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It’s officially time for Thanksgiving dinner prep! This is the best cranberry sauce I’ve ever had, but in all fairness, it’s practically the only cranberry sauce I’ve ever had. This is my family’s recipe for a no-cook cranberry relish: it’s both brighter and more textural than the cooked variety, and contains about ½ the sugar of a regular cranberry relish. It’s something you can whip up in minutes, and can be made ahead of time, to chill in the fridge for up to 24 hours, or even frozen ahead of time (I like to do this using my jumbo silicon cubes). Either way, it’s one less thing for you to tackle on the morning of which is a total win in my book!
How To Make My No-Cook Cranberry Relish
Step 1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the orange wedges, cranberries, apple quarters, pecans, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
Step 2. Process for about 30 seconds, or until finely chopped, scraping the sides as needed to blend evenly. Don’t worry if at first it seems to be neglecting the top half of the mixture, as the bottom processes the top works its way down.
Step 3. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover, and let sit for at least 2 hours before serving to let the flavors meld.
Step 4. Enjoy!
What I Use To Make This:
What Else Can I Use?
- I’m using blood orange in this relish here, but any type of orange works great.
- Grapefruit is also lovely, and a bit less sweet in the relish so plan accordingly.
- I love the orange rind in this relish, and we’ve always used it, but it could be removed before blending.
- Any time of apple works in this recipe, granny smith is my choice for its tart, slightly sweet flavor and bit of green color the skin brings to the appearance of the relish.
- If you’d prefer to use a sugar alternative, you can use all or part monkfruit sweetener or another granulated sweetener of choice.
- Maple syrup works well in this relish, the mixture will just be a bit more liquified than you see here and appear closer to a chutney.
This No-Cook Cranberry Relish is special because:
There’s no fussy chopping and no extra dishes!
It’s vegan, gluten free, dairy free and contains roughly half of the sugar of a regular cranberry relish.
You can make it ahead of time so it’s one less thing to think about on Thanksgiving morning!
Thanksgiving Staples:
Make-Ahead Gravy (Gluten Free)
Feta Stuffed Marinated Olives (Gluten Free, Vegetarian)
No Fuss Crispy Chicken Thighs (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo)
Everyday Apple Tart (Gluten Free)
Roasted Delicata Squash with Cinnamon Maple Butter (Vegetarian, Gluten Free)
If you make my No-Cook Cranberry Relish, and I hope you do, please leave me a comment and rate the recipe. Your feedback means a lot to me! You can also post to Instagram and tag me so I can share your creations!
If you like full recipe videos, you’ll want to follow me on Facebook and Youtube as I publish new videos daily!
No-Cook Cranberry Relish (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Vegan)
Equipment
- My Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 orange, cut into wedges with the rind
- 1 12 ounce bag of cranberries
- 1 granny smith apple, de-seeded and quartered
- ½ cup pecans
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the orange wedges, cranberries, apple quarters, pecans, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Process for about 30 seconds, or until finely chopped, scraping the sides as needed to blend evenly. Don’t worry if at first it seems to be neglecting the top half of the mixture, as the bottom processes the top works its way down.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, cover, and let sit for at least 2 hours before serving to let the flavors meld.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this as an afterthought while the turkey was cooking, as I happened to have some cranberries that I had bought fresh in the freezer.. I used walnuts instead of pecans because that’s what I had on hand. It was a huge hit. So quick and easy. The orange rind really makes it special.
I’m so thrilled you loved it, Linda! It’s such a treasured recipe for me – it’s wonderful to see others love it as much as I do!
Enjoy,
Kat.
This looks amazing. For those with nut allergies- do you think this recipe would work without the pecans?
Laura,
I think it would work absolutely fine without pecans – you could possibly experiment with seeds if you do want some extra crunch, but you certainly don’t have to!
Let me know if you give it a try!
Kat.
I dont have a food processor, will a blender work? And how long does this last in the fridge?
Lindsey, a blender should work fine! You may not get as even a texture, but that really won’t impact the recipe at all – it is quite a textural relish anyway.
I would keep it in the fridge for no longer than 24 hours, and if you did want to keep it longer, I’d suggest freezing it.
Let me know how you get on!
Kat.