideas for you so read on.
Can cranberry sauce be made without sugar?
That would be an emphatic yes, my friends. Don’t believe me? Watch my video to see just how easy it is to do. I make a delicious keto Cinnamon Brown “Sugar” Cranberry Sauce that makes my whole house smell like Thanksgiving.
Basic fresh cranberry sauce consists simply of 3 ingredients: Cranberries, water, and sweetener. You can replace the sugar listed in most recipes with any sweetener you like best.
The best sweeteners for keto cranberry sauce
A few tips depending on what sweeteners you plan to use. If you use all erythritol based sweeteners, your sauce may re-crystallize somewhat as it cools. To avoid this, I recommend using the powdered version and whisking it in only after you have cooked the cranberries and water.
If you prefer to use something like stevia extract, I recommend reducing the water by about half, so that you have a thicker sauce. Concentrated stevia and monk fruit extract have no bulk so they don’t help thicken your sauce at all.
My personal preference is for a combination of Swerve and Bocha Sweet, since the Bocha Sweet helps keep the sauce from re-crystallizing. It also helps make it more syrupy and thus more like conventional cranberry sauce.
Other flavors of sugar-free cranberry sauce
Basic cranberry sauce is delicious as is. But it’s also really amazing with some added flavors.
Cinnamon “Brown Sugar” Cranberry Sauce
Use ¼ cup Brown Swerve in place of the regular granular Swerve. Then add ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon along with the sweeteners. This might be my favorite cranberry sauce variation yet!
Orange Clove Cranberry Sauce
Add 2 teaspoon orange zest and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves along with the sweeteners. If you prefer, you can use ½ teaspoon orange extract in place of the zest. Smells like an old-fashioned Christmas!
Chipotle Lime Cranberry Sauce
Get a little Southwestern flare by adding ½ teaspoon chipotle powder, 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice, and 1 teaspoon lime zest along with the sweeteners. A nice change from the traditional sauce.
Can you make keto cranberry sauce ahead of time?
Honestly this is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish to make ahead. I usually do it a few days in advance and just store it in the fridge in a jar. It will be fine for up to a week.
But you can also freeze cranberry sauce too. Again, store in a glass jar and be sure to give it a little head room as it will expand as it freezes. It’s good for up to 2 months.
And truth be told, the sugar free cranberry sauce I made for this video is now hanging out in my freezer, waiting for the holidays to roll around…
More Delicious Keto Cranberry Recipes
- How to make Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
- Keto Cranberry Cobbler
- Keto Cranberry Cheesecake
- Keto Cranberry Biscotti
- Cranberry Shortbread Streusel Bars
Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
Basic Cranberry Sauce:
- 8 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ⅔ cup water
- ¼ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ cup Bocha Sweet (see recipe notes)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium low.
- Simmer until almost all the cranberries have popped and released their juices. Remove and let cool.
Video
Notes
Tricia says
I made your cinnamon, “brown sugar” cranberry sauce variation. It was delicious. I was very impressed by how well it thickened. It didn’t need chilling to get a good consistency before dinner.
Kathi Smith says
I made this yesterday. It reminded me so much of the cranberry sauce my mom made when I was a kid. It was my favorite part of our Thanksgiving meal. More tart than sweet … love it! So easy to do, I won’t wait for November to make it again.
Carolyn says
So glad!
Mike Birrenkott says
for the CranberrySauce with cinnamon and brown sugar Swerve, is the Bocha Sweet still needed?
Carolyn says
Yup… otherwise it will recrystallize a lot.
Ros says
Thank you, ty, ty! Been basically using the orange zest and clove version for 8 years now but add cinnamon and a dash of vanilla too, at the end. I make more than what I need for the meal and freeze some for turkey sandwiches throughout the year. So good! Gets compliments every year, even cranberry sauce haters love it!
Emily Garrett says
when substituting xylitol for bocha sweet is it a 1:1?
Carolyn says
Yep!
Gloria E Eren says
dear Carolyn,
I have tried so many of your recipes and purchased 2 of your books and I am overjoyed I watch you on you tube when I can and I am so grateful for the time you put into your work. I just want to thank you from the top and bottom of my heart. May you be greatly blessed for all your hard work. happy tasty Holidays.
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Sharon Napoleone says
This is the second year I have made this and it’s outstanding. I use orange zest, a touch of clove and cinnamon and it’s heavenly. I have a double batch frozen and ready for Thanksgiving. Thanks for all your great recipes!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Drita says
Do you have to freeze it in a glass jar or can it be Tupperware or a mason jar
Carolyn says
Anything works as long as you leave a little room for the sauce to expand during freezing.
Kristy says
Amazing! I have missed cranberry sauce since going Leto and this was amazing! I used the brown swerve with the bocca sweet. Thank you!
Barbara Nelen says
I read thru 2x and listened to the video. I’m not seeing the 4 flavor options. Help. Thanks!
Barbara Nelen says
Never mind! I found them. I dont know what was going on. B.
Carolyn says
Oh, I just saw this now…
Carolyn says
It’s all written right into the blog post. If you’re skipping to the recipe, you’re going to miss them…
April Walker says
I have eaten the canned cranberry sauce all of my life and was thinking I was going to have to “cheat” to get some, but you saved me! I am going to try this Keto version but I do have a question…Can I add unflavored gelatin to get that texture?
And I do have to say Carolyn, I have been using your recipes a lot! You are a life saver!
Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
Yes, absolutely if you prefer the gelled cranberry sauce.
Andree says
Used Swerve and allulose. Added orange zest. Delicious! I’m going to try golden monk fruit or brown Swerve with allulose next time. Thank you for doing all your hard work and sharing your results with us! Happy Holidays!
JUDY says
Can less sweetner (Monk Fruit) be used? I have found cookies, etc. with Monk Fruit sweetner are sometimes too sweet.
Carolyn says
Sure!
Tracy says
Question… Sorry if this was answered previously.. But it says simmer until the crans have almost popped… Approx how long should I check? Thanks in advance! I’ve enjoyed every recipe I’ve tried on your site so thank you! I just ordered the Bocha sweet to try your variation one.. I’m excited!!
Carolyn says
You should stay nearby and not go away while it’s simmering. It’s usually 5 to 10 minutes but it varies depending on the berries and your pan.
Dawnj says
Love cranberries. Tried all of these variations with raving success, however, my favorite was brown sugar cinnamon! My husband is out scouring for cranberries to freeze. I will make this year round. Thank you❣️ (Have your excellent Cranberry Bliss Pound cake cooling also. Made a few times with the addition of walnuts).
Carolyn says
That one is my favorite too!
Andrea Patterson says
Absolutely AMAZING!!!! Thank you for such an easy and delicious sauce. I used Allulose and Swerve brown sugar with the cinnamon and it’s freaking delicious!
Rachel says
Made the cinnamon brown sugar recipe for Thanksgiving this year and oh my gosh it was so delicious!!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Linnae Bosma says
I made this last year and making it again this year! I LOVE me some cranberry sauce so thank you very much!!
Vanessa says
Oh no! I didn’t read your notes until after I completed cooking. I used 1/2 brown swerve and 1/2 confectioners swerve but I didn’t wait to add, I added the sugar to the water first. What’s going to happen? Should I redo? Thanks, it’s tasty off the stove!
Carolyn says
I would just re-warm it before serving.