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As Thanksgiving approached, some staple meal items caught my eye at the grocery store. Cranberry sauce, in particular, has been one of my personal favorites through the years, though some of my family begs to differ. Normally, we get the jellied canned version from Aldi or a name brand, such as Ocean Spray. But I’ve learned Trader Joe’s does cranberry sauce a little bit differently. Trader Joe’s is a cousin to Aldi, though the two stores are very different.
The Trader Joe’s Cranberry Sauce is $3.99 for a 16-ounce container. There are about 6 servings per container, which means it’s around $0.66 per serving.
Each serving is ¼ of a cup, and in each serving there are 110 calories, 27g of carbs, 2g of fiber, 25g of total sugars, and 24g of added sugars. There are 0g of total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, or sodium.
Nutrition information and ingredients, part one. (Click to enlarge.)
In addition to this traditional cranberry sauce, Trader Joe’s also carries a fresh, refrigerated cranberry orange relish, but that’s for the more adventurous. When they’re in stock, you’ll find both the sauce and the relish in the refrigerated case near the soups and salads. These are perishable and should be kept refrigerated. (Trader Joe’s also sells a shelf-stable jarred cranberry sauce that contains pectin, but I haven’t yet tried that one.)
Nutrition information and ingredients, part two. (Click to enlarge.)
As far as ingredients go, this Trader Joe’s Cranberry Sauce has one of the most basic ingredient lists. It contains only cranberries, sugar, and water. In fact, if you make homemade cranberry sauce, these are the same ingredients you’d use. In contrast, a canned sauce such as Ocean Spray has high fructose corn syrup in it. So between canned sauce and the Trader Joe’s sauce, Trader Joe’s is less processed, even if it still has a lot of added sugar to balance the tart cranberries.
Ready to serve.
As for the taste, I like the TJ’s sauce more than the canned stuff. It has a less artificial taste to it, and the fact that there are whole cranberries in the mixture makes it unique. It’s going to cost you a little bit more than the canned stuff, but it’s well worth it for the taste, and while it’s not healthy for you, it’s a better alternative to jellied sauce.
A mini all-TJ’s Thanksgiving dinner with brined bone-in half turkey breast, cornbread stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
The Verdict:
The Trader Joe’s Cranberry Sauce is a Trader Joe’s exclusive and is an alternative to jellied cranberry sauce in a can. I definitely prefer this over the jellied version, and it’s going to make for a fun addition to our Thanksgiving spread.
