Holiday Cranberry Jalapeno Dip

cranberry jalapeno dip in a serving dish next to triscuit crackers on a counter

This delicious dip features cranberry jalapeno salsa over cream cheese. It's a colorful and festive dip that makes a great appetizer for Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Resting time 30

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 169kcal

Author Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN

Equipment

Food processor
Pie plate for serving

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh cranberries (1 bag)
2 to 3 jalapenos seeded and finely chopped
4 green onions (scallions), sliced
2 heaping tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 lemon juiced
½ cup granulated sugar
8 ounces cream cheese softened
Crackers or bread for serving

Instructions

Remove the cream cheese from the fridge to soften while you prepare the rest of the recipe. Add the cranberries to a food processor, and pulse until coarsely chopped into small pieces. You don't want to overdo it and risk the cranberries being too pulverized/soggy. **If you want to save time, you can pulse the cranberries, jalapenos, green onion, and cilantro all together in the food processor. I have done this and the recipe still turns out really well. However, the salsa is more wet and slightly soggy if you pulse everything together versus chopping the jalapenos, green onion, and cilantro by hand. It doesn't make a big difference in taste, though.**
Add the chopped cranberries to a mixing bowl with the jalapenos, green onions, and cilantro. Drizzle the lemon juice on the mixture and sprinkle in the sugar. Stir until coated, and let the mixture sit for 30 to 60 minutes (and up to 48 hours, see notes).
Whip the cream cheese with a hand blender for 1 to 2 minutes. Spread the whipped cream cheese in the bottom of a pie plate. Spoon the cranberry mixture in batches into a mesh sieve over the sink. Use the back of a spoon to press out excess liquid. You don't need to press it all out, because you still want there to be enough flavor in the cranberry mixture. Spoon the drained mixture on top of the cream cheese.
Serve the dip with Triscuit crackers, toasted baguette slices, or cinnamon sugar pita chips. Enjoy!

Notes

If you don't have a food processor, you can chop the cranberries by hand. If you don't have a mesh sieve, you can drain the relish mixture through a cheese cloth.
The cranberry mixture can be made up to 48 hours in advance and stored in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. When you're ready to serve the dip, whip the cream cheese and assemble the rest of the recipe.
Nutrition facts do not include the crackers.

Nutrition