This Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip is fresh and festive, and is perfect for any get together all winter long. Made with fresh cranberries, spicy jalapeños and cilantro poured over smooth cream cheese, this is an easy appetizer that everyone loves.
If you love cranberries, you’ll also love these Cranberry Brie Bites.
I have been making this dip since 2010, so I decided it was about time I actually posted about it.
I first saw this online from another blogger, and was immediately intrigued. And as it turns out, this Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip is just as good as I imagined it would be. And over the year, I’ve made it many, many times.
It’s perfect as a Thanksgiving or Christmas appetizer, perfect to bring along to holiday parties, and works great as a New Year’s Eve snack. Really – it’s perfect all winter long and one of the reasons I like to keep fresh cranberries on hand for as long as I can find them!
Ingredients
- Cranberries: You need fresh cranberries for this dip. I haven’t tried it with frozen cranberries, but I would guess that frozen would work, as well.
- Green Onions: If you like a lot of onion flavor, add 3 green onions. Or you can cut it back for less onion flavor.
- Cilantro: The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of cilantro. That is measured whole. But really, I usually just eyeball it. I love cilantro, so I’ll even throw in a little extra sometimes.
- Jalapeño: If you like it spicy, add the jalapeño with the ribs and seeds. Or you can take them out for a more mild version.
- Sugar: This may seem like a lot of sugar, but the balance of sweet/savory/spicy is perfect.
- Lemon Juice: This adds a little bit of acidity. Use fresh lemon juice.
- Cumin: This adds just the slightest smoky flavor.
- Salt: Depending on your salt tolerance, you may not need salt. I do add a little bit of salt.
- Cream Cheese: You will need 2 8-oz packages of cream cheese. Make sure they are at room temperature when you are ready to serve so that you can spread them.
- Crackers: My favorite crackers to serve this dip with are Wheat Thins, but round buttery crackers are good, too. I know some people like to it with tortilla chips, but I prefer crackers.
How to Make Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
STEP 1: You need to start with the salsa mixture to give it time to chill out in the refrigerator. Add the cranberries, green onions, cilantro, and jalapeño to a food processor.
STEP 2: Process until you have your desired texture. I don’t like to process it into tiny pieces, but I don’t want any big chunks, either.
STEP 3: Pour the cranberry mixture into a large bowl. Add the sugar, lemon juice, cumin, and salt.
STEP 4: Stir this all together. Then cover and refrigerate. You probably want to refrigerate this for 1 hour minimum, but I usually aim for 4 hours or more.
STEP 5: When you are ready to serve, spread the cream cheese into a deep dish pie dish. You could also use a plate, but I prefer the pie dish because it catches any juices that escape off the sides.
STEP 6: Use a slotted spoon and spoon the cranberry mixture over the top. You will end up with extra liquid after refrigerating the mixture. You can add that, but I like to use the slotted spoon to remove some of that extra moisture. Serve the dip with crackers!
Tips and Tricks
This can easily be made the day before, but I wouldn’t add the cranberry mixture to the top until right before serving.
You can also easily cut this in half, using only 1 brick of cream cheese.
If desired, you can just pour the cranberry mixture over a full brick of cream cheese, without spreading it out. I prefer using the pie dish not only because it presents better, but it’s easier to dip because the cream cheese is spread out.
Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
More Holiday Appetizers
Crockpot BBQ Grape Jelly Meatballs
Fried Ravioli
Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
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Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh cranberries
- 2-3 green onions
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 small jalapeno ribs and seeds removed for less heat
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- Pinch of salt
- 2 (8 oz each) packages cream cheese softened
- Crackers for serving
Instructions
- Combine the cranberries, green onions, cilantro, and jalapeño in a food processor. Pulse until everything is chopped*.
- Pour the cranberry mixture into a large bowl. Add the sugar, lemon juice, cumin, and salt. Mix to combine. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- When ready to serve, spread your cream cheese in a pie dish. (You can also use a large plate, but I like that the pie dish has tall sides so any liquid doesn’t sneak out.)
- Use a slotted spoon to spread the chilled cream cheese mixture over the top. Serve with crackers.
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