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Cranberry Jalapeño Dip is here to spice up your holiday snack tray! It’s rich and creamy, with the perfect sweet-tart balance, and just enough heat to make things interesting. You’ll also be glad to know it comes together in mere minutes.
With so much to do around the holidays, I am all about those recipes that require very little time investment but offer big rewards, and this cranberry jalapeño dip delivers.
It’s incredibly easy, festive—red, white, and green!—and something a little different from your standard bowl of salsa. It also has that creamy factor that all the best dips share. (I’m looking at you, whipped feta dip.)
If you snag a good deal on cranberries, stock up! Check out our posts on how to freeze cranberries, orange cranberry sauce, Instant Pot cranberry sauce, and how to can cranberry sauce.
Ingredients
This recipe has:
- Fresh cranberries – you can find these in bags or in big vats of water in the produce section during the fall months.
- Jalapeños
- Green onions
- Cilantro – optional, so if you’re not a fan, leave it out.
- Sugar – fresh cranberries are very tart, so the sugar is essential here.
- Kosher salt
- Cream cheese – the kind that comes in blocks, not a tub.
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Orange juice – freshly squeezed will give you the best flavor.
Step By Step Instructions
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.
Add the cranberries, jalapeños, green onions, and cilantro to your food processor and use the “pulse” function to combine. You want to use pulse so that everything gets chopped, instead of blended.
Transfer the cranberry mixture to a medium mixing bowl and stir in the sugar and salt.
Let this sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, but ideally a few hours. During this time, the flavors will meld, and the cranberries will mellow. After it has rested, drain off any liquid from the cranberry mixture.
Blend together the softened cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and orange juice in the food processor until the mixture is smooth.
Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a bowl or plate and top with the cranberry mixture. Feel free to add a few fresh cranberries, sliced jalapeños, or additional cilantro to the top.
RECIPE VARIATIONS & OPTIONAL ADDINS
You can adjust the heat level as needed. Use more jalapeños for a spicier dip, or less if you like to keep things on the mild side. Cutting the ribs out of the jalapeño will also turn down the heat.
If you’re not into cilantro, but you really want to add another herb to the mix, try using the same amount of fresh parsley or a pinch of fresh rosemary.
Lean into the orange flavor in this jalapeño cranberry dip by zesting the orange before you juice it, then adding the zest to the cream cheese mixture. Don’t waste the leftover orange though! Get preserving details in our post on how to freeze oranges.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT
Storing Leftovers: Store any leftover cranberry jalapeño dip in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Freezing Leftovers: I don’t recommend freezing this recipe, as the cranberry mixture will release a lot of additional liquid upon freezing and thawing.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS RECIPE
This is a dip that’s ideal for serving with crackers, pretzels, and thick, sturdy tortilla chips or pita chips.
You can also serve it as a spread for crostini or your favorite crusty bread. (My no-knead bread is perfect!)
PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can mix the dip by hand or in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment.
- Want to get a head start on this recipe before a party? You can make each component up to a day in advance, but I don’t recommend putting them together until you’re ready to serve. That way, you can drain off any additional liquid from the cranberries before adding it to the top of the cream cheese mixture.
- When fresh cranberries aren’t in season, you can use frozen cranberries instead. Let them thaw in the refrigerator or place them in a colander and run them under warm water to thaw them quickly. Drain them well, then proceed with the recipe as written.
MORE DELICIOUS DIP RECIPES TO TRY
Cranberry Jalapeño Dip
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup jalapeños, seeds removed, roughly chopped {~2 jalapeños}
- 1/4 cup green onions, roughly chopped {~1-2 green onions}
- 1/4 cup cilantro {optional}
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp orange juice {fresh preferred}
Instructions
- In a food processor pulse cranberries, jalapeños, green onions, and cilantro.2 cups fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup jalapeños, seeds removed, roughly chopped, 1/4 cup green onions, roughly chopped, 1/4 cup cilantro
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the sugar and salt. Stir to combine.1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 cup sugar
- Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, preferably a few hours.
- Drain any juices from the cranberry mixture.
- In a food processor combine softened cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and orange juice. Mix well until smooth.8 oz cream cheese, softened, 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp orange juice
- Transfer cream cheese mixture to a bowl or plate and top with the cranberry mixture.
Notes
- Use more jalapeños if you like things spicy.
- No food processor? Mix by hand or in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment.
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious! It looks and tastes like Christmas. *chef’s kiss*
I love hearing that, Alicia! So glad you enjoyed it.