Cranberry Salsa

Turn tart cranberries into a fresh and spicy Cranberry Salsa with this easy holiday appetizer recipe! It takes literally 5 minutes to put this together in your food processor with only 7 ingredients.

Cranberry Salsa is the best holiday appetizer, and you can make it in just a few minutes!

Deep, bright red from all the cranberries, and accented with bits of green from cilantro and fresh jalapeno, a bowl of this easy cranberry salsa will create a beautiful, festive, and super flavorful appetizer centerpiece for your next holiday celebration!

Delicious cranberries aren’t just for sweet recipes (like my homemade cranberry sauce and cranberry bliss bars)! They add a tart flavor and sturdy texture to this Mexican-inspired salsa recipe too.

This salsa is delicious on its own with buttery crackers or tortilla chips. To make it even better, you can serve it over a block of cream cheese for a cooling, creamy dip.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. A New Way to Enjoy Cranberries – Keep your leftover Thanksgiving cranberries in the freezer so that you can make this tasty dip for Christmas, or any time you need a fast and easy appetizer for a party later in the year.
2. Easy to Make – All you have to do is throw the ingredients into the bowl of your food processor and pulse a few times. A big bowl of cranberry salsa will be ready in mere minutes without any cooking required.
3. Versatile Recipe – You can make this as spicy or mild as you like! Add extra jalapeno peppers if you like it hot, or leave some of them out to make it more mild.

Ingredients In Fresh Cranberry Salsa

Here’s everything you need:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Cranberries: This recipe works with fresh whole cranberries or frozen ones. If you’re using frozen cranberries, you don’t even need to thaw them first. Give the berries a quick rinse and they are ready to go.
• Sugar: Cranberries on their own aren’t very sweet, so some granulated sugar helps to balance their tartness.
• Jalapeno: One pepper gives this recipe a moderate amount of heat. If you want more heat, add more peppers!
• Lime Juice, Green Onion, Fresh Cilantro, and Salt: These bring the rest of the ingredients together into a well-balanced and delicious salsa.

How To Make Easy Cranberry Salsa

This recipe is truly so easy. Just throw everything in the food processor and go!

Recipe Tips

• Make Ahead: You can mix this up a few days ahead of time. Just keep it sealed in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.
• Taste and Adjust: Add more sugar, jalapeno, or lime until you’re happy with the flavor of the salsa. You might also want to start with a bit less sugar, because once you add it you can’t take it away.
• Only Pulse in the food processor: If you turn on the motor and aren’t paying attention, you’ll end up with spicy cranberry juice!
• Don’t Skip the Chilling Time: The ingredients need time to hang out, relax, and get to know one another. The flavors get better with more time in the fridge too.
• To Serve: A spicy salsa like this one will pair really well with softened cream cheese. Use regular cream cheese, or make this a vegan appetizer and serve it with my homemade vegan cream cheese.

Storing Tips

Keep cranberry salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Stir before serving with your favorite chips or crackers.

What to Serve with Cranberry Salsa

Ritz crackers are my favorite, but this also pairs well with tortilla chips, pita chips, or sliced raw vegetables such as cucumbers or celery.

For a fun twist on turkey dinner, serve this with sliced turkey breast instead of a sweet cranberry sauce.

I think cranberry salsa would also be great with fish tacos or chicken tacos as part of a festive taco night!

Easy Holiday Appetizers

I think that some of the best holiday dishes are the ones served before dinner starts! Serve this sweet and spicy salsa as part of a grand holiday appetizer spread with more of my easy appetizer recipes.

• Ranch Bugles Snack Mix
• Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
• Classic Spinach Puffs
• Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
• Brie En Croute
• Hot Cream Cheese Bean Dip
• Easy Veggie Dip

If you’re serving appetizers, you are probably also serving drinks! Check out my fun and festive Christmas Vodka Cocktail, easy traditional Wassail, or my favorite: Spiked Eggnog in the Slow Cooker!

Recipe FAQs

How far ahead of time can I make this

You can keep this in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days. It tastes even better after a day or two in the fridge.

What else can I make with leftover cranberries?

Be sure to buy fresh cranberries when they are on sale in October and November. They can be stored in the freezer for several months and pulled out later to make all sorts of savory and sweet dishes.

If you’re in the mood for dessert, try my cranberry fluff salad, cranberry orange muffins, or cranberry oatmeal cookies.

Otherwise, I think you’ll love my cranberry chicken thighs, cranberry brie bites, and savory cranberry bread.

How long will fresh cranberry salsa keep for?

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this dip will last for up to 5 days. Give it a good stir before serving to mix everything up again.

Give plain chips and salsa a festive holiday twist with this easy to make Cranberry Salsa recipe! It’s the perfect way to use a bag of leftover cranberries and a gorgeous Christmas appetizer.