This Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce has all the flavor of the original, with a mere fraction of the carbs. It’s rich and thick, and takes only 15 minutes to make. Perfect for all your healthy holiday celebrations.
This keto cranberry sauce has been in my family for generations. My stepmother taught me the secret to the best cranberry sauce ever years ago, and I am going to share it with you today. Ready for it?
Follow the directions on the back of the bag. Yup, that’s right. The bag of cranberries you just picked up from the grocery store has the best recipe right on it. It takes sugar, but that’s an easy fix.
My dad always requested that I make the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. He loved it and swore up and down that mine was the best. And I always laughed because he knew full well how ridiculously easy it was. He just wanted me to make it for him.
I think of him with love every single time I make this sugar free cranberry sauce. And I miss him terribly.
I have so many delicious Keto Thanksgiving Recipes. From keto stuffing to the gooey keto pecan pie, I devote huge amounts of time every year to creating recipes for a healthy and keto-friendly holiday.
Why you need to try this
Of course, I don’t make cranberry sauce exactly the same way I used to. I replace the sugar and make it far healthier and keto-friendly.
Over the years, I have perfected this recipe so that it has the same thick, syrupy consistency of the regular kind. No one can tell that it’s sugar free. And it has less than 2g net carbs per serving!
I’ve also experimented with different variations, adding in some flavors like orange, cinnamon, and spice. So you’re getting four awesome recipes in one!
The great part about keto cranberry sauce is that it can be made well in advance of the holidays. It freezes and thaws well so you can store it for weeks or even months.
Reader Testimonials
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! — Andrea
The lime and chipotle recipe is exquisite. Slather it under some cold sliced chicken breast and garlic cream cheese, and you have something that’ll make the gods jealous. — Lynn
I must admit that my cranberry sauce is still in the fridge cooling, but I have licked the pot clean so I can say this cranberry sauce is amazing. — Melissa
Ingredients you need
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- Cranberries: This is the star of the show! You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. I freeze bags of cranberries in the fall so I have them ready for the following year.
- Sweeteners: To get the perfect consistency, you really need a mix of two sweeteners. I use Swerve and either BochaSweet or allulose. This gives the sauce a thickness, but also helps keep it from recrystallizing as it cools. Swerve Brown also adds a hint of brown sugar flavor, which really enhances the sauce. Read my guide to keto sweeteners for more information.
- Water
- Other flavorings: citrus zest, cinnamon, lime juice, chipotle powder, vanilla extract, cloves.
Step-by-step directions
1. Place the cranberries, sweeteners, and water in a large saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium low.
2. Simmer until almost all the cranberries have popped and released their juices, about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
How easy is that???
Variations
Cinnamon “Brown Sugar” Cranberry Sauce
Use ¼ cup Brown Swerve in place of the 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.
Recipe tips
Sweeteners: It’s important to understand the role various sweeteners play in making sugar free cranberry sauce. You can work with what you like best and what’s available to you, but you may have to adjust the recipe accordingly.
If you only have erythritol based sweeteners, your sauce will re-crystallize a little as it cools. To avoid this, I recommend using a confectioner’s style erythritol and whisking it in only AFTER you have simmered the cranberries and water together.
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.
Jellied cranberry sauce: Dissolve 1 packet of Knox gelatin or 1 tablespoon of grass-fed gelatin in a quarter cup of water. Whisk this into the cranberry mixture when you reduce the heat to a simmer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can get the same wonderful, thick consistency without sugar. Cranberries contain a lot of pectin, which releases as the berries cook and helps thicken the sauce. But for a more syrupy consistency, I recommend using some allulose or BochaSweet as well. Allulose works really well in this regard.
This keto cranberry sauce recipe has 2.8g of carbs and 1.0g of fiber per serving. That comes to 1.8g net carbs in 2 tablespoons.
Absolutely! I usually do it a few days in advance and just store it in the fridge in a jar. It lasts for at least a week. But you can also freeze cranberry sauce. 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.
More delicious keto cranberry recipes
Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Basic Cranberry Sauce:
- 8 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ⅔ cup water
- ¼ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ cup allulose or BochaSweet
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.
Lara says
Can I use 1/4 cup swerve brown sugar and 1/4 powdered swerve?
Carolyn says
As I think I am clear in the post… yes but it will recrystallize and become grainy, since these are both erythritol sweeteners.
Marilyn J Carini says
I’ve been keto coming up 3 years, so I’ve had a few holidays to try out different cranberry sauce recipes. This one is the best, and I’ve stopped looking for any others. I use xylitol instead of Boca Sweet, but follow everything else exactly. Yum!!!
Carolyn says
So delighted to hear that!
Lynn says
The lime and chipotle recipe is exquisite. Slather it under some cold sliced chicken breast and garlic cream cheese, and you have something that’ll make the gods jealous.
Don Watson says
If I’m replacing the swerve with liquid stevia what would the amount of stevia be?
Carolyn says
That depends totally on your liquid stevia and how it measures compared to sugar. The two sweeteners I use measure almost exactly like sugar so if you know how sweet yours is, you can do it that way. For example, many liquid stevia brands are about 1/4 tsp to match the sweetness of sugar.
Steve Warner says
Absolutely amazing! This was my favorite dish this Thanksgiving. I made the option with brown sugar and cinnamon and even my wife, who notoriously HATES cranberry sauce, loved it. Thanks for the fantastic recipe. I’ll be making this again (and likely using leftovers in a creme cheese tart)!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it! And the cream cheese tart sounds delicious.
MaryAnn Parrish says
Can yacon syrup be substituted for Bocha Sweet? I don’t have Bocha Sweet.
Carolyn says
It’s not a good replacement but you could do more Swerve and a teaspoon or so of Yacon. It would have great flavor but would probably re-crystallize.
Maria S Nilsson says
Just made this cranberry sauce to use on Thanksgiving and I might have to make more because I think I’ll just eat it before Thursday! It’s soooo good! Amazing! Thanks for this recipe!
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Michelle says
Can this be freezed?
Carolyn says
Frozen? Yes, I have some in my freezer right now.
Brenda Moore says
????
Lorraine Gagnon says
Just love cranberry sauce and thought i would have to give it up until i saw your recipe. Definitely will make this. That said, i’d like to know if it can be modified to make it ” jelly-like”
Thanks for all your great recipes.
Carolyn says
Yes, you can probably add some gelatin to make it like the kind from a can. I would dissolve about 1 packet of regular gelatin or 1 tablespoon of grassfed gelatin in 1/4 cup water. Then add into the mixture when you are bringing it to up to a boil. That’s just a rough guess, as I haven’t tried it.
Christine says
Hi Carolyn
Have you tried allulose in this recipe? I have baked cakes with success using it.I’ve used in caramel sauce too. It turned out very good! Thank you for all your delicious recipes!
Carolyn says
Please read the recipe notes, I discuss this. I cannot use allulose, as it gives me immediate stomach issues.
Becky says
If I am using the brown sugar only, would I double it or just use the 1/4 cup
Carolyn says
You would double it, otherwise it would be much too tart.
Melissa says
I must admit that my cranberry sauce is still in the fridge cooling, but I have licked the pot clean so I can say this cranberry sauce is amazing.
I used the Bocha Sweet and Brown Sugar Swerve but left out the cinnamon to suit my tastebuds. Also, I like jellied cranberry sauce so I pureed my cranberries and water in the blender before simmering and added gelatin at the end.
I am not sure I can wait for it to set before eating it, but I do know what will be on my Thanksgiving table, even if I have to make a sexond batch!!
Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Carolyn says
Sounds fabulous!
Meris says
I came here to see if anyone had tried adding gelatin!!! Did you also let it set in a can for added effect!???!?
Cheryl says
Love this! How do you dry them to use in baking? And do you sweeten them before drying? Hubby loves cranberries, but gave up his favorite Trader Joe’s brand.
Carolyn says
This is cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries. There is no drying…
Melissa says
Just made this and it is every bit as good as my old standby (pre keto days) Will definitely be making for Christmas as well.
Nada says
Hi….I can’t wait to make this cranberry sauce. I only have Swerve. Question: do I add the Swerve powder right after cranberries done popping while mixture is still hot ….or do I let it cook down first and then add the sweetener…? Sorry, I am new to Keto cooking and just learning how to best use sweeteners.
Carolyn says
Excellent question! In my experience, Swerve re-crystallizes the more it’s heated. So waiting until it’s lukewarm would be ideal.
Nikki says
I can’t wait to try this. Question- is there a reason to use both swerve and bocha sweet? (I understand why we are adding the Bocha Sweet just wondering if the swerve adds anything to the table other than affordability) Is there any other benefit to using swerve rather than all Bocha Sweet.
Carolyn says
You could use all Bocha Sweet if you want but they don’t have a brown sugar version. The Swerve Brown adds more sweetness and more flavor.
Swerve is still by far my favourite sweetener to bake with. Bocha Sweet is great in more liquid applications like this one but it tends to make things TOO soft. Meringues don’t crisp up and ice cream stays like soft serve. Brownies become cake-y, cookies never crisp. So I mostly use it for keeping ice cream soft and sauces like this from recrystallizing.
Christie Corson says
Carolyn, where would I find the video for this recipe? Thanks in advance
Carolyn says
well it used to be in the body text but now it’s disappeared so I’ve added it to the recipe card.
Katie says
Cranberry sauce is such a hit at my family’s Thanksgiving table! We’re going to have to try this healthier version!
Pam Dana says
This has such great flavor!
Kristyn says
Thank you for sharing these options!! Cranberry sauce is so good & I love the different ingredients you can add, to change it up!
Anna says
I am obsessed with this sugar-free cranberry sauce! It’s delicious!
Jennifer says
Cranberry Sauce is my FAVORITE! Definitely trying this healthier version!