This fresh cranberry salsa is sweet, tangy, and flavorful. Fresh cranberries are whizzed up in a food processor with onions, cilantro, a hit of sugar, jalapeños (if you want) and lime juice. It’s the most gorgeous color. It’s so unique, and everyone loves it! You can serve it with tortilla chips, or my favorite method- spread over cream cheese and eaten on crackers! It’s totally addicting and the hit of every gathering.
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
- Food Processor – This is a very finely chopped salsa. A food processor (this is my absolute favorite) is incredibly helpful for this recipe. If you don’t have one, you can try other chopper methods, including just getting an arm workout and using a good knife!
- Fresh cranberries – Fresh cranberries are only in stores for a short window during this time of year and they’re SO gorgeous that I love finding ways to use them in the kitchen.
- Jalapeños – I’m not a fan of super spicy things, so I tend to cut way back on things that call for jalapeños, but this is an exception. For the amount it makes, and the fact that everything is mellowed by the cream cheese, you can really add quite a bit of jalapeno and still not have it be too spicy. I added 2 whole peppers and it wasn’t spicy at all. And really, like any salsa, you can adjust all of these ingredients to taste.
- Green onions
- Cilantro
- Lime or lemon juice
- Kosher salt
- Granulated sugar
- Cream cheese – Full fat is best, low fat would work but avoid fat-free. It’s important your cream cheese is at room temp, so whipped cream cheese would also work great as it’s naturally softer.
- Cracker of choice, for serving – My favorite are Wheat Thins because they’re strong enough to not break in the cream cheese, and those nice square edges make it really easy to grab the perfect bite. It’s also suuuuper delicious on Ritz crackers, but you’ll want to serve those with a little spreader since the crackers can break.
How To Make Fresh Cranberry Salsa
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor. If you have a large food processor you can pretty much throw everything in there together. If using a smaller one, you can do things in batches.
- Pulse until finely chopped, stopping to scrape down sides.
- Chill for at least a couple of hours to let the berries macerate in the sugar and let all the flavors come together.
- In the mean time, spread some room temperature cream cheese on a pie plate or dish.
- Spread the salsa right over the top. After sitting, some liquid will form and separate. You can use a slotted spoon so you aren’t getting too much extra liquid.
- Serve it with crackers for dipping- having a spreader is helpful!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- Salsa can also be frozen. Let it come to room temperature in the fridge.
- This is a great make-ahead dish you can keep in the fridge to pull out when holiday guests arrive. It’s unique, beautiful, and most importantly- tastes awesome. For best presentation, I prefer to store the salsa and cream cheese separately until time to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Leftovers will be best when eaten within 3 days. If you are making it ahead of time, store salsa separately from cream cheese.
Do I have to add jalapenos?
It’s your kitchen, so you make the call! But the jalapeno does add flavor as well as a little kick. The most intense heat comes from the inner membranes and seeds. If you remove those and add just the outer part of the pepper, it won’t be as spicy. You can always add some little by little until you like the flavor as well!
Fresh Cranberry Salsa with Cream Cheese Dip
The perfect sweet & savory holiday appetizer: bright and tangy cranberries combine with spicy jalapenos and are cooled by creamy cream cheese.
Servings people
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cream cheese 2 standard blocks at room temperature
- 12 ounce bag fresh cranberries washed
- 2 jalapenos minced (adjust according to taste)
- ½ cup sliced green onions roughly chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro roughly chopped, more if desired
- ½ tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup sugar plus more to taste
- Crackers of choice for serving; I prefer Wheat Thins or something sturdy
Instructions
- Make sure to set your cream cheese out at room temperature to soften.
- Place cranberries, jalapeños, green onions cilantro, lime juice, salt, and sugar, in a food processor and process until finely chopped, scraping down sides of food processor as necessary.
- Sample salsa and add more salt and sugar to taste. (I generally find that I like at least 2 tablespoons additional sugar.)
- Chill in fridge for about 2 hours or more. To serve, spread room temperature cream cheese evenly in 2 pie plates or other shallow serving dishes, like an 8×8 pan. Spread salsa on top and serve with crackers.
Notes
- Nutrition information was calculated without crackers.
- Feel free to adjust this basic recipe to taste. I like to be heavy-handed with the onion and cilantro, and if you like a kick, add more jalapeno peppers!
- One recipe makes enough for 2 blocks of cream cheese. Often I’ll just serve it over one block at a time and save the extra salsa for another night.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- This is a great make-ahead dish you can keep in the fridge to pull out when holiday guests arrive. It’s unique, beautiful, and most importantly- tastes awesome. For best presentation, I prefer to store the salsa and cream cheese separately until time to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 130kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 124mg, Potassium: 74mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 424IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 29mg, Iron: 0.2mg
Calories: 130kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
Would you save this just for the holidays or would it work for a baby shower in January?? I am really bad at seasonal stuff like this.
Totally perfect for January!
Thanks, Sara!!! I have been doing your meal planning service since April. It has been life changing. I love dinnertime and I look forward to it. Who knew a mom of 5 could love dinner?? Thank you for doing it. You guys are awesome! In my head we are best friends ?.
Oh my gosh this makes my day! So glad to hear it! And we can totally be best friends 😉
Where can I buy fresh cranberries? Fred meyer doesn’t care fresh this time of year. They do have frozen. Will that work?
hmm, I’ve never actually used frozen, but I’m thinking that would work??
Do I dare use low-fat cream cheese or is it worth it to use the full-fat stuff?
low fat (NOT non-fat) is great!
Any suggestions for a substitute for the cilantro since some ppl have an aversion to it? I was thinking of trying basil. Thanks.
You’ll just have to experiment. Let me know if you find something good!
I made it for work with 2 leaves of basil and took out the green onion and it was a huge hit! Thanks!
Great recipe that I’ve made many times. My original recipe said to spread on graham crackers….and surprisingly that is delicious too! Try it, you wont be disappointed!
A friend of mine served this at his November birthday party and it was a huge hit!! It looked amazing and tasted even better!!
Just in case anyone is wondering…I made this recipe today for Christmas, but the store didn’t have any fresh cranberries left. I used the 6 oz.-ish I had leftover in the fridge, then used a can of whole cranberry sauce. Not my favorite ingredient ever, but, it totally worked in this recipe. I did adjust the sugar, as there was sugar in the canned stuff. I just adjusted according to my taste, I think all told about 1 cup instead of 2. It was too runny of course, so I put it in a fine sieve strainer and swirled it around for a bit with a rubber spatula. Worked perfectly. Dumped it on top of the cream cheese and still tasted great! Definitely get the fresh stuff when you can though.
Do you take the seeds and ribs out of the jalapeños?
If you want it spicy leave them in, I cut out the ribs and remove seeds!
This cranberry spread was awesome on crackers, but it was just as good spread on left-over turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving – love it
Everyone loved this! It was a great appetizer for Thanksgiving.