Ahh holiday spices… How you warm our mouths and our souls. There’s just something about deep, intense spices that make any chilly day better! I’ve brought these aromatics to my rendition of a classic to make Spiced Cranberry Sauce that will delight!
I made this sauce for the Thanksgiving mini-feast we hosted around our teeny kitchen table but it’s totally not a Turkey Day exclusive! Cranberry Sauce absolutely has a place on any holiday (or wintertime) table. I love to have a bit of something sweet to scoop onto my fork between huge mouthfuls of heavy, savory goodness.
I really wanted a cranberry sauce with more personality than your average relish. And if you are the kind of person who likes the jellied, canned, straight-from-hell stuff… Well, this recipe isn’t for you.
What this sauce is…
- Flavorful
- Sweet
- Tart
- Chunky
- Rich
- Earthy
- Tangy
Huge shout out to rosemary for bringing a savory edge to the sweetest condiment in the kitchen. Every winter, I buy a rosemary tree and add the fresh herb to ummm… everything. The earthiness [didn’t realize that was a real word but autocorrect didn’t yell at me…] brings such a depth of flavor to any dish. At the end of the season, or after a few weeks of forgetting to water my plant, I like to tie some sprigs into bundles and hang them to dry and use all year.
I chose to use a Suja juice with beets for this because I love its balance of sweet and earthy. But not too worry, use whatever juice you like! I think pomegranate would be totally scrumptious! Whatever you use, this cranberry sauce can be made a few days ahead to save you some time in the craziness of the season. You can even serve it straight out of the jar like I did! Enjoy!
Why not take a classic holiday dish and jazz it up with some holiday spices?! Spiced Cranberry Sauce is a perfect twist on the classic, and healthy to boot!
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup Suja Essentials Sweet Beets juice (or sub orange or pomegranate juice)
- 1 ½ Tbs. freshly grated ginger (or 1 Tbs. dried)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- ½ cup of coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- 1 Tbs. orange zest
Instructions
- Add juice and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add remaining ingredients, except for orange zest and bring to a light boil.
- Cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove cinnamon stick and rosemary sprig (it’s ok if some rosemary stays in the mix- I actually prefer it!) and add mixture to a food processor with orange zest. Pulse a few times to break down the mix, or blend until smooth. You can also skip this step entirely for a chunkier mixture.
- Garnish with orange zest, chill, and enjoy!
