Easy Homemade Cranberry Applesauce (with maple syrup)

Name: Easy Homemade Cranberry Applesauce with Maple Syrup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup cranberries (fresh- thoroughly rinsed ); 1/2 cup water; 1/3 cup maple syrup; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (ground (optional)); 1/8 teaspoon cloves (ground (optional)); 1/2 teaspoon orange zest; 3 cups applesauce (homemade or store-bought )

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Easy Homemade Cranberry Applesauce (with maple syrup)🍎 A bright and delicious applesauce recipe with fresh cranberries lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup, a touch of holiday spice, lemon juice and orange zest. Vegan & gluten-free.

A mason jar filled with easy homemade cranberry applesauce with maple syrup placed on a counter with apples.

A few years ago, I was looking for a light side dish to add to our Thanksgiving meal. Something that would contrast nicely with all the fabulous savory and rich 'veganized' traditional foods we love to serve. I always make my simple cranberry orange sauce and cranberry relish, but thought it would be fun to include something new. So I made homemade cranberry applesauce sweetened with maple syrup. Oh my gosh, it's so good!

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A jar with easy homemade cranberry applesauce sweetened with maple syrup.

I absolutely love the combination of tart fresh cranberries intermingled with apples, like in my Old Fashioned Vegan Applesauce Cake. One of the easiest ways to enjoy the two fruits together is by combining cranberries with this yummy homemade applesauce. With a dash of ground cloves, nutmeg & orange zest, it's a perfect fall, Thanksgiving or holiday side dish!

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Why this recipe works
Ingredients
🥕Tips:
Instructions
Equipment
🥕Hint
FAQ's
Recipe
Food safety

Why this recipe works

Makes a light, delicious & colorful dessert, side dish or snack
Loaded with Vitamin C and other healthy nutrients
Very easy to make
Serve during the holidays or anytime!
Can be prepared with homemade or store-bought applesauce
Add or substitute ingredients as needed

🥕Did you know? Cranberries are one of the only commercial fruits native to North America.

Ingredients for homemade cranberry applesauce.

With just a few basic ingredients you can have a batch of this easy & delish cranberry applesauce ready to serve in less than 30 minutes!

Homemade cranberry applesauce in a bowl.

Ingredients

Applesauce - homemade (preferred) or store-bought
Water
Maple Syrup - may be substituted with agave nectar or sugar.
Nutmeg - ground
Cloves - ground
Orange Zest - may substitute with lemon zest

🥕Tips:

Adding ground nutmeg and cloves will give the applesauce a wonderful holiday flavor, but can be omitted if you prefer.

Be sure to check out my recipe for making simply the best homemade applesauce. I think you'll agree it's so much better than store-bought and very easy to prepare. Here's the recipe.

🥕See the printable recipe card below for quantities and complete details.

Instructions

A bowl full of easy homemade applesauce, surrounded by fresh apples and slices.

First, prepare a batch of easy homemade applesauce, (or use store-bought). Gather other ingredients & rinse cranberries, making sure to remove any stems.

Adding fresh cranberries to pan with maple syrup.

Pour maple syrup and water in stovetop pot. Add fresh cranberries.

Fresh cranberries simmering in maple syrup

Cover (to avoid splatters) and simmer at a low boil until cranberries become soft.

Cooked cranberries strained through a sieve.

Cooked cranberries on top of easy homemade applesauce.

Once cranberries are tender, remove from heat and strain liquid. Add cooked cranberries and spices to applesauce. Stir to combine. Cool and serve!

A mason jar with homemade cranberry applesauce on a marble block with apple slices and fresh cranberries scattered on top.

Equipment

🥕Hint

I love adding whole cranberries to my applesauce, but if you prefer a smoother texture, simply purée the cooked cranberries in a blender or food processor before adding to the applesauce. You can also combine both the whole cooked cranberries with applesauce and purée everything together at once for an even smoother texture.

A mason jar filled with easy homemade cranberry applesauce on a counter with apple slices and cranberries.

FAQ's

Can I use store-bought applesauce in this recipe?

If you're short on time, you can definitely use store-bought applesauce, but in my opinion, nothing beats homemade.

Are cranberries healthy?

Cranberries are considered a superfood because they have a lot of health-boosting benefits.

According to this article:

"They’re high in antioxidants. A study found that out of 20 common fruits, cranberries have the highest level of phenols, a type of antioxidant. (Red grapes were a distant second.)"

A cup of raw cranberries contain 25% of your daily requirement of vitamin C and are loaded with many other vitamins and nutrients. Learn more about the health benefits of cranberries here.

How long do fresh cranberries last?

Cranberries should remain fresh for up to one month in a refrigerator. Dull or wrinkled looking cranberries are not fresh and should be discarded. You can also freeze them for several months, providing you place them in a freezer as soon as you bring them home from the store. Here is a website with details and tips on safely freezing fresh cranberries

How should I store cranberry applesauce?

Package applesauce in an airtight container and store refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months. Thaw in a refrigerator before using.

Love cranberries? Here's a few more recipes you might enjoy!

A jam jar filled with easy homemade cranberry applesauce sweetened with maple syrup.

very vegan 🍏 very good

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please rate it in the comments below. Sharing your experience helps others decide if they should give it a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕

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