Cranberry Salsa is a great festive holiday appetizer featuring fresh cranberries, onion, lime, jalapeño and cilantro. The salsa is served over a brick of cream cheese and served with crackers. This is everyone’s favorite app!
Cranberry Salsa
If you haven’t heard of Cranberry Salsa, you are not alone! It was introduced to me just last year and I instantly fell in love. The sweet and tart berries with the fresh and spicy jalapenos make this salsa an award-winning option. Pairing it with the soft and tangy cream cheese- brilliant.
By now you probably know that I love a good chip or cracker dip. This recipe is right up there with my homemade guacamole and Cheeseball recipe!
What’s in Cranberry Jalapeño salsa?
- Cranberries
- Small red onion
- Jalapeño
- Lime
- Cilantro
- Sugar
For exact steps to take and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card below.
How to make Cranberry Salsa
Put your cranberries in a blender or food processor and pulse them until they’re until chopped. Make sure not to take it too far and turn them into mush! Just quick pulses is all that they need.
Transfer the cranberries to a medium-sized bowl. Mince the onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. Mincing is just a very fine chop. Cut them into tiny pieces! Add the minced veggies and herb to the cranberries and stir to combine.
In a separate small bowl, combine the juice of 1 whole lime and the sugar, whisking until well combined. Pour the dressing over the cranberry mixture and stir it together.
You can eat it right away if you’d like, but it will be quite tart. I prefer to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or more to let the flavors combine and marinade.
Serve over cream cheese with crackers, ritz are show here but really Wheat Thins are my favorite. (So much so that I didn’t have any in the house for these photos!)
Can you freeze this Cranberry Salsa Recipe?
Make your cranberry salsa in advance and place it in a zipper topped bag in the freezer until you’re ready to use it. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter for a few hours before placing it on a fresh brick of cream cheese and serving it up with your favorite crackers. You won’t want to freeze the cream cheese as it will appear crumbly when thawed.
What do I serve with Cranberry Salsa?
I like to serve this as an appetizer, prior to a large family meal! This would pair great with a Thanksgiving or Christmas Day dinner.
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Looking for an Appetizer Recipe? Find some more options below!
- Caramel Fruit Dip
- Guacamole
- Creamy Salsa Chicken Dip
- Grape Jelly Meatballs
- P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Cheesecake Fruit Dip
Cranberry Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup red onion minced
- 1 jalapeno deseeded, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro minced
- 1 fresh lime
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 8 oz brick cream cheese
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, pulse the cranberries until chopped.
- Transfer the cranberries to a medium sized bowl. Add in the minced onion, minced jalepeno, and minced cilantro.
- Stir to combine.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the juice of 1 whole lime and the sugar. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the dressing over the cranberry mixture. Stir to combine.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more to let the flavors combine and marinade.
- Serve over cream cheese with crackers.
Shop My Favorite Kitchen Tools For This Recipe
- Blender or food processor
Angie says
I love this! I have made it a few times now, and if you have time to prepare it a couple of days early it’s even more flavorful! It’s so pretty, nutritious, and pleases the vegan guests as well. I like to serve it over goat cheese for the non-vegans, and with Triscuits. Thank you for sharing this— easy, delicious healthy and pretty!
Colleen says
How long will recipe last in fridge?
Karli Bitner says
Up to 1 week.
Kathy Soule says
Can I use frozen cranberries straight out of the freezer or do I have to thaw them? Love this salsa! All the different colors! Red cranberries, the green with the jalapeno, cilantro, and lime zest! Want it spicier DON’T deseed the jalapeno and don’t cut out the membranes! We just like the flavor better membranes and seeds removed!
Karli Bitner says
I haven’t ever used them straight from the freezer before, you could give it a try and see how it goes though!