Cranberry Apple Relish

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This delicious cranberry apple relish has a gingery kick and is an absolute treat! It's a perfect side dish for a holiday meal or other special occasion.

There's just the right amount of sweetness in this recipe from the tart apples, white grape juice, and brown sugar - but it still has the lovely tanginess of fresh cranberries.

You can serve this as an appetizer as well - treat it like a cranberry apple chutney and serve it with crackers and cream cheese.

Traditional cranberry sauce is a classic Thanksgiving and Christmas side dish, but if you're not a fan of the usual recipe or just want to try something more exciting this is the recipe for you!

There's nothing boring about this sauce - it's sweet, tangy, gingery, richly flavorful, and has a gorgeous, vivid color. It pairs well with turkey and ham and tastes great with mashed potatoes!

This dish would be welcomed on any Thanksgiving table or at any other holiday celebration - it's great for Christmas brunch as well!

Fresh cranberries can be found at the grocery store from September through January. If you're making this out of season, you can use frozen cranberries as well!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• More Holiday Side Dish Recipes
• Substitutions & Variations
• Storage
• Tips for Making this Recipe
• Cranberry Apple Relish

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this delicious cranberry-apple relish.

• Granny Smith Apples
• Fresh Cranberries 
• Brown Sugar
• White Grape Juice
• Fresh Ginger
• Ground cinnamon
• Optional toppings - orange zest (or larger strips of orange peel) or lemon zest

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Peel each Granny Smith apple and dice them into ½-inch pieces.

Combine the cranberries, apples, half cup sugar, half cup white grape juice, minced ginger, and teaspoon ground cinnamon in a large pot or saucepan.

Heat the saucepan on the stove over high heat until gently boiling. Stir till the sugar dissolves.

Reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving in a large bowl. Top with optional orange zest if desired.

If you want a smoother consistency for your cranberry sauce, you can blitz it in the food processor for 30 seconds after it cools.

More Holiday Side Dish Recipes

If you like this recipe you'll love our Healthy Christmas Sides and our Healthy Thanksgiving Sides. Try some of these favorites as well!

• Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes - a creamy, delicious sweet potato recipe that's full of great flavor. One of our favorite things to serve during the holidays!
• Roasted Carnival Squash - squash roasted to perfection and topped with herbs and pomegranate seeds.
• Oven Roasted Root Vegetables - a mix of root vegetables roasted to perfection with a great mix of seasonings.
• Honey Roasted Baby Carrots - a wonderful, easy side dish with tender roasted carrots.

Substitutions & Variations

Need to make some substitutions or add some alternative ingredients? Here are some easy swaps you can make to this fresh cranberry apple relish.

• Spices - you can use a whole cinnamon stick in this recipe if you'd prefer. Simmer it with the relish and then remove it before serving.
• Juice - you can swap the grape juice for orange juice if you'd prefer a more citrusy flavor. I'd recommend adding an extra tablespoon of brown sugar if you make this swap. If you want a little extra zing, add in a few teaspoons of fresh lemon juice.
• Sugar - you can swap the brown sugar for coconut sugar or maple syrup if you'd prefer.

Storage

The cooked cranberry relish will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container.

You can serve the cranberry relish cold or at room temperature.

Tips for Making this Recipe

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Cooking Tips - Keep an eye on the relish as it cooks - you want it at a rapid simmer in order to cook down and thicken up, but it shouldn't be boiling or it may burn. Stir it occasionally as it reduces to make sure it isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot - reduce the heat and keep stirring if it cooks too quickly.

Recommended Tools - I recommend using a heavy-bottomed pot like a dutch oven for this recipe - it helps keep the heat consistent while simmering. I do not recommend using a non-stick pan as the relish has more chance of overheating while reducing.

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