20 Cranberry Sauce Recipes

A variety of cranberry sauce recipes, for Thanksgiving or Christmas...

image: OurFamilyEats

Roasted or Baked Cranberry Sauce

Simple Roasted Cranberries (Gluten Free, Grain Free, and Paleo) from OurFamilyEats. I love that this one really is simple, and that it uses maple syrup for the sweetener.

Bobby Flay's Baked Cranberry Sauce, which calls for finishing it off with a quarter cup of bourbon. Some reviewers substituted other liquor or liquers (orange being a popular flavor). 41 reviews, and every one of them 4-star!

Roasted Cranberry Sauce with Herbed Candied Walnuts, from Bon Appetit. Lots of sugar in this one!

Boozy and Baked Cranberry Sauce. Even though it has "boozy" in the name, its alcohol content is much less than Mr. Flay's. Also looks easy: just four ingredients.

Sugar-Free Cranberry Sauce

image: The Vintage Mixer

A sugar-free recipe that lets you use the sweetener of your choice.

And another "sugar-free" cranberry sauce recipe, but it uses honey. You could sub maple syrup or your preferred sweetener. It also includes crushed pineapple; interesting!

And another. This one calls for Equal, but a couple commenters said they used Splenda and it worked well.

Paleo-friendly cranberry sauce; uses apple juice and maple syrup for sweetener. (Listed as 

Paleo/GF/DF/EF/SF/NF)

Another Paleo cranberry sauce, from nomnompaleo, using sweet cherries and apple juice.

(Here's why I like maple syrup as a sweetener.)

Traditional Stove-Top Cranberry Sauce Recipes

image: Simply Recipes

Every recipe I've ever tried from Elise at SimplyRecipes has been great. Here's her traditional recipe. But she also suggest various add-ins. I might try blueberry! 

(And her recipe is the same as the most popular cranberry sauce at AllRecipes; more than 1200 reviews, and still five stars!) 

Another classic cranberry sauce recipe; this one from Pioneer Woman. Similar to the others, but uses maple syrup in place of sugar, and orange juice in place of white sugar.

Unique Cranberry Sauce Recipes

This page at Fun & Food Cafe features five different cranberry sauce recipes, with unusual ingredients. I like the sound of the second one, which has raspberries and walnuts!

Ginger Cranberry Sauce, via RecipeLion.

Another from the same source: Cranberry Sauce with Apples (and Mandarin oranges, and pineapple).

How about Cranberry Sauce with Jalapenos? I think that would be a big hit with smoked turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Quinoa and spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette

or...

The best quinoa salad EVER!

This salad is so addictive! Inspired by a salad I had at a Kansas City "wine dive," as well as a spinach and orzo salad I used to make, I created this healthy and delicious cold quinoa salad, and it's always a big hit at parties and potlucks. I love the contrast of all the different ingredients, as well as the sharp taste of the feta balanced by the sweet-and-sour of the vinaigrette, and the subtle spinach and nutty quinoa.

Quinoa is a healthier alternative to pasta like orzo, because it's a complete protein in and of itself, plus it's fairly low-glycemic for a grain. And, for those who care, it's gluten-free.

It's best made a few hours ahead, I think. I don't know if it keeps longer than 24 hours, because if there are any leftovers in the fridge that night, I'm likely to I always polish them off as a midnight snack!

If I were making this just for myself, I would use the full amount of feta, but when I'm serving a crowd, I usually put in half the feta, and serve some alongside for those who would like to add more. If you're serving a nut-sensitive crowd, you could also leave out the nuts and provide them as a garnish.

Spinach and quinoa salad with balsamic vinaigrette

2 c. thoroughly rinsed quinoa  (a 12-oz. package of pre-rinsed)
2 T. butter
3 c. chicken stock
1/2 of a medium red onion, finely diced
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 T. rice vinegar, or a mix
1 - 2 T. maple syrup
1/2 c. olive oil
5 - 6 oz. baby spinach, chopped
2 - 4 T. crumbled feta cheese, to taste
1-1/3 c. craisins, chopped apple, or a combination
2 - 3 T. fresh basil (optional)
pecan and/or walnut pieces, to taste - maybe 1/2 cup

Make sure your quinoa is thoroughly rinsed, until the water runs clean. If not, it will be bitter. More info here.

Melt butter in a large skillet, and saute the quinoa till it just starts turning golden brown. (This step is optional. If you're pressed for time, feel free to skip it.)

Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer, cover and let cook for 15 minutes. Then remove from heat and let it sit -- still covered -- for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice the red onion and put it in the bottom of a large mixing/serving bowl. Combine the vinegar, sweetener and olive oil in a small jar and shake to combine. Set aside.

Once the quinoa is done, and if there's any excess liquid, drain that off. Pour the quinoa over the onions and place that mixture in the fridge to cool off. The reason: subjecting the onions to the heat of the cooked quinoa will mellow them a bit, and start them releasing their flavors into the mixture.

Once the quinoa is cooled, pour the vinegar mixture over the salad. Stir gently till well combined. If you have more than 2 hours to serving time, cover and place back in the fridge.

An hour or two before serving, add the spinach, feta, and craisins or apple. Taste and adjust ingredients if needed. More feta for a sharper taste; more Splenda and/or fruit for a sweeter taste.

Add the fresh basil and nuts just before serving.

Serves 10-12

Nutrition data from myfitnesspal.com:

Nutrition Facts
Servings 12.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories 400
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 25 g	38 %
Saturated Fat 5 g	24 %
Monounsaturated Fat 9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 9 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 12 g	4 %
Sodium 188 mg	8 %
Potassium 428 mg	12 %
Total Carbohydrate 39 g	13 %
Dietary Fiber 4 g	16 %
Sugars 13 g
Protein 9 g	18 %
Vitamin A	1 %
Vitamin C	12 %
Calcium	1 %
Iron	112 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Recipe review: Key Lime Laraballs

Call them nut balls, energy bites, or no-bake cookies. No matter what you call them, I love 'em! First of all because I LOVE the flavor, but also because they are a totally guilt-free treat!

Let's just list all the things these have going for them:

• Quick and easy to make; no bake.
• Raw, vegan, gluten free.
• I'm not a paleo expert, but I think these might be paleo-friendly, too.

They are very dominantly lime-flavored. If you don't love lime or you're a wimp when it comes to sour things, you might want to make mix it up it as-is, then taste before you start rolling the dough into balls. I'm glad I did, because since I was using unsweetened coconut, and I had to add a little extra dates and a splash of vanilla to sweeten it up a bit.

Try them! YUM!

Here's the original recipe, from peasandcrayons: Key Lime Larabars.

And here are my tweaks:

1/2 cup chopped dates (pre-chopped; coated w/ dextrose)
1/4 cup raw, unsalted almonds

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (+ extra for coating)
1-2 Tablespoons raw, unsalted walnuts
2-3 Tablespoons  fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon real maple syrup

1 splash vanilla extract

Combine in food processor till it starts sticking together. You may need to stop a scrape things down a couple times. Taste and add more dates and/or syrup as needed. 

Put mixture in a small bowl and chill in the fridge for about five minutes. Remove, roll into balls, and roll the balls in shredded coconut. Place in a closed or plastic-wrapped container and store in the fridge.

Nut tarts

My kids have very different tastes: if one of them likes something, odds are, the other one won't. One likes hamburger; the other doesn't. One of them loves cheese, the other one hates it. If you ask them, "Where would you like to go in Europe?" one wants Ireland, the other Italy. Even some sweets don't get a unanimous vote. 

But EVERYone loves these!

And what's not to love? A honeyed nut filling between two layers of flaky crust, these treats are like the love-child of baklava and Pop Tarts! But store-bought pie crusts make these so much easier to put together than dealing with layers of phyllo. 

I like to use English walnuts for the filling, but you can use pecans, pistachios, or a mix.

These nutty wedges are perfect for shipping, because:

- Once cooked and cooled, they're pretty sturdy, 

- They're very flat, and

- They fit nicely in a box when you pack them as in the top photo above. 

I just shipped some to my college kids a few days ago. I wrapped two pieces at a time in cling wrap, then placed one layer of these on top of a couple layers of bubble wrap, topped that with a bag of their favorite chips -- and they were intact when they arrived!

Recipe: Nut Tarts

1 package refrigerated ready-made pie crust (2 crusts)

1-1/4 c. nuts, chopped to smaller than pea-size

        (English walnuts, pecans, pistachios or a mix)

1/4 c. sugar

3 T. honey

1 t. lemon juice

milk (optional)

cinnamon-sugar (optional)

Set crusts out to come to room temperature, following package directions. Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl, stir together nuts, sugar, honey and lemon juice; stir till well mixed. 

Roll both pie crusts out till 12” in diameter. Roll the bottom crust out on the cookie sheet you’ll be baking on. Roll the second crust out on something that will let you transfer it easily. A flexible silicone mat works great for this.

Spoon the nut mixture onto the bottom crust, then, using buttered fingers, spread it carefully to about 3/4” from the edge. Spread as evenly as you can, but there will still be spots where you can see the crust; that's okay. 

Then, top this with the second crust: line up one edge of the crust, roll the mat and top crust across the filled bottom crust, then peel the mat back off. 

Using your fingers or a basting brush, moisten the perimeter of the bottom crust with a little water, and then press to seal the edges. Crimp edges with a fork, if you like. If you want, you can also trim off excess crust to make a neat, even edge.

Optional, and purely cosmetic; you can do none, one, or any combination. Prick top crust in a decorative pattern with a fork, knife or skewer. Brush top with a little milk; sprinkle cinnamon sugar over it.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, till crust is lightly browned. Remove and let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting. Let cool completely. Cut into 12 or 16 wedges. I cut it into fourth first, then divide each of those into three slices (for 12 servings) or four slices (for 16).

Flaky, gooey, YUM!