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    Cranberry Jalapeño Dip (That You Can Make Ahead!)

    Nov 18, 2021 · Leave a Comment

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    Such a fun way to use cranberries this time of year! A sweet and spicy cranberry dip on top of whipped cream cheese. Best of all, you can make the cranberry topping up to 5 days ahead.

    dish of cranberry jalapeno mixture on top of whipped cream cheese

    A perfect holiday appetizer since it's a serious crowd pleaser, so festive-looking, and (maybe best of all) you can make the cranberry mixture ahead! Hello, quickly assembled and delicious snacks, we love you.

    The Cranberry Topping

    A sweet, spicy, slightly tart concoction featuring cranberries, jalapeño, green onion, cilantro, and cumin that will keep you coming back for more. It's like cranberry salsa meets hot pepper jelly.

    I use my food processor to make all the chopping quick and easy. But definitely all of this can be chopped by hand.

    cranberries chopped in food processor

    You can use fresh or frozen cranberries here. I actually find it easiest to use frozen cranberries since they're easier to chop and less likely to be pureed in the food processor. Whichever one you have will work!

    I do the cranberries and the greens separately in the food processor to prevent ending up with a cranberry smoothie.

    The most important thing is to let the cranberry topping sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours prior to using. If you sample it right when it's freshly made it will be... not great. But something amazing happens when it sits in the fridge. The flavors meld, the sugar dissolves, the cranberries soften. Just look at this before and after!

    • cranberry mixture before refrigerating
    • cranberry mixture after refrigerating!

    This is a really flexible recipe, so feel free to adjust the jalapeño amount to your desired spice level, and the sugar to your desired sweetness. (But remember, you need a lot of sugar to balance out the tartness of cranberries!)

    The Cheese

    Cream cheese is a perfect soft texture and mild flavor for the bold topping. It can be as easy as taking a brick out of the fridge, unwrapping it, and pouring the cranberries over it. I like to whip mine with a splash of milk for maximum spreadability before topping. Either way is delicious!

    If you want to branch out, brie or goat cheeses would also be so good!

    cranberry jalapeno dip on whipped cream cheese in dish

    Making Ahead

    The cranberry topping will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, and since it gets better the longer it sits, I say the earlier you can make it, the better!

    It also freezes really well, so you can make a double batch, freeze half, and have extra ready for next time. Thaw it in the fridge for 1-2 days, depending on how much you have.

    I wouldn't make it more than an hour or so ahead of when you plan to serve it. It will taste good for much longer than that, but the juice from the cranberries will start to spread and stain the cheese after it's been sitting for a bit.

    spreading cranberry jalapeño dip onto crackers

    What to eat this with

    A few weeks ago, I learned that my eldest and I should not venture out to the grocery store unsupervised because we will buy far more crackers than is reasonable.

    But here my $30-on-crackers trip is all your gain because I have tried this dip on everything and am thus able to give you an official ranking of its deliciousness on every cracker known to man.

    close up of cream cheese and cranberry jalapeño dip on a cracker

    My all-time favorite is a basic wheat entertainment cracker, followed by a seeded multigrain, followed by a crisp poppy+pepper cracker.

    But there were no bad combinations! Eat it on crackers, tortilla chips, pretzel chips, or sandwiches. It's good everywhere!

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    5 from 3 votes

    Cranberry Jalapeno Dip with Whipped Cream Cheese

    A sweet and spicy cranberry dip on top of creamy, whipped cream cheese. Best of all, you can make it up to 5 days ahead.
    Prep Time20 mins
    Refrigerator Time12 hrs
    Total Time12 hrs 20 mins
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 12
    Author: Mandy Jackson

    Ingredients

    For the Cranberry Topping

    • 1 (12 ounce) bag fresh OR frozen cranberries (see note)
    • 4 green onions, roughly chopped
    • 1-2 jalapeños, seeded and roughly chopped
    • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
    • 1 cup sugar
    • Juice of 1/2 a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

    For the Whipped Cream Cheese

    • 2 (8 ounce) bricks cream cheese, softened
    • 1/4 cup milk

    Directions

    For the Cranberry Topping

    • Add the cranberries to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse about 10 times, until roughly chopped. Scrape into a large bowl. Add the green onion, jalapeño, and cilantro to the food processor and pulse until roughly chopped, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Transfer to the bowl with the cranberries. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice, salt, and cumin. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, up to 5 days.

    For the Cream Cheese

    • Add the softened cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on high speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and gradually adding the milk until your desired consistency has been achieved.
      Spread the cream cheese in an even layer in a pie dish, 9x9-inch baking dish, or a similarly-sized platter. 
      Just before serving, pour off excess liquid from the cranberry mixture, and spoon over the cream cheese. Serve immediately with crackers, tortilla chips, or pretzel chips.

    Notes

    I like to use frozen cranberries because they're easier to chop. Just let them thaw on the counter slightly while prepping the rest of the ingredients so they're not rock hard. If you use fresh cranberries, be careful not to over-process!
    I recommend not putting everything in the food processor at the same time for more control over how well things are chopped. 
    Feel free to chop by hand if you don't have a food processor.

    Adapted from Lindsey Maestas.

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    Mandy Jackson

    hi, i'm mandy.

    A regular Midwest homebody. Here, I share recipes we love, and how we're thoughtfully renovating our 100-year-old American foursquare.

    Learn more about me.

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