Easy Cranberry Jalapeño Dip Recipe
This cranberry jalapeño dip is just what your party needs this holiday season! It’s festive, flavorful, and easy to make, which means you can whip it up for last-minute parties. A spicy and tart mixture of fresh cranberries, jalapeños, onion, and sugar are all spread over cream cheese for a creamy dip with the perfect balance of flavors. Serve this cranberry jalapeño cream cheese dip with butter crackers like Ritz or your favorite crackers – it’s the perfect holiday appetizer.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
What You’ll Love About Cranberry Jalapeño Dip
- Bright and delicious appetizer
- Sweet, spicy, tart, and creamy flavors
- Made with just 6 fresh ingredients
- Easy to make last-minute
- Ready in 10 minutes
- Perfect for holiday parties
- A gorgeous and festive dip
Ingredients
- Cranberries – We’re using fresh, raw, and tart cranberries, they have the best flavor and look festive and gorgeous.
- Jalapeños – Use fresh jalapeño peppers. You can adjust this to fit your spice preference. Remove seeds and stems for less heat or keep them in and add extra jalapeños if you want it spicier. Jalapeños will vary immensely in spice levels, so you might need to sample and adjust. I found that the relish smelled spicier than it tasted after it was processed together.
- Onion – Use a sweet yellow onion for a mild onion flavor. You could also use white onion or even red red onions if you prefer that flavor.
- Sugar – The sugar helps bring out the sweet flavor from the cranberries. You could use any granulated sweetener.
- Cream cheese – Use full-fat plain cream cheese for the best creamy flavor. Whipped cream cheese would be great and you could also use a hand mixer to whip it yourself.
- Crackers – Serve this spread with crackers. I like Ritz or butter crackers for a classic vibe, but you could use your favorite variety.
Emily’s Tip
This dip is the ultimate make-ahead party dip! It’s fresh, festive, and looks stunning on a platter. It comes together in just 15 minutes or can be prepped ahead. Save a few extra cranberries and jalapeño slices for the top of the dip for a pretty garnish like you see here. These Christmas deviled eggs are another festive-looking party snack!
How to Make Cranberry Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip
This is an overview, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.
- Process cranberry relish. Add cranberries, onion, and jalapeno to bowl of a food processor or chopper. Process until coarsely chopped and mostly combined.
- Assemble dip. Spread softened cream cheese on a serving platter or plate. Arrange the cranberry salsa (drain any excess liquid if necessary) on top of the cream cheese and garnish as desired.
FAQs
No, fresh is really best for this cranberry cream cheese dip as it offers up a crunchy texture and really nice tart and sweet flavors. Dried cranberries wouldn’t work well, but if you have trouble finding fresh cranberries, you could use a thin layer of cranberry sauce and top that with jalapeño slices. It won’t be quite the same, but would still have sweet and spicy flavors.
Storage
Store the extra cranberry and jalapeño dip in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
Can you freeze?
Yes, you can also freeze the relish portion (not the cream cheese!). Cranberries thaw pretty nicely so if you won’t use it within a few days, pop it in the freezer and let thaw before you serve again.
How to prep ahead
Because the cranberry portion can be made ahead, it’s easy to prep in advance. When you’re ready to serve, all you need to do is soften the cream cheese and spread everything on a platter.
What to Serve with Cranberry Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip
Serve this cranberry cream cheese jalapeño dip with crackers or chips, here are some favorites:
- Butter crackers like Ritz
- Tortilla chips
- Water crackers
- Triscuits
- Pretzel chips
- Rice crackers (these are typically gluten-free)
More Easy Appetizer Recipes
If you love this cranberry jalapeño dip recipe, you might also like some of these other easy appetizer recipes:
Cranberry Jalapeño Dip Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This cranberry jalapeño dip is just what your party needs this holiday season! It’s festive, flavorful, and ready in just 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries (8 oz.)
- 2 medium jalapeños, plus more for garnish (1/2 cup roughly chopped)
- 1/4 medium sweet yellow onion (1/2 cup roughly chopped)
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- ritz or butter crackers
Instructions
- Add fresh cranberries, onion, jalapeño, and sugar to a food processor. Process until coarsely chopped and mostly combined. You shouldn’t see any large chunks of onion or jalapeno.
- Spread the softened cream cheese on a serving platter or plate about 1/2 inch thick. Spread 1/2 of the cranberry mixture (drain any excess liquid if necessary) over cream cheese and scoop onto crackers with a knife.
- Garnish dip with fresh cranberries and sliced jalapeños.
- Store leftover cranberry relish in the fridge for another batch.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- This makes enough cranberry jalapeno relish for two batches of dip, perfect for busy holiday party season. You could also cut it in half if you only want one batch.
- Nutrition facts do not include crackers.
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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You really did a shitty job listing this. Didn’t you proof read?. If you can’t even spell th ingredients without awkward capitalization and random characters, why would I think it was correct?
Hi Cyd, thanks for your feedback. I noticed this yesterday and am still trying to figure out how/why it’s happening. I used the proper ñ in jalapeno and for some reason it’s getting messed up in the code. Working on it!