Description
This easy cranberry relish is sweet and tart, crunchy, and fresh. It’s so easy to make – only 7 ingredients, and no cooking required. The perfect side dish for Thanksgiving, and/or Christmas.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 24 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large naval orange, washed, quartered, remove any seeds
- 1 sweet baking apple (gala Honeycrisp, fuji etc), peeled, and quartered
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For garnish (Optional)
- Extra orange, for zesting
Instructions
- Prepare the fruit: Prepare and cut the fruit as instructed above so that it’s ready to go.
- Process the cranberries: Add half of the cranberries, and half of the sugar and all of the salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until all of the cranberries have broken down into tiny pieces (see photo in post). Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Then, return to the food processor and repeat with the remaining cranberries until all of the cranberries have been broken down. Note: If you have a larger food processor feel free to process all of the cranberries at once. I have a 7 cup food processor, so it’s best to do everything in batches so that it gets broken down more evenly.
- Process the apples and oranges: Add half of the apple and half of the orange to the food processor. Pulse until those are broken down into small pieces – transfer to the mixing bowl with the cranberries. Repeat processing the remaining half of the orange and the apple. I found it’s best to process the apple and orange together to help the rind of the orange break down into smaller pieces.
- Combine: Stir everything in the mixing bowl together, including the cinnamon and the nutmeg, until well combined. Taste and adjust the sugar as needed. The relish should be slightly tart, but not overly sour. I often end up adding another 2 tablespoons of sugar – this can vary depending on how sweet your fruit already is.
- Chill: The cranberry relish is really best served chilled. Transfer it to an air tight container and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours, best if overnight. This is a great dish to make 1 to several days in advance from when you’ll be serving it. It will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- To serve: Once chilled, transfer the relish to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh orange zest, if desired.
Notes
How to serve: I know that the name relish can make you think of something like pickle relish which is often used to top hot dogs. However, despite it’s name, this cranberry relish isn’t a topping. It’s simply a side dish. It’s another option in place of cranberry sauce.
