This keto cranberry sauce recipe 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. All you need to do is swap in some keto-friendly sweetener and you can enjoy that tangy-sweet deliciousness.
I have so many delicious Keto Thanksgiving Recipes. From keto stuffing to gooey keto pecan pie, I love creating recipes for a holiday feast that people on a low carb diet can enjoy without worry. And this sugar free cranberry sauce graces my table every single year!
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.
What readers are saying
“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
Reasons to love this recipe
- Classic flavor: It has all the tart-sweet cranberry flavor you expect with no added sugar and less than 2 grams of carbs per serving.
- Thick texture: Over the years, I’ve perfected this recipe so that it has the same thick, syrupy quality as the sugary kind.
- Easy to make: 3 simple ingredients and 10 minutes is all it takes!
- Customizable: I’ve got three delectable flavor variations below.
- Make it in advance: This sugar free cranberry sauce is easily frozen so you can make weeks ahead. Perfect for holiday prep!
Ingredient Notes
- 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 brown sugar replacement and allulose. This gives the sauce a thickness, but also helps keep it from recrystallizing as it cools. Read my guide to keto sweeteners for more information.
- Water
- Other flavorings: citrus zest, cinnamon, lime juice, chipotle powder, vanilla extract, cloves.
How to Make Keto Cranberry Sauce
- Combine the ingredients: Place the cranberries, sweeteners, and water in a large saucepan and set over medium heat.
- Simmer and chill: Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer until almost all the cranberries have popped. Remove and let cool.
Variations
Cinnamon “Brown Sugar” Cranberry Sauce
Use 1/4 cup Brown Swerve in place of the granular Swerve. Then add 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon along with the sweeteners. This might be my favorite cranberry sauce variation yet!
Orange Clove Cranberry Sauce
Add 2 tsp orange zest and 1/4 tsp ground cloves along with the sweeteners. If you prefer, you can use 1/2 tsp orange extract in place of the zest. Smells like an old-fashioned Christmas!
Chipotle Lime Cranberry Sauce
Get a little Southwestern flare by adding 1/2 tsp chipotle powder, 2 tbsp fresh lime juice, and 1 tsp lime zest along with the sweeteners. A nice change from the traditional sauce.
Tips for Success
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 (226.8 g) cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 2/3 cup (157.73 g) water
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup (50 g) 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.
Video
Notes
Storage Information
Store the sauce in the fridge in a glass jar for up to a week. You can also freeze the sauce for up to 2 months. Remember to leave a little head room in the jars for the sauce to expand.Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Do you have to freeze it in a glass jar or can it be Tupperware or a mason jar
Anything works as long as you leave a little room for the sauce to expand during freezing.
Amazing! I have missed cranberry sauce since going Leto and this was amazing! I used the brown swerve with the bocca sweet. Thank you!
I read thru 2x and listened to the video. I’m not seeing the 4 flavor options. Help. Thanks!
Never mind! I found them. I dont know what was going on. B.
Oh, I just saw this now…
It’s all written right into the blog post. If you’re skipping to the recipe, you’re going to miss them…
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!
Yes, absolutely if you prefer the gelled cranberry sauce.
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!
Can less sweetner (Monk Fruit) be used? I have found cookies, etc. with Monk Fruit sweetner are sometimes too sweet.
Sure!
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!!
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.
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).
That one is my favorite too!
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!
Made the cinnamon brown sugar recipe for Thanksgiving this year and oh my gosh it was so delicious!!
So glad to hear it!
I made this last year and making it again this year! I LOVE me some cranberry sauce so thank you very much!!
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!
I would just re-warm it before serving.
Can I use 1/4 cup swerve brown sugar and 1/4 powdered swerve?
As I think I am clear in the post… yes but it will recrystallize and become grainy, since these are both erythritol sweeteners.
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!!!
So delighted to hear that!
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.
If I’m replacing the swerve with liquid stevia what would the amount of stevia be?
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.