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Craving a new and novel homemade cranberry sauce to serve on your Thanksgiving table this year? Try our crunchy cranberry sauce recipe, inspired by Budget Bytes, and satisfy your appetite for a cranberry sauce that gets your attention with vibrant flavors and a surprisingly addictive texture.
The usual cranberry sauce recipes call for fresh cranberries and a liberal amount of sugar to counter the inherent tartness of the fruit. The result is an incredibly sweet condiment that masks the natural flavor of the cranberry. Our crunchy cranberry sauce recipe features a modest amount of sugar to balance the cranberry tartness and a medley of diced apple, celery, and walnuts to give it a delectable texture.
A small amount of lemon juice and ground cinnamon complement the prevailing flavors, while the unexpected addition of gelatin thickens the cranberry sauce to make each bite more of an irresistible mouthful. Think this newfangled recipe veers too far from the classic cranberry sauce? Go ahead and call it a crunchy cranberry relish.
Let’s make this!
Stir gelatin into water
Gelatin is a water-soluble protein that acts as a thickener in this cranberry sauce. In a small bowl, stir the envelope of gelatin into 3 tablespoons of water. Set aside for about 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to absorb the water and become thick and jelly-like.
Cook the cranberries in sugar and water
A modest amount of sugar gives this cranberry sauce a lovely flavor without being cloyingly sweet. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then add the cranberries. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat, covered with a lid, for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries burst.
Add gelatin, lemon juice, and cinnamon to the cranberries
Stir the gelatin, lemon juice, and cinnamon into the cooked cranberries and place the saucepan in the refrigerator to cool slightly.
Combine celery, apple, and walnuts
Diced celery, apple, and walnuts give the cranberry sauce its crunch-loving texture. In a large bowl, mix these ingredients together.
Add the cranberry mixture to the celery mixture
Pour the cranberry mixture into the bowl with the diced celery, apple, and walnuts. Stir to combine. Place the crunchy cranberry sauce in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to cool completely.
Serve to your family and friends
Serve your crunchy cranberry sauce chilled and enjoy the way it deliciously captivates your Thanksgiving guests.
An impressive compliment to your holiday dinner
Bright cranberry color pops
As gorgeous as it is delicious!
Fresh and bright
Crunchy cranberry sauce
Yield 10 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope plain gelatin
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons of water, divided
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 stalks celery, finely diced
- 1 medium apple, finely diced
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir the envelope of plain gelatin into 3 tablespoons of water. Allow the mixture to sit until the gelatin has absorbed the water and formed a thick jelly-like texture, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and the remaining 1 cup of water to a
- boil. Stir briefly to dissolve the sugar, then add the cranberries.
- Allow the water to come back up to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover with a lid and let the cranberries simmer for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries burst.
- Stir in the softened gelatin, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Place the saucepan in the refrigerator to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the celery, apple, and walnuts.
- Pour cranberry mixture into the bowl with the celery mixture. Stir to combine, then place the cranberry sauce in the refrigerator to cool completely, about 2 hours.
- Serve chilled.
Courses Sides
