This Quick and Easy Cranberry Relish is full of fresh and zippy flavors and will easily become a favorite for your holiday meals, potlucks, parties, and more!
Cranberry relish is an easy side dish or appetizer that can be used in a variety of ways. It is different than cranberry sauce, which is cooked. Cranberry relish is fresh and uncooked, giving the cranberry an entirely different flavor. It’s very easy to make in a food processor and only uses a handful of ingredients. You need to add this to your Thanksgiving table this holiday season!
How do rinse and pick out the bad cranberries?
Fresh cranberries are often sold in 12 ounce bags. They need to be rinsed and picked through before using in a recipe. Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse them thoroughly.Cranberries should be firm. Pick through them to find any cranberries that are squishy and discard those. Another method is to place all of your cranberries in a bowl and fill it with water. The good cranberries will float to the top and you can skim them off and discard any cranberries that sink, as bad cranberries do not float and will sink.
How do you serve cranberry relish?
Cranberry relish can be served in a variety of different ways. It makes a great appetizer and can be served with chips or crackers as a dip. Another idea is to serve it over some baked brie. Cranberry relish is a very popular side dish item to serve along side turkey, but you can also serve it with other meats as well like chicken. Feel free to share your serving suggestions in the comments section below.
Sugar:
Cranberries are naturally very bitter. Sweetness is added to cranberry relish through the orange and apple which contain natural sugars, but you will still want to macerate the cranberries by adding sugar.
Do I need a food processor?
A food processor is the ideal kitchen tool to make cranberry relish as all of the ingredients need to be finely chopped. Other tools like a NutriBullet or a good blender may also be used to make a cranberry relish. Making this without the aid of a kitchen tool could prove difficult, but you certainly can finely chop everything with a good chef’s knife.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious holiday side dish recipes:
- Creamiest Mashed Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
- Basic 3 Ingredient Cranberry Sauce
- Rapid Rise Skillet Yeast Rolls
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
I have made this for many years. It is awesome with any poltry od fish.
Instead of using a food processor, try using a meat grinder with a course die. The texture is the best!
I also add chopped, toasted pecans.
Thank you for sharing!
This was delicious! I really enjoyed the bright, fresh flavor and the slight crunch. This kept well in the fridge overnight; it did not get watery or mushy. I served it on my favorite cheesecake, a huge hit!
Oh my gosh, thank you. My gram used to let me help her in the kitchen and this is one of the things she let me make every Christmas. I knew it was pretty simple but I couldn’t remember exactly what was in it and here it is! (We left the apple peel on though :-)). Thanks for your recipes, I enjoy them and your contagious positivity. P.S. That cranberry jalapeno salsa recipe is AMAZEBALLS! (Such a big hit at the potluck parties!)
This was a big hit with Thanksgiving
dinner last year!
How long will this last in ref. I wanted to make it for Sunday night small group and keep some for Christmas . 3 days later!
great recipe! Merry Christmas
Caroline
I make a similar version using pecans and also cherry jello
Thank you for this recipe! I have been wanting a good cranberry orange relish!
I have made a relish similar to this for years with a few minor differences. I peel my oranges because I don’t like the bitterness that the peel and white with add. I also add a bag of frozen strawberries. For those who don’t want or can’t eat the sugar Splenda or trivia are great substitute s. My whole family loves this relish.
Love the cranberry relish and your site . I will be adding some nuts to the relish-we just love the crunch of the nuts in the relish.
Thank you.
I have been making this fo years & my mother & grandma also. We put walnuts in it too & use raw honey instead of sugar. Yummy!
This is soooo good! I don’t have to buy it frozen at the grocery store anymore! As I could eat this out of the bowl—very excited to have it around for any and every meal. Thank you so much.
Dear Rachel.
I’ve been trying various recipes and they have alled been delicious especially the pecan nut sweet potato. A favorite for next week.
Thank you for sharing and I love the videos.
Cynthia
I’m glad you found me!