Cranberry Salsa
This cranberry salsa recipe is bold, tangy and lightly sweetened with orange juice and honey. Add jalapeño for spicy or skip it for mild salsa.
Posted by Kathryne Taylor on December 10, 2024
Cranberry salsa? Why not! This surprising salsa is bold and tangy. The bitterness of the cranberries is tempered with sweetness from orange juice and a little bit of honey. Most cranberry salsa recipes are too sweet, calling for as much as one cup sugar. This one is well-balanced, and you can adjust it to suit your taste buds.
This cranberry salsa recipe was inspired by one my late grandmother brought to our family’s Christmas celebration years ago. It was festive and colorful, and I just loved it.
With my grandmother’s recipe in mind, I improvised this salsa last year when our friend Tessa and her husband came over. My grandmother served her salsa with cream cheese, but I noticed we all ignored the cream cheese and kept going back for more salsa. I don’t think it requires an accompaniment, but you’ll find serving suggestions below.
Cranberry salsa is very easy to make. The ingredients require minimal prep work since we rely on the food processor.
You’ll find the full recipe below. Simply combine fresh cranberries, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, orange juice, lime juice, honey, and salt. If you prefer mild salsa, omit the jalapeño.
Process for 10 to 15 seconds, then taste and add more honey if the mixture tastes bitter. Let it rest for 10 minutes to give the flavors time to meld, then enjoy!
Cranberry Salsa Serving Suggestions
Serve this salsa as an unexpected appetizer at your Thanksgiving or Christmas party, or enjoy it as a snack during cranberry season.
Serve it with tortilla chips, perhaps with a creamy, tangy dip on the side like Classic Guacamole or Festive Pomegranate Guacamole, Baked Goat Cheese, sour cream or labneh.
For a full meal, try enchiladas like my Christmas Enchiladas. For cocktailss, make my Vanilla-Pear Holiday Punch, Skinny Margaritas or Ranch Water Cocktail.
More Fun Appetizers to Make
Here are a few more of my favorite dips for the holiday season. Browse more appetizers here.
- Avocado & Citrus “Ceviche”
- Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Festive Pomegranate Guacamole
- Green Goddess Tahini Dip
- Pomegranate Salsa
Please let me know how your cranberry salsa turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Cranberry Salsa
This cranberry salsa recipe is bold, tangy and lightly sweetened with orange juice and honey. Add jalapeño for spicy or skip it for mild salsa. Recipe yields a generous 2 cups.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (3 ½ cups) fresh cranberries
- ½ cup roughly chopped red onion
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, mostly leaves but fine stems are ok
- 1 medium jalapeño, membranes and seeds removed, roughly chopped (omit for mild salsa)
- Juice of 1 large orange (about ½ cup)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons honey, to taste
- For serving: Tortilla chips, optional Guacamole, Baked Goat Cheese or sour cream
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine everything including just 1 tablespoon of the honey. Process just until the ingredients are finely chopped—this happens quickly, in about 10 seconds in my food processor. Scrape down any larger pieces stuck to the sides of the bowl, and process for just a few more seconds to chop those up.
- Scrape the mixture into a small serving bowl. Taste, and if the mixture is too sour or bitter, stir in additional honey by the teaspoon or add another squeeze of orange juice.
- Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes before serving, or cover and refrigerate it for later. This salsa keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
Make it vegan: Substitute maple syrup for the honey.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hi- about to try the Cranberry salsa and can only find frozen berries. How terrible would that be? Too mushy?
Hi Liz! I’m honestly not sure. Please let me know how it worked for you if you tried it. I would probably let them thaw first.
Hi Liz Just wondering how it worked using frozen berries? I have a very large bag of frozen berries and was thinking of trying this recipe. Thank you wanda
Can this be made for gifts? If so how would you go about it? How long in refrigerator?
Hi Jan, I know for sure that the salsa will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, possibly longer. I think it would be a cute idea if you include an “enjoy by” date label so everyone knows to enjoy it promptly (and to be clear, it should be stored in the refrigerator—it’s not a canned salsa). I have a whole wheat pancake mix recipe that would keep much longer, if you want to check that out.
Love you cranberry salsa.
I’m interested in recipes that work with the sour qualities of cranberries as I have not yet encountered any bitter cranberries.
Thanks Virginia! They certainly are sour and sort of astringent, which is what I meant when I called them bitter.
Perfect timing! I’m looking for holiday entertaining inspiration and this sounds great. Will serve with your pomegranate guac. Always like to surprise guests with something new. Thank you for sharing.
That will be such a fun combo! Hope they’re both big hits!
Your recipe looks lovely! Would you recommend making this just before serving, or will it stay fresh if prepared the night before? I’m considering this for a work Christmas party and want to plan ahead.
Hi Victoria, thank you! I think it would stay nicely fresh if made the day before. Hope you love it!
Wow!
How have I never had this!
Mindblowingly easy & tasty!!!!
New Go To
On Repeat!!!
Hooray, glad to hear it!
I made this last night for a party and it was a huge hit! I had never had cranberry salsa before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was also trying to use up a bag of frozen cranberries… for those asking in the other comments, it works! I thawed one bag in the fridge the day before and followed the recipe as written. Thanks Kate!
Awesome, I’m so glad to know that frozen cranberries worked! Thanks for letting us all know, Alyson!
FABULOUS!! I made this salsa for a pot luck…put in a whole jalapeño—wow it was hot!! But I toned it down with some maple syrup and it was delicious. Everyone loved it and it was all gone. I LOVE this recipe….excellent! ❤️
Awesome!! Happy to hear it, Rose. Thank you for reporting back!
Hi, you don’t cook the cranberries first, right? I have just never used cranberries without boiling them so this is new to me.
Hi Tiffany! Correct, they’re used raw in this salsa.
I made a test batch before christmas guests arrive, and it was a huge hit with both me and my hubby. Super easy and it made the menu for Christmas Eve apps. Thanks for all the great recipes. You are my go to for inspiration.
I’m so glad to hear that, Mallory! I’m happy to hear that it made the menu. Happy New Year!
Wow, this cranberry salsa looks so refreshing and unique! Perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and spicy flavors. Can’t wait to try it this holiday season!
I hope you love it!
Had this w a salad for Xmas mid day before our big dinner. It was a hit! Made w a Serrano chili as that’s all the store had. InMN, chilis aren’t too spicy. Will be a staple! Used 1 T honey
I thought this was OK, though it may have been better if I’d had the full amount of jalapeño on hand. Maybe I should have added more salt or sugar (I needed it vegan) to bring out more flavors from the other ingredients or perhaps I could have added some cumin or coriander to bring it more earthy notes. But for me it mostly tasted like limey cranberries, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing with a salty chip. It had a beautiful color and looked festive on a holiday snack table.
Hi, thanks for your feedback! Sometimes another pinch of salt brings a recipe to life.