Cranberry-Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
This cranberry-jalapeno cream cheese dip is sweet, tart, spicy, and absolutely one of the best holiday dips on the planet.
This amazing, festive cranberry dip has been a staple in our Novembers + Decembers for almost ten years.
I am a huge fan of cranberries, but this dip is in a league of its own and is one of the main reasons I get excited to see those bags of bright, red berries appear in the grocery store.
A combination of sweet and spicy, tart and creamy, this is the perfect holiday party appetizer.
But honestly, we love it so much, we stock up on cranberries just for this dip and sit around eating it on average Tuesday nights. It’s kind of one of my favorite weekly holiday traditions.
Fresh Cranberries Only
Using fresh ingredients – not dried or frozen – are critical to this recipe:
- fresh cranberries
- fresh cilantro
- fresh lime juice
- fresh jalapenos
- fresh green onions (or chives)
The freshness of the ingredients provides a burst of brightness that is unparalleled this time of year.
The cranberries are best if they are chopped into fairly fine pieces. A food processor or high powered blender will make light work of the job.
Once the cranberries are coarsely chopped, I add all the other ingredients and pulse until evenly chopped and everything looks very “dippy.”
If you choose to do all the chopping by hand, bless you.
Make it in Advance
The cranberry mixture needs to be made several hours ahead of time. Even better if it can be refrigerated for 12-24 hours.
If you taste it right away, you’re probably going to be underwhelmed. But wonderful things happen as the flavors have time to meld and develop.
With time, there might be a bit of liquid that accumulates in the cranberry dip. I like to pour a lot of that off before spreading on the cream cheese.
Cranberries + Cream Cheese
The sweet and tart (and just ever so slightly spicy) cranberry mixture over the softened cream cheese is amazingly delicious.
Pretzel crisps or thin crackers are the perfect vehicle to inhale this dip. But I’m not above eating spoonfuls of the tasty concoction. Life’s short, what can I say.
Also, I have it on good authority that this cranberry-jalapeno cream cheese dip is ridiculously good on sandwiches. I think we should all take that advice very seriously.
Here are a few other rave reviews from the comments below:
Tonya: I made this for Thanksgiving and it was to die for. Everyone LOVED it!!!! My sister in law said it should become a staple. Making it again today for our Christmas cookie exchange and probably for Christmas, too!
Tracey: OMG this was a show stopper. I made this for my work friend besties Christmas dinner last night everyone raved over it. It is one of those amazing recipes-super easy to throw together and absolutely delicious and a crowd pleaser! Will be making this again and again.
Cara: This really is the best dip ever! I am always asked to bring this to family gatherings, and everyone who tries it wants the recipe. Definitely a holiday must-have in our house!!
Cranberry-Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340 g) fresh cranberries
- 4-5 green onions, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 cup (212 g) sugar, more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 (8-ounces each) packages (454 g) cream cheese, light or regular, softened
- Crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Pulse the cranberries in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped. Add the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, sugar, cumin, lemon juice and salt and pulse until the ingredients are well combined and finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a covered container and refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to overnight) so the flavors have time to meld and develop.
- When ready to serve, spread the cream cheese in an even layer on a serving plate or 9-inch pie dish. Top with the cranberry-jalapeno mixture.
- Refrigerate for up to an hour before serving. Serve with crackers.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Jamie Cooks It Up
Recipe originally published Dec. 2011; updated Dec. 2020 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
244 Comments on “Cranberry-Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip”
Excellent dip for the holidays!
Love this with one cup of chopped cranberries and one cup of pomegranate arils instead of just cranberries. That’s the way I first had this dip years and years ago when a friend gave it to me!
Just came across this recipe. I’d like to make it for tomorrow’s gathering. I don’t know if I have time to go get fresh jalapeños but I have a jar, think that would work?
Sure! I think that sub would work just fine.
We are making this the second year. Everybody kept asking for the recipe. We love it.
Any tips on what to do if you’ve added too much cilantro?
How much extra cilantro did you add?
I’m about to make the recipe and noticed in the ingredients list at the top.it says lime juice, and in the recipe below it says lemon juice. Does it matter?
No, it’s really personal preference or which one you have on hand. They will both work fine.
Either can be used – just depends on preference. I usually use lime juice.
Curious? Skeptical? Just make it!! This is an example of a dish where I read the ingredients and thought, really? That sounds like an odd combination. But I, like you, read the comments and curiosity got the best of me. I needed to know what the hype was about. It’s extraordinary. I’ve never ever had another dip quite like it. It’s sweet and tangy and fresh and it should definitely be at your next holiday gathering.
This tastes amazing however, I would suggest draining the cranberry mixture before topping the cream cheese. Mine came out pretty runny.
Has anyone tried this with a different herb?
I’m one of those unlucky people who hates cilantro. Possible a tiny bit of Rosemary?
Thanks!
I would probably sub the cilantro with half as much fresh parsley.
Ok will do and report back!
Made exactly to recipe except I thinned the cream cheese a bit with orange juice and added green onion and toasted chopped walnut to the cream cheese. Chef’s kiss!
Omg! This dip is so delicious and addictive!!! It taste phenomenon with Keebler original Club Crackers or with Original Naan. And the jalapeño in it gives it a slight kick, but not too much. It’s great!
I have a friend who is allergic to Jalapeño peppers. Is there another pepper I can use.
You could try anaheim peppers, maybe? Or a basic green bell pepper? You’ll be missing a bit of the kick from the jalapeno, but it will add flavor.
Fantastic. For those of you wondering fresh cranberries are th best. However I have frozen the prepared cranberry mixture and served later with great success. Just use fresh cream cheese. I have also made this using a can of whole cranberry sauce and it’s still delicious. Just stir in all.the remaining ingredients. No food processor needed. Last, I also started adding orange zest and a little fresh orange juice to both the cream cheese and cranberry mix. Love the extra zing the orange gives it. Excellent recipe as is or with changes mentioned.
This sounds like it would be good on a turkey sandwich. Spread the cream cheese on the bread/toast, put the sauce on the sliced turkey… and I mean real turkey, from a real bird, not bagged stuff from the store.
Also sounds like it would be good with chicken breasts somehow. I’m just printing this out now and haven’t tried it yet, but I have ideas 🙂
I just tried this recipe and it’s definitely a keeper and will be included in all my holiday gatherings. I did cut the sugar back to 3/4 cup and it was perfect! My husband likes it served on graham crackers which make it more like a dessert. This is a 5 star recipe!
Do you know if this tastes like the spread they put on the arizona turkey club wrap at the Wigwam in Arizona? I tried that there and I’m looking for a dupe for it to make at home! It was the best wrap ever :p