Savory Cranberry Salsa Recipe

Name: Savory Cranberry Salsa Recipe
Prep time: 65 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 3 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen); ¼ cup brown sugar (50 g); 1 jalapeño (deseeded and finely chopped ); 1 clove garlic (minced); ¼ tsp cumin; ¼ tsp each salt and pepper; 1 apple (finely diced); 2 Tbsp cilantro (chopped); 1 lime (zest + juice); 1 8-oz block cream cheese (226 g)

By Sarah Bond, BS Nutrition, MS Sensory Science, Updated Dec 14, 2023

5 from 1 rating

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1 hour 20 minutes

Serves 10 servings

3 Comments

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Round crackers topped with cream cheese and a cranberry salsa are artfully arranged on a blue wooden surface.

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This savory cranberry salsa is a zingy hybrid of cranberry sauce and salsa. With roasted cranberries and a mixture of savory and sweet ingredients, it’s a flavorful cranberry recipe our family loves! Serve it over a mound of cream cheese and bring it along to holiday get-togethers, like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Crackers topped with savory roasted cranberry salsa and neatly arranged in a single layer on a blue background

As a food blogger, I’m probably not supposed to tell you this, but here it goes….chips and salsa is my favorite meal. Never mind the fact that I know far better than to be eating this for a meal, but if I have a jar of salsa in the fridge, a bag of tortilla chips in the pantry, and no one to cook dinner for, the odds are very high that chips and salsa will be dinner.

And you know the phrase “if you can’t beat em, join em”? Well that sort of applies here. If I can’t beat the habit, I may as well make the most kick-butt homemade salsa that I can. Enter this savory roasted cranberry salsa.

If you’re going to make salsa at home, there’s no point in making it boring. I’ve made pineapple salsa and mango salsa before, but with the holidays quickly approaching, I thought today we could really step out of our usual salsa comfort zone and make it with cranberries!

Reader rating

★★★★★

“This was awesome. The sweet-tart of cranberries works so well in a savory recipe like this one.” —Walter

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A platter of savory roasted cranberry salsa surrounded by an arrangement of crackers

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To make this salsa, we’ll be using a base of cranberries along with some spicy and savory flavors. We’ll also throw in an apple for some extra fall flavor layers. Jump to the recipe card for the full quantities.

Cranberries: You can use fresh cranberries (if it’s cranberry season) or frozen – your choice!
Brown Sugar: This will add a delicious sweet flavor that will help to offset any bitterness from the berries.
Jalapeño: 1 deseeded and finely chopped jalapeño will add some slight heat. If you like hot things, you can keep some of the seeds! More seeds = more heat.
Fresh Garlic: No cloves on hand? Use ⅛ tsp of powder.
Seasonings: Additional seasonings include cumin, salt, and pepper.
Apple: This adds flavor and crunch! Use your favorite variety.
Cilantro: Add some herby zing with chopped cilantro.
Lime: Follow up the cilantro by adding the zest and juice of a lime. For a twist, you could use orange juice and orange zest instead!
Cream Cheese: Finally, we will use 1 block of cream cheese for serving! Feel free to use dairy-free as needed.

How to make cranberry salsa

We’ll prepare cranberry salsa by roasting most of the ingredients, but the true magic will happen when we refrigerate the mix and let the flavors really set in. This is just an overview. Jump to the recipe card for the full instructions.

Step 1: Prep the Cranberries
Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Toss together the cranberries, sugar, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper, and then transfer the mix to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

A baking sheet topped with parchment paper and a single layer of cranberries, sugar, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper

Step 2: Roast the Mixture
Bake the cranberry mixture for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cranberries burst. Spoon the cooked cranberries from the pan and add them to a medium-sized bowl.

A baking sheet filled with roasted cranberries — When removing the cranberries, leave the juices behind.

Step 3: Add the Remaining Ingredients
Next, add the diced apple, cilantro, and lime juice/zest to the bowl of roasted cranberries. Cover the bowl and set it in the fridge to cool and let the flavors blend. It should be refrigerated for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.

A clear glass bowl filled with roasted cranberries, diced apples, cilantro, and lime zest

Step 4: Serve
To serve, place some cream cheese on a serving dish and spoon the cranberry salsa on top. Serve with an assortment of crackers and chips!

the best apples for this recipe

Though any apple variety will work well, there are a few apple flavors that would make this salsa even more delicious! I recommend going with something like Honeycrisp, which are crunchy, sweet, and refreshing.

Another great option is Granny Smith! This variety is sweet and tart. It will taste delicious when paired with the cranberry flavor!

Click here to learn more about apple varieties and differences.

A cranberry salsa platter on a blue piece of posterboard with a dog looking on from the side

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