Jellied Cranberry Sauce

The easiest way to make Jellied Cranberry Sauce from scratch! This 3-ingredient homemade jelly cranberry sauce is thickened and made to gel naturally with no pectin, gelatin, agar, or extra ingredients! A Thanksgiving and winter holiday staple you can whip up in minutes, customize with flavors, and make sugar-free and so much healthier than anything you can buy in a can!

Some like cranberry sauce drippy, spoonable, and a little less jellied. Some of us like it smooth and thick like jello! This homemade Jellied Cranberry Sauce recipe is for all my latter friends! It's so simple and easy to make from scratch you'll be "scratching your head" as to why you didn't make it at home sooner! Say goodbye to any store-bought canned cranberry sauce, loaded with added sugars like high fructose corn syrup!

What's The Difference Between Whole Cranberry Sauce and Jellied?

When it comes to whole berry sauce, the skin, seeds, and flesh of the berries are still included in the sauce. The jellied version requires you to mash the sauce in a fine-mesh sieve to remove all the excess skin and seeds, allowing you to just save the jellied pulp for a thick naturally gelled sauce!

What Causes Cranberry Sauce To Gel?

Cranberries contain a high amount of natural pectin. Pectin is a large polysaccharide that's naturally present in many ripe fruits, but in varying concentrations. Pectin sits in the cell walls and dissolves from the fruit when gently simmered over heat. Pectin combined with the right amount of acidity allows the natural gelling to occur in fruit jams. Since cranberries are high in pectin and high in acidity, you don't need to add extra pectin, gelatin, or agar to make your sauce gel.

By cooking the sauce and further breaking up the cell walls by smashing the cranberries through a fine-mesh sieve, you get an ideal jelly. It's Mother Earth's natural magic at work (with a wee bit of help from you!)

Just 3 Ingredients

• Whole Cranberries: You can use a 12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries. If you're making your sauce during peak season, you'll be able to find a standard 12-ounce bag right in the produce section at your grocery store. If you're making it later in the year, make sure you stock up on bags and keep them in the freezer!
• Granulated Sweetener: For a perfect sugar-free and keto jellied cranberry sauce, you can use a sugar-free sweetener like Swerve or go ahead and use any type of granulated sugar you're used to!
• Water: Just a cup of fresh filtered water is all you need to achieve the perfect consistency for your jelly!

How To Customize And Flavor Your Jelly

The same way you would flavor a whole berry cranberry sauce, you can head over to this post for a ton of flavor suggestions!

How To Make Jellied Cranberry Sauce From Scratch

1. Add your choice of sweetener and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Add the whole cranberries and bring the pot back to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, stirring every few minutes and crushing some of the berries with the back of a spoon to help them pop.
4. Once most of the berries have popped and the sauce begins to thicken, remove the saucepan from heat.

1. While the sauce is hot, pour it into a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl.
2. Use a hard spoon to mash the sauce through the sieve, allowing only the seeds and skins of the berries to remain
3. Now let the cranberry jelly cool completely in the fridge completely or overnight.

Storing & Freezing

When you go to cool your cranberry jelly, I suggest pouring it into some glass jars, smoothing out the top, and chilling in the fridge. The jellied sauce will mold to the shape of the container you put it in. When you're ready to serve it, you can either pop the jelly out of the jar and slice it into rounds or just spoon it out of the jar.

Your jellied cranberry sauce will last in the fridge for about 14 days. You can freeze the jelly in an airtight freezer container for about 3-4 months. Defrost the jellied cranberry in the fridge before serving chilled.

How To Can Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Can the jellied sauce by filling sanitized glass ball jars (half-pint or pint) with the jelly, leaving ¼ inch of space at the top, and secure the lids. Place the jars in a canner or large soup pot of boiling water, just to the tops of the jars. Bring water to a boil and boil for 15-20 minutes. Carefully remove the jars with tongs and let them cool on the counter overnight or until room temperature. Label and store in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 1 year.

How To Serve Jarred Cranberry Sauce

You can slice this jelly sauce into rounds like you would with the iconic canned variety you'd buy at the store and present it on a platter at your Thanksgiving or holiday dinner. You can also use it as a jam or fruit jelly and spread it on sandwiches (maybe even a PBC, peanut butter, and cranberry!) The jellied sauce is best served chilled so it keeps its form!

Is It Healthy?

You don't have to worry about the added sugar, preservatives, or the lining of a can leaching into your fresh jellied sauce! This easy jellied cranberry sauce is:

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Coconut-Free, Corn-Free)
• Keto, Low-Carb, Paleo
• Sugar-Free
• Kid-Friendly
• Customizable Flavors
• Easy & Simple 3-Ingredients
• Quick & Made In 10 Minutes
• Make-Ahead & Meal Prep Holiday Essential
• Freezer-Friendly & Cannable

Complete Your Thanksgiving Meal:

• Vegan Cauliflower Lentil Loaf
• Rosemary Thyme Mashed Potatoes
• Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing
• Vegan Corn Casserole
• Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits

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If you want some more delicious cranberry recipes, try these vegan white chocolate cranberry cookies, these copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars, or whip up a batch of this spiced cranberry granola!

So tell me:

+ You can only choose one...jellied, whole, or roasted cranberry sauce?

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