• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Display Search Bar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work With Us
Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on YouTube! Follow me on TikTok!

Cooking With Janica

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
      • Sandwiches
      • Soup
    • Dinner
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Side Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
      • Cocktails
      • Shots
      • Non-Alcoholic
    • Copycat
    • Instant Pot
    • Fried
    • Dog Treats
  • Videos
You are here: Home / Appetizers & Snacks / Cranberry Salsa

Cranberry Salsa

Posted by Jessica Pinney on November 9, 2021

Jump To RecipePrint Recipe
  • Share
  • Tweet

This fresh cranberry salsa is a delicious appetizer that has the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and spicy. It’s great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and holiday parties!

Overhead view of a white bowl filled with a pureed cranberry salsa that's garnished with whole cranberries and a sliced jalapeno pepper on top.

You guys are going to love this recipe so much! It’s one of the quickest and easiest appetizers you can make – no cooking involved! It’s always a welcome sight at holiday gatherings because it’s filled with fresh, healthy ingredients.

I often serve it at “Friendsgiving” and on Christmas eve with other seasonal snacks. It’s especially handy to have in the fridge ready to go on Thanksgiving day. That way everyone has something healthy and not too filling to snack on while waiting for the main event. 

Since holiday time is so busy, I personally love this recipe not only because it comes together in about 5 minutes, but also because it tastes best when made ahead of time. One less thing to try and make room for in the kitchen on the big day!

Ingredients

This post contains affiliate links (when you buy we make a little money at no cost to you). See our disclosure for more information.

  • Cranberries – You can use fresh or thawed frozen cranberries for this recipe.
  • Agave Nectar – We need a little sweetness to balance out the tangy cranberries and spicy peppers. You can substitute honey if you’d prefer.
  • Onion – White onion is best, but a yellow or red onion can be substituted. 
  • Serrano Peppers – I like the level of heat serrano peppers bring. For a mild version, use jalapeños instead. 
  • Chipotle Peppers – These bring a delicious smokey, savory flavor to this dish. I use these canned chipotle peppers in adobe.
  • Cilantro – Fresh cilantro is a traditional salsa ingredient. If you don’t like it, you can leave it out.
  • Lime – Be sure to use freshly squeezed lime juice. Bottled lime juice has preservatives that negatively alter the flavor.
  • Salt – I used medium grain sea salt. You can use table salt or any other kind you’d prefer, but if it is a different size grain you will want to adjust the amount to taste. I would start with half the amount if using table salt.

How To Make

I wasn’t kidding about this being the easiest holiday appetizer ever.

All you need to do is add all the ingredients to your food processor. I like to give the onion and cilantro a quick rough chop before so everything fits. 

Overhead view of cranberry salsa ingredients in a food processor before being pureed.

Once everything is in the food processor, run it until it reaches a smooth consistency. It should look like the photo below…

Overhead view of a food processor after the cranberry salsa has been pureed.

Tips

  1. Cranberry salsa is especially delicious when served with sweet potato chips.
  2. For a less spicy version, remove the seeds from your serrano or jalapeno peppers before adding to the food processor.
  3. This recipe tastes best when all the flavors have a chance to meld together. I recommend making it at least a few hours in advance. I usually make mine the day before I’m planning to serve it. 

Cranberry salsa sits in a large white bowl. It is garnished with fresh cranberries, a serrano pepper sliced in half, and a tortilla chip.

Ways To Serve Cranberry Salsa

  • In a bowl with tortilla chips on the side.
  • Over a block of cream cheese with wheat thins. 
  • With turkey or ham in lieu of traditional cranberry sauce.
  • As a condiment on a sandwich or wrap. 
  • Over baked brie.

Close up of a hand holding up a tortilla chip that's been dunked in the cranberry salsa.

More Holiday Appetizers

  • Apple Cranberry Little Smokies
  • Thanksgiving Meat & Cheese Platter
  • Charcuterie Cups

Other Cranberry Recipes

  • Cranberry Moscow Mule
  • Cranberry Fluff
  • Cranberry Compote
  • Cranberry Rosé Mimosa
  • Christmas Potpourri
Print

Cranberry Salsa

A holiday appetizer made with cranberries that’s the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and tangy.

  • Author: Jessica Pinney
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Cuisine: American
Overhead view of a white bowl filled with a pureed cranberry salsa that's garnished with whole cranberries and a sliced jalapeno pepper on top.
Print Recipe
★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

Ingredients

14 Ounces Frozen Cranberries, thawed

1/4 Cup Agave Nectar

1 Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce

1 Tablespoon Adobo Sauce (from the can of peppers)

1/4 Small White Onion

1 – 2 Serrano Peppers (depending on your heat preference)

1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro

Juice of 1 Lime (about 2 Tablespoons)

1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

If needed, add in a few tablespoons of water. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 113
  • Sugar: 17.4 g
  • Sodium: 250 mg
  • Fat: 0.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 25.6 g
  • Fiber: 5.4 g
  • Protein: 1 g

Did you make this recipe?

Please tag @cookingwithjanica and use #cookingwithjanica on social media. We'd love to see!

Previous Post
Next Post

Reader Interactions

Join the Conversation

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Georgia says

    November 20, 2021 at 11:59 am

    I made this for a wine night and it was well-received! I served it with cinnamon sugar tortilla chips.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe Via Email

to stay in the loop on new posts!

Browse Around

  • Appetizers & Snacks
  • Breakfast
  • Side Dishes
  • Drinks
  • Chicken
  • Desserts

Popular Posts

A large plastic glass filled with Red Bull Italian Soda. It has distinct layers of raspberry syrup, red bull soda, and cream on top.

Red Bull Italian Soda

Homemade Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Recipe

Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato Recipe

Irish Trash Can with Red Bull

Irish Trash Can Recipe

How To Make A Copycat Taco Bell Quesadilla

Copycat Taco Bell Quesadilla Recipe

Best Homemade Pimento Cheese - Pimento Cheese Recipe

Best Pimento Cheese Recipe

Learn how to make wine gummy bears. Recipe for red wine, white wine, and rosé gummy bears.

Wine Gummy Bears Recipe (Red, White, & Rosé)

These 3 ingredient dog treats are easy to make and a favorite of dogs everywhere.

Yogurt Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats Recipe

Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme

Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme Recipe

Game Day

Overhead shot of a jalapeno popper cheeseball covered in shredded cheddar, diced jalapeños, and chopped bacon

Jalapeno Popper Cheese Ball

Overhead shot of a pan filled with sliced velveeta, pepper jack, jalapenos, onion, rotel, and chorizo

Smoked Queso

Cherry Coke Smoked Pork Shoulder

A close-up of a hand holding a homemade buffalo chicken tender that's been dipped in ranch sauce against a black background

Buffalo Chicken Tenders Recipe

How To Smoke Hamburgers & Hot Dogs

Smoked Hamburgers & Hot Dogs Recipe

Smoked Chicken Wings

Smoked Chicken Wings

Soup

A white soup bowl filled with chipotle watermelon gazpacho. It is garnished with cilantro, a lime wedge, red pepper slices, and diced tomato.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Closeup of a white bowl thats filled with Instant Pot ham and potato soup.

Instant Pot Ham & Potato Soup

Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe

Wendys Chili Recipe in Instant Pot

Instant Pot Wendy’s Chili

This Meatless Quinoa Chili recipe is so savory, most people don't even realize it's vegetarian!

Meatless Quinoa Chili Recipe (Vegetarian)

Corn & Crab Chowder topped with Mini Old Bay Potato Chips

Corn & Crab Chowder with Mini Old Bay Chips Recipe

Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on YouTube! Follow me on TikTok!
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work With Us
  • Disclosure
Copyright © 2023 Cooking With JanicaTheme by Once Coupled & Melissa Rose Design