A Keto Thanksgiving Recipe
Cranberry sauce is iconic to the Thanksgiving table. Whether your family has a tried and true cranberry sauce recipe that everyone loves or a yearly competition among several different cranberry sauce variations, this tart and tangy garnish is enjoyed by many. Traditional recipes use a huge amount of refined sugar, plus often the addition of other high-sugar fruits. Our low carb cranberry sauce gives you all that vibrant flavor and beautiful color of traditional cranberry sauce without any added sugar, making it truly a keto cranberry sauce recipe!
Serve this wonderful Keto Cranberry Sauce over Thanksgiving turkey or even Christmas ham, or you can even enjoy our low carb cranberry sauce alone with a spoon without risking being knocked out of ketosis! I’m totally going to play with the leftover cranberry sauce and see if I can come up with an amazing cranberry fat bomb.
Are Cranberries Keto Friendly?
Berries are some of the best keto fruits. Cranberries in particular are naturally low in sugars, and these tart berries are packed with antioxidants. Our keto cranberry sauce recipe sweetens them up with Swerve and layers them with just enough orange zest, lemon zest and orange flavor. The result is sweet yet still has the bite we love in our traditional Holiday Cranberry Sauce.
Keto Cranberry Sauce without high sugar fruit?
Instead of adding high sugar fruits, I chose to use the zest from an orange and a lemon. Using the zest gives potent flavor without adding carbs. But I found I wanted to punch that orange flavor up just a bit more, so I used orange flavoring, which is made from orange oil and a carrier oil. (The kind I used had sunflower oil.) Orange extract will work, too. Either way, a tiny amount really kicks up the flavor.
Alternative to sugar in Cranberry Sauce?
Use the keto friendly sweetener of your choice. We really like the powdered Swerve, as it mixes in nicely and lends a little to the saucy texture. You’ll get the thickening of the sauce from just cranberries, too. As they cook down, they soften, and you can even mash them a bit with your stirring spoon until you get the texture you like.
The serving size is 1/4 cup, and each serving has 4 net carbs. That may be more than you need, especially if you are eating it alone. With such vibrant, strong flavors, a little goes a long way!
| Prep Time | 1 minute |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
1/4 cup servings
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- 10 ounces cranberries frozen or fresh
- 1 cup Swerve confectioner's sweetener or Keto friendly sweetener of your choice
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp orange zest we use the microplane linked below for zesting
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 pinch pink sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp orange flavor
Ingredients
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- Combine cranberries, Swerve, salt, and water in a small saucepan.
- Using a microplane held over the saucepan, zest the orange and lemon into the pan. Gently scrape the outside of the fruit across the microplane, taking off the top layer of the peel. Be careful not to go too far down into the peel. The white part of the peel (called the pith) is bitter and will not add the citrus flavor that you want.
- Turn heat to medium, stirring regularly until the mixture starts to simmer.
- Reduce heat to low. Continue simmering, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. You'll see the cranberries start to pop and crack open. As they cook down, the sauce will thicken. When they are soft enough, you can mash some of the berries with your spoon, which will thicken the sauce more.
- Once the sauce has reached your desired consistency, remove from heat. Add vanilla and orange flavor.
More Keto Thanksgiving Recipes and Keto Thanksgiving Tips & Tricks
I made this today using Lakanto Monk Fruit powdered sweetener. I had all the ingredients except for orange flavoring. It is delicious! I plan to use this sauce on keto crepes!
Ooooh, keto crepes with cranberry sauce sounds wonderful! So glad you like this recipe. 🙂
How fun! I’m working on a cookie recipe that uses this sauce, too. Coming soon!