I remember the first year I saw cranberry jelly on our Thanksgiving table. I think we had guests in town and my mom was trying to be welcoming and inclusive. She bought that Ocean Spray brand stuff, opened it using the can opener, and let me run a spoon around the edges of it. It plopped out on the serving plate in a perfect cylinder with those tell-tale ridges. I remember thinking it looked pretty cool, like roller skating rink candy or my Jelly shoes (90’s kid for ya). I was so excited to try it with Lebanese Roast Chicken (my AIP version of that recipe will be up soon!) and stuffing but was SO disappointed in this taste. The bright red color and Jello-y texture was enough to keep me happy though, so I asked my mom to buy it again the next year. No one touched the stuff. Years passed before we had Cranberry Relish on our table, and this time it was the real deal: fresh cranberries, simmered with fresh orange juice, orange zest, and honey. It had a granular texture though, and I really did prefer the gelatin texture of the canned variety but liked the taste of fresh fruit MUCH more. 

This year, my first Thanksgiving on AIP, calls for a combination of the two. Fresh cranberries cooked with BONE BROTH instead of water, plus honey to sweeten it lightly. Grass-fed Great Lakes gelatin helped it gel perfectly. I served it with my AIP Lebanese Roast Chicken & Stuffing this week and it brought me right back to my Mom’s Thanksgiving table. Enjoy just in time for the holidays!

AIP Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Serves 6 | Prep Time 5 min| Cook Time 30 min | Fridge Time 2 hours

12 oz fresh organic cranberries

1 ½ cups bone broth, divided

3 T honey, divided

2 T grass-fed gelatin

Pinch sea salt

2 mandarin oranges, peeled

  1. Place cranberries, 1 cup bone broth, and 2 T honey in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a high-powered blender.
  2. Warm the remaining ½ cup bone broth in either the saucepan or the microwave until hot but not boiling. Stir in gelatin, remaining 1 T honey, and sea salt. Pour this mixture into the blender with the cranberries and blend until completely smooth.
  3. Pour into a serving dish. Lay mandarin slices on top of the cranberry mixture and place in fridge to solidify, 1-2 hours. Can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge for a more developed flavor (my favorite way!)