Four ingredients, a food processor, and 15 minutes are all you need to make this easy, no-cook cranberry apple relish for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's a wonderful combination of sweet-tart flavors and crunchy textures from fresh fruit and pecans.
Inspired by the cran-apple side I grew up with, but without the cup (or more) of white granulated sugar, this recipe is a fresh take on a family favorite. Simply add the ingredients to a food processor, pulse until chopped but still chunky, and it's ready to eat. No saucepan required!
Cranberry apple relish goes well with other Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes like stuffed acorn squash, mashed sweet potatoes, and balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts. Plus it adds a lovely pop of color to your dinner plate and is an interesting twist on the traditional cranberry sauce.
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Made this and the cranberry raspberry sauce for Thanksgiving. Both were a hit! I used gala apples and had to add more dates as some of the cranberries were a little tart. Easy adjustment without adding sugar. This will be great on green salad with protein too.
- Kerry
Ingredients
- Fresh cranberries: Choose ones that are firm and scarlet or bright red. If they are light pink or dark purple, they are underripe or overripe, respectively.
- Apple: I like to use a Granny Smith apple for the contrasting green color, but they are rather tart. If you prefer a sweeter apple since the cranberries are already sour, Fuji, Honeycrisp, and Gala are great choices.
- Medjool dates: These "nature's candies" will add sweetness to the relish.
- Pecans: I like to add these nuts for extra crunch. If you don't have pecans, walnuts are another option.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
How to make cranberry apple relish
- Add the cranberries to the food processor.
- Then add the chopped apple and dates. Process, scraping down the sides of the food processor bowl as necessary.
- Then when the sauce is just about ready, give it a taste and add more dates if you want it sweeter. Then throw in the pecans and give the relish one last whirl.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for later.
Serving suggestions
When preparing for Thanksgiving, I like to make this fruit relish recipe up to two days in advance. Any longer than that and it will become too watery.
Enjoy it with plant-based Thanksgiving favorite like lentil meatloaf muffins, olive oil mashed potatoes, and sauteed green beans and mushrooms.
And if you have leftovers, cranberry apple relish makes a delicious snack.
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Love and Veggies,
Amy
📋 Recipe
Cranberry Apple Relish Sweetened with Dates
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed
- 1 Granny Smith apple, (or your favorite variety), roughly chopped
- 4 Medjool dates, roughly chopped
- ½ cup raw pecan pieces
Instructions
- Add the cranberries, apples, and dates to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until the fruit is roughly chopped.2 cups fresh cranberries, 1 Granny Smith apple, 4 Medjool dates
- Add the pecans to the food processor. Pulse a few more times, scrapping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Be sure not to over-process. Keep it chunky and crunchy.½ cup raw pecan pieces
- Refrigerate the relish in an air-tight container until ready to serve.
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Notes
- Keep the texture chunky and be careful not to over-process it. For best results, use the pulse function on your food processor.
- Make this relish up to 2 days in advance and cover and refrigerate it until ready to use. If kept longer than that it will become too watery. Stir well before serving.
- For a sweeter sauce, add a few more dates.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Whack says
Amy,
good stuff.. had to add 8 dates
wish there was some idea what a "serving size" was used to get the caloric data.
Giving nutritional information without serving size is like saying, "its about this long" when your asked for a length measurement.
Amy Katz says
Glad you enjoyed it! There are 8 servings in the recipe, but I haven't measured the amount in an individual serving. Keep in mind that the dates have the most calories, so adding extra will up the number.
Kerry says
Made this and the cranberry raspberry sauce for Thanksgiving. Both were a hit!
I used gala apples and had to add more dates as some of the cranberries were a little tart. Easy adjustment without adding sugar. This will be great on green salad with protein too.
Amy Katz says
Love that idea for adding to a salad!
Theresa Glenn says
Delicious!!! You have captured the traditional recipe, but, made it even better!!!
Amy Katz says
Thank you so much, Theresa!
Melissa says
Very easy to make, but it is very, very tart. I doubled the recipe and used one granny smith Apple and one honey crisp Apple. I added about 3 tablespoons of sugar after tasting how tart it is, still tart which I love, but a little more palatable with a bit of sugar in it. Thank you for sharing!
Amy says
Hi Melissa! I'm glad you were able to make it work for your taste. If the cranberries are too tart, another think you can do is add more dates.
Liz says
Can I make it on Sunday for Thanksgiving or will it turn too brown? (i.e. how many is "a few" days?) Thank you-
Amy says
Hi Liz! I found that it didn't turn brown after that many days, but it did get a little watery. I plan on making it on Tuesday to serve on Thanksgiving.