Cranberries

Cranberry-Orange Gelatin Salad makes the perfect treat for the low-carb and sugar-free lifestyle. The ingredients include fresh cranberries, or you can substitute frozen cranberries.

When Are Fresh Cranberries Available?

Fresh cranberries are available between October and December but don’t let that stop you from making cranberry dishes. You can purchase frozen cranberries to make side dishes throughout the year.

Make it Sugar-Free
Sugar-free cranberry desserts taste wonderful – even without all the sugar. Ever notice how much sugar is in a can of cranberry sauce?

Southerners usually add cranberry sauce on top of chicken (or turkey) and dressing especially for fall and winter holidays. But diabetics and people on a sugar-free or low-carb diet need alternatives without all the sugar.

When you host a fall or winter holiday meal, consider serving a sugar-free cranberry gelatin salad made with fresh cranberries.

Make Your Own Fresh Cranberry Sauce

I like to make my own fresh cranberry sauce, but I used to stock up on canned whole cranberries or cranberry sauce.  Cranberry sauce and whole cranberries from the can are family favorites at my family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers.

Look at the Ocean Spray website for an easy fresh cranberry sauce recipe. Check out the reviews as well for tips on cutting the amount of sugar. You know the recipe is good when multiple reviews are from individuals who have used the recipe for years.

Jello Mold

Cranberry gelatin salads made in a Jello mold look so pretty when served. I found two molds at a thrift store, one with a star and one with a heart. So cute and fun to serve for special occasions.

 

When I brought the homemade sauce made in my vintage Jello mold for a Thanksgiving family gathering, several tried it and liked it. I noticed some ate the homemade cranberry sauce as a dessert treat rather than turkey and dressing topping.

 

More Delicious Cranberry Recipes

Add the following appetizing cranberry ideas to yoiur recipe collection:

  • See Pattycakespantry.com for her Cran-Raspberry Gelatin Salad recipe that has cottage cheese and marshmallows as ingredients. Makes a wonderful fruit salad any time and definitely as a holiday dessert.
  • Want an easy Instant Pot cranberry sauce recipe? Discover how Megan at pipandebby.com makes the recipe, uses it for leftovers, and freezes it for later.
  • The Frozen Cranberry Fruit Salad at plainchicken.com looks delicious.

Serve this easy gelatin recipe as a side with chicken and dressing, ham, or turkey.

Cranberry Orange Gelatin Fruit Salad

easy cranberry gelatin salad

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword dessert
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 16-oz bag Fresh Cranberries
  • 3 cup Water
  • 3 small box Sugar-free Orange Gelatin
  • 3 tbsp Swerve
  • 1-1/2 cup Ice
  • 1/2 cup Walnuts or Pecans
  • 1 cup Cottage Cheese (optional)

Instructions

  1. Pour water and cranberries into a large saucepan.

  2. Bring to a boil then simmer for ten minutes, long enough for the cranberries to pop.

  3. Add the gelatin and Swerve and stir until dissolved.

  4. Add the ice and stir until it melts.

  5. Pour the gelatin into a bowl or mold and place in the fridge to thicken, about an hour.

  6. Take the gelatin out of the fridge, add the nuts and cottage cheese, and stir.

  7. Pour the gelatin salad into a stainless steel mixing bowl (or a Jello mold) and refrigerate overnight or for at least six hours.

Recipe Notes

Serve the cranberry-orange salad as a side for a Thanksgiving holiday menu. This cranberry-orange salad can be used as an alternative to cranberry sauce if you leave out the nuts and cottage cheese. 

Tip: Purchase extra bags of fresh cranberries in the fall, and freeze for later use any day of the year.

Gelatin Flavors to Mix with Cranberry Salads

Change up the flavors of gelatin you mix in with the cranberries. I’ve mixed strawberry and orange or raspberry and strawberry. Actually, I use whatever gelatin flavors I have on hand.

There’s one thing to remember for sure – fresh cranberries are tart. So be sure to add enough sugar substitute. Also, adding a can of crushed pineapple, cottage cheese, and whipped topping helps to minimize the tartness.

What to Serve with a Cranberry Salad

  1. Turkey sandwich
  2. Chicken salad sandwich made with Kitchen Southern Hospitality’s Valentine’s Day Chicken Salad
  3. Add fried sweet potatoes and ribeye steak with a cranberry salad for a delicious meal.

 

chicken salad
Chicken Salad for Valentine’s Day

 

Fries
Fried Sweet Potato Patties

 

Ribeye
Ribeye & Onion Pressure Cooker Meal with Broccoli & Sweet Potatoes

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