Cranberry jalapeño salsa is fresh and flavorful, the perfect appetizer for any holiday celebration. This salsa takes 10 minutes to prep and features an irresistible combination of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors.
This salsa is guaranteed to get you into the mood for the holidays just from how festive it looks. The beautiful deep red of the fresh cranberries and the little bits of green make it the perfect Christmas dip.
What makes cranberry salsa even better is that it's quick to make and will last several days in your fridge. Simply throw all the ingredients in a food processor and there's no mess chopping by hand.
Enjoy with corn tortilla chips or homemade chickpea tortilla chips. Just make sure to get lots of chips because they won't last long with this delicious dip! Or turn this into cranberry crostini with whipped cream cheese for a festive party appetizer.
Ingredient Notes
You will need these simple ingredients to make fresh cranberry jalapeño salsa:
Fresh cranberries create a salsa with a crunchy but still juicy texture that melds with all the other flavors. If you have even more cranberries on hand, make cranberry apple crisp for an easy and delicious dessert!
Jalapeño adds a slightly spicy kick to the salsa. For more heat, you can add the seeds to the salsa.
This recipe uses the entire bunch of cilantro, including the stems. If you don’t like cilantro, try flat-leaf parsley or add extra green onions.
Granulated sugar mellows the tang from the cranberries. You can adjust the amount depending on how sweet or sour you want the salsa.
The recipe card below includes the full list of ingredients + instructions.
How to Make Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa
- Add cranberries, jalapeño, green onion, and cilantro to food processor.
- Process salsa.
- Add remaining ingredients and let chill.
Serving Ideas
Cranberry salsa is the star of any holiday appetizer table, even more so when you make vegan cranberry cream cheese crostini! Start with homemade crostini, layer on whipped vegan cream cheese, and then a dollop of the salsa.
This salsa is a delicious addition to a vegan cheese platter with tofu ricotta cheese, crackers, french bread, sliced apples, grapes, and roasted cashews. Play around with the textures and flavors!
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Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 jalapeño roughly chopped, seeds removed for milder salsa
- 3 green onions green and white parts, roughly chopped
- ½ cup cilantro 1 bunch, leaves and stems
- 2 tablespoons lime juice and zest for garnish
- ½ cup granulated sugar or coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Directions
- Before making your fresh salsa, thoroughly wash and dry the cranberries, jalapeño, cilantro, and green onion. Excess water will cause a liquid dip.
- Roughly chop 1 jalapeño, 3 green onions, and ½ cup cilantro into no larger than 1” pieces. The food processor often has trouble ensuring the cilantro stems are finely processed, so chop them a bit finer.
- Next, add 12 ounces fresh cranberries, chopped jalapeño, green onion, and cilantro to a food processor.
- Process the mixture in short 1-second pulses. 40 to 45 pulses is enough to get the cranberries to a relish-like consistency. Aim for around 30 to 35 pulses for a chunkier salsa. Anything beyond 45 pulses will result in a smoother salsa, almost sauce-like.
- Scrape down the sides of the salsa halfway through to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated and chopped.
- Place the salsa in a medium-sized bowl. Add 2 tablespoons lime juice, ½ cup granulated sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix to incorporate. The sugar will dissolve into the cranberry juices.
- You can enjoy the salsa immediately, but to allow the flavors to meld let it chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Notes
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* The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy will vary on specific ingredients and brands used.
Shannon S says
My new favorite condiment to put on EVERYTHING! I deviated from the base recipe a bit and added two jalapeños instead of one (no seeds), did fresh basil and dill (because I didn’t have cilantro on hand) and also added minced garlic and olive oil and more lime juice than indicated (and lemon juice too), then toasted some walnuts and put them in to pulse with the rest of it. Turned out super yum!
Kathy B says
This was as advertised, very easy and the family liked it. I tried to make it with less sugar, but they didn’t like it that way, so I used the whole half cup (coconut sugar). Another recipe from this site that I made was the pecan pie! It also gets five stars - and the crust gets a rave from me - easy and so good! I have used the crust now for other things including a vegan pumpkin pie and a super great two crust apple pie. That crust is the best gluten free I have come across.
Carla Hansen says
Delicious! This was a hit!
Jeri Talbot says
My family loves this salsa and every time the fresh cranberries come out
We make this recipe 💖
Michelle says
I only get compliments when I make this salsa. So delicious!