Cranberry Sauce With Red Wine, Walnuts And Orange

To be honest, this Cranberry Sauce With Red Wine, Walnuts, and Orange is one of my favorite recipes that I am making for Thanksgiving this year. The addition of red wine and orange zest makes this reminiscent of mulled wine and the walnuts add a fun crunch and rich flavor. Who knew that it was so simple to make a low carb, keto-friendly, sugar free cranberry sauce? And the best part is that it fooled the sugar lover in the household.

The Inspiration

The inspiration for this cranberry sauce comes from the sauce that my mom makes every year, which is an absolute favorite of mine. It is made with fresh cranberries, fresh orange chunks and juice, and walnuts and is spiked with a little Grand Marnier. So good.

Being on a low carb, keto diet, I cannot have the sugar, orange chunks, or the orange juice due to the high sugar and carb content of these. But cranberries are thankfully low in carbs and fair game for a low carb, keto diet.

So I set out to replicate the flavors using the zest of the orange instead. I wanted to add more interest and depth of flavor, so instead of using water or orange juice for the liquid required, I used red wine. And wow, did this make the dish. I absolutely love it. It reminds me of mulled wine.

The Ingredients

The ingredients for the recipe are almost the same as a traditional fresh cranberry sauce. There is only one thing that needs to be replaced to make this low carb – the sweetener.

For this recipe I used a granular sugar replacement. My favorite is Lakanto’s Monkfruit Sweetener. It measures and acts the same as granular sugar, without any calories or carbs.

The rest of the ingredients are simple and fresh: fresh cranberries, an orange, red wine, and walnuts. I like to use whole pieces instead of chopped, for a bigger crunch and visual appeal.

The Steps

This cranberry sauce is incredibly easy to prepare…

First, grate and zest your orange. I grated about 1/3 of the orange, and then cut off strips of zest with a pairing knife.

Next, in a large saucepan combine the cranberries, sugar, red wine, and orange zest. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and cook uncovered, stirring here and there, until the berries pop.

Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. The sauce will thicken as it cools. So simple, and so delicious!

The Results

This Cranberry Sauce With Red Wine, Walnuts, and Orange has become a new favorite for my Thanksgiving table. It is tart, sweet, and with a delicious depth of flavor from the red wine and orange zest. The best part? It is indistinguishable from traditional (high carb) homemade cranberry sauces and has a fraction of the carbs and sugars. Perfect for a low-carb, keto diet.

Click here for more low carb, keto-friendly Thanksgiving recipe suggestions!

If you make this Keto Cranberry Sauce With Red Wine, Walnuts, and Orange be sure to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you. And if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see!

How To Make: Cranberry Sauce With Red Wine, Walnuts & Orange