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.
this sounds super good, but where i’m from, we don’t have fresh cranberries. would it be possible to substitute with dried cranberries or mashed cranberry jelly?
Mel – you really do need fresh cranberries for this. I don’t think the other options would sub well. Sorry!
Thank you for this flavorful dip! We had some guests over and they were kept going back and back for more! We are making it again tonight! 🙂 We half the sugar and is sweet enough for our taste. My husband also says to double it because once you taste it, you will have wished you would have doubled it.
My husband made it and loves to be in the kitchen cooking your recipes. Another one we love is Coconut Curry Chicken soup. Yum, Yum!!!
Yum! I made a half batch of this for the holidays and the flavor combinations were just fantastic. I am going to use the other half of my cranberries to make it for a baby shower.
Awesome dip but you only need 3/4 cup sugar at most!!! And def 1 more jalapeno!!!
This recipe was a big hit at Thanksgiving this year. This was our new favorite! I added two jalapenos & I don’t like hot foods. My family liked it best on bagel rounds. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I made this last night for out Canasta group thanksgiving get together. I use only 1/2 cup sugar and two jalapeños (seeds & Membrane removed). Everyone loved it! Great balance between sweet, tart, spicy. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Kathy – sure, I think you could sub parsley just fine!
I looked for this question and couldn’t find it… so i apologize if you already answered it! How long is this good for in the fridge?
It’s a family favorite!!
The cranberry mixture can get a bit watery after being in the fridge too long, so it’s best to refrigerate separately…but it can be made several days in advance (just drain any excess liquid before putting the cranberry mixture over the cream cheese).
The time for cranberries will be upon us soon and I can’t wait to try this dip (since I somehow missed it last year) I have one question what would you substitute for the cilantro? Parsley maybe? I’m one of those poor people that for us cilantro tastes like soap! (don’t blame me, its genetic!)
Diane – I’ve never tried it so I don’t know. The combination doesn’t necessarily strike my taste bud fancy but if you like all those flavors combined then it is probably worth a try!
Would you think this would work as a spread on pumpkin bread?
I was browsing through your recipes to get some new ideas and I forgot to leave a review of this salsa. I have to say it is now my go-to appetizer dish to make for a family gathering for the holiday’s–thanksgiving and christmas! It’s always a huge hit with my family and myself, of course! I serve it with lightly salted wheat thin crackers.
So, I was wanting to make this for my book club and just realized cranberries are out of season. Have you made this with something else or could I get away with using canned cranberries?
Cheri – I would look for frozen cranberries first. I don’t think canned cranberries would work well at all in this dish because of the texture. Good luck!
What can I say? All of the recipes I have made from your website are addicting- with a capital “A!” No doubt! With this knowledge I knew I could not be trusted to make this recipe for just my husband and I (Visions of us demolishing it easily, very easily, in 5 sec flat, invaded my mind) so I took it to work Valentines Day. It was gone in no time! Mel, thanks again for such a stellar recipe. You rock my recipe world!
Divine. Such a surprise to everyone who tried it. They all looked skeptical on approach and I’d have to “sell” them on trying it, but after one bite, they would go back with a spoon and mound a huge pile on their plates. Oh, and this happened quite by accident, but I had this dip on the counter next to a bowl of sweet potato tortilla chips from Trader Joe’s and they were delicious with this dip.
I made this during Christmas & it was soooo amazingly good! Now making it again for a girls weekend I wanted to share how much I LOVE this dip! And I love dips…but this dip is #1 for me!
SO good! Could not stop eating this!!
I made this also, using Splenda instead of sugar for dietary restrictions in our house. turned out great, and is my new favorite “go to” salsa!!!
Long time reader of yoru blog, but never commented. thanks for the nice mix of healthy and indulgent. It really reflects a balanced and realistic lifestyle.
Forgot to add…I served them with Wheat Thins Toasted Chips (the plain ones, Great Plains Multigrain) – super yummy and good for scooping up the dip.
This was so good!! And I had no idea fresh cranberries are so inexpensive. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yum! I made a batch of this for two different dinner parties we had over the past weekend. It was a hit at both! I served it a little differently than suggested in the recipe. I had 4 small matching bowls. In bowl #1 was the cranberry mixture, #2 some sliced candied jalapenos (made by my sister), #3 some onion & chive cream cheese, and in bowl #4 some regular cream cheese. On a platter I placed 3 different kinds of crackers… club, Ritz, and regular saltines. That way everyone could mix and match what they wanted and then try it a different way with the next cracker. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing your yummy recipe!
Nice way to enjoy some cranberries!
We make a similar dip, but add a small can of crushed pineapple and no cumin or lemon juice. It’s fantastic and a must at the holidays.
This is how completely I trust your recipes, Mel: Having never made or tasted this before, I made it and served at two family Christmas parties last weekend. AND I’m not even a jalepeno girl. I’m warming up to those little peppers though, especially after this dip. Everyone who tried it liked it and many of us loved it. As my brother-in-law from Arizona said, “Anytime you can put both cranberries and jalepenos in something, I’m in!”
I also made Citrus Water Punch for the party. I describe it as a sofisticated lemonade. Very yummy! And finally, to finish the Christmas weekend with your recipes, I made Morning Buns for our between-Christmas-presents-breakfast. All three of these recipes got a place on my Christmas weekend, even without vetting them myself. Thanks for vetting them for me!
All I can say is wow! This recipe was deliciously simple and so tasty – you really couldn’t stop eating it. Total hit at our Christmas dinner! Thanks Mel!!!
Mel, I made this dip as my part of an appetizer party for work last night…a number of us have a suggestion regarding it:
We strongly suggest you rename it.
Something like…Mel’s Cranberry-Crack Dip…or Mel’s Addiction. This stuff IS addicting, amazing…and out of the park delicious! Thank you for sharing a recipe I’ll be making for many years to come.
I made this for cards’ night, and it was a smashing success! Everybody loved it – and the best part? It was super easy to make! I did cut the sugar down to 3/4 cup, and that was perfect for us. This recipe will be a keeper around here! Thanks!
Made this for our Christmas dinner, and it was a huge hit! Thank you so much for the awesome recipe!
This is simple and economical to make and REALLY delicious. It will be a Christmas appetizer staple for me. Thanks for sharing.
THIS, people, was AWESOME! Made it for guests this weekend, and no one can stop eating it. (I only stopped momentarily to let you know.) 😉 L♥ve, l♥ve, l♥ve!
I found your recipe (and blog) through Pinterest and thank heavens I did. This was fantastic! Everyone raved and raved about it. Tasty! This will be a Christmas party staple for sure. Thanks so much!
I just had this for the first time the other day and it was delicious. The girl who made it said she’d get me the recipe but hasn’t yet, so thank you! I love the festive red and green colors (she garnished it with cilantro leaves). Perfect for Christmas!
Sara – yes, I think it is fairly sweet. I cut down the sugar from 1 1/2 cups (from the original recipe) to 1 cup and still, I think you could get away with 3/4 cup…having said that, my husband and brother LOVED it the way it was. Just remember those tart cranberries need quite a bit of sugar lovin’ get take the tartness off. Pecans would be delicious!
this sounds excellent to me, mel! it must be similar to pepper jelly atop cream cheese, but with the added tart element. fabulous!
Is this fairly sweet? 1 C sugar sounds pretty sweet and I’d like a more “cheeseball” flavor. Was thinking of adding pecans too.
Sounds fantastic! I love the sweet, spicy and tart combo. This dip would be perfect for a Christmas get-together. 🙂
I was actually asking my friend for this recipe so I could send it to you! 🙂 Great minds think alike!
I can’t wait to try this! I have friends that make sweet jalapeno jelly and give out every Christmas. I wait all year long for that jar of jelly. My favorite recipes usually end up being sweet and savory recipes and this doesn’t look like it will disappoint!
Hey Mel…glad your hubby loved it! I took it to our Thanksgiving Dinner this year and my Mother in law kept gathering up members of our family saying “Come and try this fabulous dip…it does’t taste a thing like you think it’s going to when you look at it.” (I think I heard her say it to 7 different people) It is a yummy suprise of a dip, isn’t it? Thanks for the link back. Have a good one!
~Jamie
Denise – I didn’t think this dish was spicy in the least, thanks to removing the seeds and membrane from the jalapeno and due to the sugar in the recipe. In fact, if it were up to me, I’d probably add another jalapeno or leave in a few seeds for a little extra spice…so my guess is that one jalapeno (make sure the seeds and membranes are removed!) will be just fine for you.
You are exactly right, mild wings are “spicy” for me, but this was perfect, just sent my niece the link to this site b/c her family is asking for it for Christmas, I had it for Thanksgiving, wonderful!! Served it with triscuit and LOVED it.
How “kicky” does the jalepeno make this dip? I’ve never been able to handle much kick so just curious because I want to make this but I’m trying to figure out how muc jalepeno I should put in! Any recommendations? It looks so yummy!
Carolyn – sure, you could probably leave it out but you might consider replacing it with chili powder or another smoky, chili-type spice – just to round out the flavors.
Mmmm this looks heavenly! And a nice change-up to the typical holiday appetizers….
My wife had this salsa for the first time last year at a company Christmas get-together. It’s as good as it sounds. I like a little extra pepper so I would add two jalapenos if it were up to me.
I made this for a Thanksgiving appetizer, and it was one of everyone’s favorites! It’s going to become a regular for us!!
So now I think I know what I’m bringing to Friday’s Christmas party:) Do you think I could leave out the cumin? I guess it is only a 1/2 tsp, but I always think it wont bug me in a recipe and then even the littlest bit is just too much for me…
I made a very similar recipe last week. I couldn’t stop eating it either. Sooooo good and so pretty and festive! Love it! Your pictures look great…as always 🙂
Just copied and saved the recipe – will definitely be on my menu very soon.
Sat here with a big smile on my face when you described your husband’s “love” for this dip – isn’t it wonderful when you totally please someone! Go ahead, make him some more.
Wow, this looks like the recipe that will make me go buy a food processor.
I don’t know if this is a Texas thing, but we love sweet + jalapenos. We usually take cream cheese and pour over a bottle of this raspberry jalapeno jam and eat it up! It’s a holiday classic for us. I’m happy to see your homemade version with cranberries!
I love the unexpected flavor combinations in this dip! The color of the cranberry salsa is gorgeous, too, and perfect for a holiday spread or pre-feast appetizer! The fact that it keeps well for days is a bonus (if there is any leftover). Thanks for sharing, Mel!