Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Pomegranate

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Homemade cranberry sauce made from scratch and filled with fresh, juicy cranberries, pomegranate arils, and festive fall spices.

I know a lot of people love that canned cranberry jello on the thanksgiving table in all it's ridged jelly glory... but I'm not one of those people. I like something I can pour on top of the other dishes in the meal and that is made from scratch. Then I know exactly what's in it, and I can reduce the sugar because the canned jelly is way to sweet (in my opinion). Cranberry sauce is supposed to be slightly tart, slightly sweet, and full of flavor.

Honestly, after making cranberry sauce from scratch for a number of years now, I could not go back to the canned jelly.

This cranberry sauce with pomegranate is wholesome and festive. It pairs well with a thanksgiving dinner or can be slathered on leftovers (like a turkey sandwich). For this cranberry sauce recipe, I like to sweeten the sauce with a natural sweetener like honey and sprinkle it with fall spices like allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Of course, you can leave the spices out, but cranberry sauce is a little plain if you do that.

I've made this recipe with either fresh or frozen fruit and either works just fine. You can swap the pomegranate arils for more cranberries if desired (the pomegranate arils have a little bit of a crunch to them), and you can swap pineapple juice for orange juice (bottled or freshly squeezed) if that is what you have on hand. If you absolutely love that orange and cranberry pairing, go ahead and add a little orange zest in there too (trust me you'll love it).

What You Will Need

¼-½ cup honey

1 cup pineapple juice (can substitute for orange) You can also use orange zest if you really like the orange flavor in your cranberry sauce.

2 ½ cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)

1 ½ cups pomegranate arils (fresh or frozen) You can use more cranberries if you don't want the added crunch of the pomegranate arils.

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

How To Make Cranberry Sauce with Pomegranate

In a small saucepan, warm up the pineapple juice and honey on medium heat until the honey dissolves.

Then add the cranberries and pomegranate arils and bring the pot to a boil.

Once boiling, bring the temperature down to simmer the sauce. The cranberries will pop a little as they cook.

Once the cranberries have softened, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. The sauce will thicken more as it cools, so I recommend putting it in the refrigerator for a couple hours to let it thicken more.

If you prefer a smoother cranberry sauce, you can blend it after it is fully cooked in a blender.

If you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a star rating and a comment below. Share what you made and tag me on Instagram @keepingitholistic! For more scratch-made recipes and natural living tips, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on YouTube and Instagram!

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