Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (2024)

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese is a delicious appetizer perfect for the holidays! It’s fresh, tangy, ready in minutes, and an easy make-ahead recipe!This Cranberry Salsa recipe is a tasty crowd favorite anytime!

This Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese is a festive, favorite appetizer we love and serve often for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. And if you are looking for other appetizers to make for the holidays, you’ll love my spinach artichoke dip, cookie dough dip, and bacon ranch cheese ball.

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (1)

Juicy cranberries and other fresh ingredients make a sweet, tangy, and spicy salsa that’s absolutely divine! This is so delicious that I wait impatiently for the fresh cranberries to arrive at the grocery store. And then I stockpile bags for my freezer! Cranberry Salsa is great served as a salsa with chips and more. And it’s out of this world delicious served over cream cheese and eaten with crackers, fruit, or chips. It’s a great make-ahead recipe for the holidays, too!

Table of Contents

  • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • How to Make Cranberry Salsa with Cream Cheese
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • Easy Make Ahead Holiday Appetizer
  • Storage Tips
  • Cranberry Salsa Cream Cheese Spread
  • Other Favorite Cranberry Recipes
  • Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Tastes amazing. It is the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and fresh! Great as a salsa with chips and over cream cheese, too!

Quick and easy. It comes together quickly and is such an easy recipe!

Make-ahead perfection. Make the cranberry salsa up to 7 days ahead to make entertaining even easier!

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (2)

To make this cranberry salsa, you will need:

How to Make Cranberry Salsa with Cream Cheese

Ingredients

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.

  • cranberries – Use fresh cranberries, or if using frozen cranberries, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.
  • sugar – Use granulated sugar
  • jalapeno pepper – Remove the seeds and the pith, then chop the jalapeno.
  • green onion
  • cilantro – Use fresh cilantro
  • orange zest
  • orange juice
  • cream cheese – For serving
  • Serve with crackers, fruit slices, or tortilla chips.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Add fresh cranberries (or frozen cranberries you’ve thawed overnight in the refrigerator) and sugar to your food processor or high-speed blender. Then, pulse about 30 pulses until the cranberries are coarsely chopped.

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (3)
Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (4)

Stir in jalapeno, green onions, cilantro, orange zest, and orange juice.

After adding these ingredients to the cranberry sugar mixture, pulse a few times until coarsely chopped.

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (5)
Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (6)

Serve the cranberry salsa recipe with chips or enjoy it on a sandwich, wrap, beef, or fish.

You can also spoon the salsa over softened cream cheese on a serving platter. Serve on the platter with sliced fruit, butter crackers, wheat thins, or tortilla chips, and enjoy!

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (7)

Easy Make Ahead Holiday Appetizer

This cranberry salsa recipe becomes even more magical as a make-ahead appetizer. Pour the salsa into a bowl, cover it with a tight-fitting lid, or wrap it with plastic wrap and then refrigerate it overnight (or at least 30 minutes to let the flavors develop).

It is one of my favorite make-ahead recipes for the holidays!

Storage Tips

To Store: Place in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 7 days. You can make the cranberry salsa well in advance to keep your holiday entertaining as stress-free as possible.

To Serve: When ready to serve, place your cream cheese onto a serving platter about 15 to 30 minutes before serving time. Then, as you begin to serve, spoon your cranberry salsa onto your cream cheese and watch a crowd gather around it!

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (8)

Cranberry Salsa Cream Cheese Spread

Spread softened cream cheese in a shallow bowl and combine with some of the cranberry salsa. Spread on bagels, toast, Ritz crackers, wheat thins, or fruit slices. It is perfect for dipping!

Other Favorite Cranberry Recipes

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Orange Scones

Sweet and Spicy Cranberry co*cktail Meatballs

Warm Brie with Honeyed Fruit Compote

Here’s the Cranberry Salsa Cream Cheese Spread Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (9)

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Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe

Robyn Stone

5 from 4 votes

Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese is a quick appetizer perfect for the holidays! It's fresh, tangy, delicious, ready in minutes, and an easy make-ahead recipe!Delicious served with crackers, fruit, or chips. You can also serve the fresh, zesty cranberry salsa with chips or over beef, fish, and sandwiches!

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 people

Ingredients

  • 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 medium jalapeno pepper, deseeded and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons sliced green onions,
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened, for serving
  • crackers or fruit slices, for serving

Instructions

  • Add cranberries and sugar to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 30 pulses. Stir in jalapeno, onion, cilantro, orange zest, and orange juice, and pulse a few times until these ingredients are roughly chopped and blended with the cranberries. Cover and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to overnight.

  • To serve, arrange cream cheese on a serving tray, strain away juices from the cranberry salsa, and spoon on top of the cream cheese. Serve with assorted crackers or fruit slices. The salsa can also be served on its own with tortilla chips.

Notes

Make Ahead Cranberry Salsa

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

When ready to serve, place your cream cheese onto a serving platter about 15 to 30 minutes before serving time to reach room temperature. Then top with cranberry salsa and serve.

Storage Tips

To Store: Place in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 7 days. You can make the cranberry salsa well in advance for busy holiday entertaining.

To Serve: When ready to serve, place your cream cheese onto a serving platter about 15 to 30 minutes before serving time. Then, as you begin to serve, spoon your cranberry salsa onto your cream cheese and watch a crowd gather around it!

Nutrition

Calories: 53kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Potassium: 24mg | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 2.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Categorized as:30 Minutes or Less Recipes, All Recipes, Appetizers, Christmas Recipes, Cooking, Dip Recipes, Egg-Free Recipes, Game Day Recipes, Halloween Recipes, Make-ahead Recipes, No Cook Recipes, Recipes, Salsa Recipes, Shower Recipes, Snacks, Thanksgiving Recipes, Valentine’s Day Recipes

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

Read more about Robyn

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Cranberry Salsa over Cream Cheese Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to doctor up canned jellied cranberry sauce? ›

Adding a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon or orange zest, a tablespoon of chopped candied peel, or even a splash of juice to your canned sauce will brighten flavors and bring in some homemade flavor.

Why won't my cranberry sauce set? ›

One possibility is that you may not have used enough sugar: Sugar helps the sauce firm up, so be sure to use the full amount called for in a recipe. Another possibility is that the cranberries need to boil for longer, releasing their pectin and ensuring a jelly consistency.

What are the two types of cranberry sauce? ›

Cranberry sauce can be served either as a gooey liquid or as a solid jelly. The jellied version is solid enough to retain the shape of the container in which it's placed whereas the sauce version is much more fluid. The difference between the fluid sauce and the jelly versions comes down to pectin.

What can I add to store-bought cranberry sauce? ›

Cranberry Sauce Mix-Ins
  1. 2 Tbsp. of orange juice plus 1 tsp. of finely grated orange peel.
  2. ½ can of mandarin oranges.
  3. ½ cup pineapple.
  4. ½ tsp. cinnamon.
  5. ½ cup chopped dried apricots.
  6. ½ cup toasted pecans.
  7. 2 Tbsp. Zinfandel Wine.
Aug 11, 2022

How to jazz up jellied cranberry sauce? ›

How Do I Make Canned Cranberry Sauce Better? It all comes down to the add-ins. My favorite add ins are cinnamon, orange juice, and brown sugar. Orange zest, maple syrup, frozen mixed berries, and simmering the sauce with a cinnamon stick in it are all popular additions, too.

Can you melt jellied cranberry sauce? ›

A can of cranberry sauce typically contains cranberries, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and water, so when you plop it into a pot on low heat, it is going to melt down into an almost jam-like consistency, but that's not all that is going to change.

How do you fix bland cranberry sauce? ›

Maple syrup, brown sugar and even honey can make your cranberry sauce more dynamic. And don't forget the spices! Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, citrus zest and star anise all work well with cranberries and can be added while the sauce cooks to infuse your sauce with flavor.

How to improve cranberry sauce? ›

Tart cranberry and sweet orange are two flavors meant for each other that make each other better. Orange juice adds acidity, which brightens and balances the tartness of the cranberries; use freshly squeezed orange juice if you can. Give citrus a try — it just may be the magic touch your canned cranberry sauce needs.

How do you thicken cranberry sauce after it cools? ›

The sauce will thicken as it cools. If you want a cranberry mold that holds its shape, continue to boil the mixture so that more pectin is released from the fruit, additional water evaporates, and the sauce becomes thick enough to set into a firm gel.

What is the difference between cranberry sauce and jellied cranberry sauce? ›

The major variation you're likely to come across is "whole berry" versus "jellied." The only difference between them is that the jellied sauce is cooked until the berries have completely broken down. They both slide out of the can as a wobbly red cylinder.

What state is known for cranberry sauce? ›

Cranberry sauce was first offered to consumers in North America in 1912 in Hanson, Massachusetts. Canned cranberry sauce appeared on the market in 1941, allowing the product to be sold year-round. Cranberry sauce can be used with a variety of meats, including turkey, pork, chicken, and ham.

Why is cranberry sauce so expensive? ›

But that's not the case for prepared cranberry sauces, where prices are up. Lochner pointed out that processors set those prices, not growers, and that there are higher input costs unrelated to berries — like “processing the fruit and getting it to market.”

Is canned jellied cranberry sauce good for you? ›

Health Benefits

Cranberries are also rich in vitamin C and fiber, as well as the metabolism-boosting mineral manganese. And yes, you reap all these benefits whether the cranberry sauce on your holiday table is homemade or canned, jellied or whole-berry.

Is canned cranberry sauce better than homemade? ›

While there are some editors who prefer homemade cranberry sauce, the canned variety also has quite a following. "There's something so beautifully perfect about the texture of canned cranberry sauce, and none of those homemade mess will ever compete," says Senior Digital Food Editor Kimberly Holland.

Should cranberry sauce be served warm or cold? ›

Typically served chilled, our recipe can be made up to 3 days ahead.

How do you serve canned jellied cranberries? ›

The traditional way to serve canned cranberry sauce is to slice the cylinder into rounds and arrange them on a platter. Go a step further by adding a garnish like sugared rosemary or candied ginger.

What is the difference between jellied cranberry sauce and whole cranberry sauce? ›

The major variation you're likely to come across is "whole berry" versus "jellied." The only difference between them is that the jellied sauce is cooked until the berries have completely broken down. They both slide out of the can as a wobbly red cylinder.

Why didn t my cranberry sauce gel? ›

Why won't my cranberry sauce gel? Boiling is critical to release pectin, the key gelling ingredient, from the cranberry. You must cook the sauce for at least 10 minutes at a full boil for the pectin to react with the sugar and create the proper gelled texture.

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