This easy gluten free cranberry jam recipe uses fresh cranberries, orange juice and orange zest. It's so simple to make this homemade sauce! It's perfect with Christmas breakfast or brunch.
I love this gluten free cranberry jam on toast, waffles and to use for a cake filling. It has the perfect sweet and tart flavor with a bit of citrus zest. It's so simple to make your own jams! Plus, you get to control the ingredients and know that it's processed in a gluten free kitchen.
What's the difference between cranberry sauce and cranberry jam?
Jam should be thicker than a sauce. Usually jam has bits of the fruit it is made out of while a sauce may be pureed and smooth. For this jam I used whole cranberries and left hearty chunks of them and their seeds in the jam.
This gluten free cranberry jam has a cup of granulated sugar. This is more than I would use in a cranberry sauce to go with savory foods. I also cook this jam longer to get a thicker consistency than I would with a sauce.
Do cranberries have pectin?
Yes, cranberries naturally have pectin. You won't need to add pectin to get a nice thick consistency to your jam. Fresh cranberries contain somewhere between 0.4 and 1.2 percent pectin. The longer you boil the cranberries the more pectin that is released.
Why is my cranberry sauce not thickening?
Likely you need to boil it more and cook it down. Depending on how much moisture your fresh cranberries release you may need to cook the sauce a bit longer. If the sauce seems too runny and isn't a jam consistency it needs to be cooked more.
Continue to lightly boil the sauce while stirring to keep your jam from sticking to the pan until you get the thickness you want. Once your jam is done remove your pan from the heat and transfer the jam to a heat proof jar to store in your refrigerator.
If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:
Gluten Free Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Gluten Free Homemade Pasta Sauce
Cranberry Fluff Salad
Gluten Free Gingerbread Scones
Gluten Free Cranberry Apple Crisp
I get some of my ingredients from Thrive Market. Thrive Market has been a game changer for me eating gluten free. They have so many options I can’t get at my rural grocery stores! Use this link to get 25% off your first order!
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Gluten Free Cranberry Jam
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: approximately 3 cups 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This easy gluten free cranberry jam recipe uses fresh cranberries, orange juice and orange zest. It's so simple to make this homemade sauce! It's perfect with Christmas breakfast or brunch.
Ingredients
3 ½ cups Fresh Cranberries
1 cup Granulated Sugar
½ cup Orange Juice
2 tsp. Grated Orange Peel
1 cup Water
Instructions
In a sauce pan add the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, grated orange peel and water. Cook on medium low heat until it begins to simmer.
Continue to simmer the jam while stirring constantly to keep the jam from burning on the bottom of the pan. This should take 10-12 minutes to cook the ingredients down into a jam.
The cranberries will begin to pop. Watch out for hot splatter!
Once the jam has reached the consistency you desire remove the pan from heat.
Pour the jam into a heat proof jar and let sit on the counter until it cools completely.
Once the jam is cooled seal the jar and store in your refrigerator for up to a month.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Jam
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Gluten Free
