Cranberry Salsa: a weeknight method

A hand scooping up some cranberry salsa with a tortilla chip.

This cranberry salsa is fresh cranberries, sugar, jalapenos and herbs, all blended together in a food processor to make a unique dip option. Serve your salsa with chips or on top of cream cheese with crackers for an straightforward appetizer.

When fall rolls around, I love to serve hearty appetizer recipes such as cranberry meatballs, baked brie, a Thanksgiving charcuterie board and this quick and straightforward cranberry dip.

Cranberries are great for Thanksgiving punch and cranberry orange sauce, but they also make a fabulous salsa! When I serve this dish, it’s always the hit of the party. Finest of all, it takes just minutes to make.

Cranberry Salsa Ingredients

Ingredients including berries, lime juice, cilantro, green onions and sugar.

To make this recipe, you will need fresh cranberries, sugar, salt, lime juice, jalapeno, cilantro and green onions.

How Do You Make Cranberry Salsa?

Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Transfer the salsa to an airtight container and refrigerate it for at least one hour to let the flavors meld together. Serve and enjoy!

Cranberries, cilantro, jalapeno and sugar being added to the bowl of a food processor.

Tips For The Reliable Dip

This recipe works finest with fresh cranberries. Frozen cranberries will not have the same texture, and can release excess water into the salsa.
The recipe calls for jalapeno with the seeds and ribs removed, which makes for a mild salsa. If you prefer a spicy salsa, leave some of the pepper seeds and ribs in.
Cranberry dip will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Serve your salsa with tortilla chips, or spoon it over a block of cream cheese and offer it with crackers as more of a silky spread.
Sort through your cranberries and remove any spoiled or wrinkled berries before proceeding with the recipe.
Let your dip sit in the fridge for a minimum of one hour, otherwise the cranberries will not have time to absorb the sugar.

Quick Tip

This salsa also makes a great topping for roast turkey, grilled chicken breast or baked pork chops.

Cranberries, herbs and sugar ground up in a food processor.

Recipe FAQs

Can you freeze cranberry salsa?

I do not recommend freezing cranberry salsa, as it can be very watery when thawed.

Can fresh cranberries be eaten raw?

You can eat fresh raw cranberries. Just be sure to add some sugar first, as unsweetened cranberries are very tart.

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A bowl of cranberry salsa served with tortilla chips.

Flavor Variations

While this dip is great as is, you can customize some of the ingredients to suit your tastes.

Vegetables: Instead of green onions, try using red onion. You can also add other veggies to the salsa such as jicama, or swap out the jalapenos for spicier serrano peppers.
Fruit: Feel free to do a blend of cranberries with another type of fruit such as apples.
Flavorings: Try adding some orange or lime juice to the salsa for more flavor. You can also swap out the granulated sugar for brown sugar.

Cranberry salsa is the reliable fall party snack. All your guests will be asking you for the recipe!

More Cranberry Recipes

Cranberry Chicken

55 mins

Cranberry Salad

11 mins

Christmas Punch

6 mins

Raspberry gelatin is combined with cranberry sauce, pineapple and orange zest for a delicious side dish or dessert that's perfect for the holidays.

Cranberry Jello Salad

6 hrs 10 mins

Cranberry Mimosa

5 mins

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Add as Google preferred source Authorthe Makdob kitchen A hand scooping up some cranberry salsa with a tortilla chip.

This cranberry salsa is fresh cranberries, sugar, jalapenos and herbs, all blended together in a food processor to make a unique dip option. Serve your salsa with chips or on top of cream cheese with crackers for an straightforward appetizer. Time Prep Time10 minutes
Chilling Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes

Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Serves 8

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1/4 cup green onions sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons diced jalapeno seeds and ribs removed
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place the cranberries, green onions, sugar, cilantro leaves, lime juice, jalapeno and salt in the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped.
Transfer the cranberry mixture to an airtight container, and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour. It's finest to let it sit for 4-8 hours for maximum flavor.
Serve with tortilla chips, or spoon it over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers.

Notes

This recipe works finest with fresh cranberries. Frozen cranberries will not have the same texture, and can release excess water into the salsa.
The recipe calls for jalapeno with the seeds and ribs removed, which makes for a mild salsa. If you prefer a spicy salsa, leave some of the pepper seeds and ribs in.