Cranberry Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip

Hero image of the cream cheese dip with cranberries and jalapeno.

Cranberry Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip

This Cranberry Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip combines sweet, tart, and mildly spicy flavors for the perfect holiday appetizer. Fresh cranberries, sweet honey, and jalapeños create a vibrant topping over creamy softened cream cheese. This is ideal for serving with an assortment of crackers and sliced crusty baguette bread.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword cranberry jalapeno cream cheese dip

Prep Time 15

Chill Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 193kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Equipment

Ingredients

1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
2 jalapeños seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 cup roughly chopped apple (peeled or unpeeled)
1/4 cup roughly chopped green onions
1/4 cup packed cilantro
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt (plus more as needed)
2 bars (8 oz each) full-fat cream cheese softened
crackers for serving (Ritz, Club, Wheat Thins, Nut Thins, etc)

Instructions

Place the whole cranberries, jalapeños, roughly chopped apple, green onions, and cilantro into a food processor and pulse until everything is coarsely chopped.
1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries, 2 jalapeños, 1/2 cup roughly chopped apple, 1/4 cup roughly chopped green onions, 1/4 cup packed cilantro
Add in the honey, lemon juice, and salt. Continue pulsing until the mixture is very finely chopped and evenly combined.
^{*Don't pulse until it's liquid, but rather pulse until it's in smaller and finer chopped pieces.}
1/2 cup honey, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Cover and refrigerate the cranberry mixture for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the flavors to blend.
^{*The longer chill time, the better. At least 30 minutes but you can refrigerate for up to 24 hours.}
Spread the softened cream cheese evenly onto a serving platter or plate.
2 bars (8 oz each) full-fat cream cheese
Spoon the cranberry mixture over the cream cheese, allowing some of the juices to drizzle over. If the cranberry mixture seems really juicy, use a slotted spoon to drain some of it before adding it on top of the cream cheese; however, you do want some juice on the cream cheese because it adds tons of flavor and helps loosen the thicker cream cheese a bit (making it easier to dip).
Serve the dip chilled with crackers and sliced baguette pieces.
crackers for serving

Notes

Apple : Use a mildly sweet apple such as fuji, gala, golden delicious, or pink lady. I prefer the apple skin peeled off, but if you want the skin on then that works too.

Packed Cilantro : No need to chop it first before measuring. Packed cilantro just means to pack the cilantro leave into the measuring cup.

Jalapeños : If you want more spice then leave the seeds with the jalapeños. Once you take the seeds out, the jalapeño has a very mild spice that pairs perfectly with the sweeter ingredients in the dip, the tart cranberries, and cool creamy cream cheese. For extra mild only use 1 jalapeño without the seeds.

Tips : Leave the cream cheese out at room temperature for up to 2 hours to soften it nicely for the dip. Once chilled, the cranberry mixture will have some liquid/extra juices in it, use a slotted spoon to scoop it over the cream cheese or you can place it in a fine mesh sieve type strainer. You do want some juices on the dip for flavor, but you don't want it like really soupy. I prefer to chill the cranberry mixture for at least a few hours before serving it.

Nutrition