Apple & Cranberry Sauce with Orange & Crystallized Ginger Recipe (2024)

This Crockpot Apple Cranberry Sauce is spiked with orange and crystallized ginger. Fantastic with roast turkey!

The barrage of holiday recipes has started. For my Canadian and other non-American readers, I urge you to think of these recipes not just for American Thanksgiving, but for the whole holiday season. In fact, our family tradition is to eat turkey at Christmas dinner, complete with mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes and a double dose of gravy. For my family, it's not a proper turkey dinner without our favorite
and my mother-in-law's Crockpot Applesauce. Our favorite cranberry sauce will be making appearance again this year. In fact, I think my kids would have "words" with me if I didn't make it. However, since variety is the spice of life (so they say), I thought it would be fun to have another version on hand for day-after sandwiches.

Between the family applesauce recipe and the pear applesauce I made this year, the crockpot (slow cooker) has always worked well for us. Not only does it fill the kitchen with the smell of the holidays, but it can be tucked away in the corner of the kitchen, freeing up stovetop space, which is at a premium when cooking a holiday meal. This version is filled with cranberries, fresh orange juice, orange zest and chopped crystallized ginger. As the apples cook down and the cranberries pop, the color takes on a ruby red hue. Before removing the sauce from the crockpot, be sure to taste it. If you find it to be too tart, just add an extra tablespoon or two of brown sugar to sweeten things up.

The apple cranberry sauce recipe:

Place all of the apple pieces and cranberries in a large bowl and stir in brown sugar and orange zest.

Pour orange juice into the bottom of a large crockpot (slow cooker) and add the apple mixture.

Cover, turn the crockpot setting to Low, and cook for about 8 hours, stirring occasionally and breaking up the apple slices and popping cranberries with a wooden spoon as they soften.

Stir in crystallized ginger. Taste and add an additional tablespoon or two of brown sugar if you find the sauce too tart for your liking.

Serve warm or room temperature.

Other cranberry sauce recipes:

Cookin' Canuck's
Two Peas and Their Pod's Fresh Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ciao Florentina's Blood Orange Cranberry Sauce

Printable Recipe

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