Cranberry Salsa is an amazing holiday appetizer that is served over cream cheese and paired with your favorite chips or crackers. You’re going to love this fun twist on classic party food!
Every time we bring this dish to a party, it is an instant hit! It’s popularity is no surprise though, seeing as we’ve been making this for years, and have been thoroughly obsessed with it ourselves. Everyone expects tortilla chips and salsa at a party, but this gives them a fun twist on a party staple. We love how the cranberries make this salsa so fresh and vibrant, and serving it over a brick of cream cheese with some crackers just makes it all the better. This recipe is so quick and easy to make, that the hardest part is merely choosing what to use to dip! Pick out your favorite crackers or chips, and get dipping!
Cranberries:
Fresh cranberries are commonly sold in the grocery store in 12 ounce packages. They are most often found in the fall right after the cranberry harvest. When working with fresh cranberries, rinse them under cold water. Run your fingers through the cranberries and pick out any that are soft or mushy. Rinse the cranberries again and proceed to use them in your recipe.
If you would like to use frozen cranberries, you will need to thaw them completely before using. We highly recommend fresh cranberries rather than frozen in this recipe, because thawed frozen cranberries will be a bit mushier.
Ginger Tip:
This recipe calls for fresh ginger. When using ginger it is easiest to cut off any gnarled spots before peeling. Once peeled you can grate it easily on a hand grater. Once it gets down to a nubbin of stringiness just toss the stringy mess away.
Spice Level of Best Cranberry Salsa:
The jalapeños give this salsa a nice kick, but you are welcome to make this according to your own taste preferences and use more or less jalapeño.
Serving Suggestions:
A common and popular way to serve cranberry salsa is over a brick of cream cheese. You can also serve it up plain, as you would any salsa. It pairs well with Wheat Thins, Ritz crackers, and tortilla chips.
Storage Instructions:
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
If you like this recipe, you may also be interested in some of my other holiday recipe favorites:
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 made this a couple times last year to take to holiday gatherings and it got rave reviews. It popped up in my Facebook feed as a memory and I will be making it again and again. It’s so fresh and delicious – a really nice and perfect appetizer.
This will be our 3rd year making this deliciousness and we were just wondering if it can be canned so we can send to our family in our Christmas goodie boxes?
I made this for our family’s thanksgiving dinner and it received rave reviews! My daughter who doesn’t like cranberries tried it just to be polite and she loved it. Another guest said she couldn’t handle spicy foods but didn’t find this salsa spicy. I followed the recipe exactly and definitely will make again. My sister said it would be really good in a turkey or chicken I made your lasagna and it was also a big hit. Thank you and going to try your cinnamon roll recipe next.
It is now a favorite side!
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a HUGE hit! Two weeks later I made it again because I couldn’t wait until Christmas to have more of it. My favorite thing to put it on is plain Greek yogurt – it is absolutely delicious! My family loves it so much I gave them the recipe. As long as I can get cranberries, I will be making this over and over again. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would!
If you are looking for a simply recipe, this is the one. I have made this for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and everyone wants the recipe or asks me to make it. Rachel, this is perfect!
My sister made this. Delicious.
I made this for our Thanksgiving gathering and got sooo many compliments and requests for the recipe! So fresh, unique and absolutely delicious!
Love This
This salsa is amazing! You can adjust the amounts of ingredients to suit your personal taste. I always make the night before to let those flavors blend. This is my go to potluck dish during the Holidays, and it always graces our Thanksgiving and Christmas table.