Easy Cranberry Jalapeno Relish – simple mixture of cranberries and spicy jalapenos in a sweet, tangy sauce serve over cream cheese.  An easy 15-minute holiday appetizer!

With NYE in just a few days, I wanted to share this AWESOME, super easy appetizer.  It’s one of those easy appetizers that only takes 10-15 minutes to make and EVERYONE will love it.  This cranberry jalapeno relish over cream cheese is a must on your holiday spread this year!  It’s sweet, spicy, tangy and so incredibly good with crackers and cream cheese.  Don’t take my word for it, try it yourself today!

Looking for other delicious easy recipes? You may also like these:

• Easy Salmon Appetizer
• Spicy Pepper Relish Cheese Spread
• Bacon-Wrapped Onion Cream Cheese Dates
• Baked Basil Pesto Chicken Bites
• Healthy Tuna Salad Celery Sticks

What ingredients do I need to make this cranberry jalapeno relish?

The ingredients required for this recipe are simple and you may already have them in your fridge or pantry.  There are 4 main ingredients plus a simple brine.  The four main ingredients are cranberries, jalapeno peppers, sugar, and vinegar.  The brine consists of water, salt, and garlic powder.  That’s it!  If you’re in a time crunch you can bypass the brine and stick to the four main ingredients, although I wouldn’t recommend it because the brine helps remove water and adds flavor through the salt and garlic powder.

How easy is it to make the cranberry jalapeno relish?

This easy relish only takes 10-15 minutes to make and can even be made days in advance.  Using a food processor or blender, it makes chopping and mincing the cranberries and peppers a breeze.  I love using my BlendTec for that.  After chopping the cranberries and jalapeno peppers, they hang out in a simple brine until the syrup is ready.  The syrup is two ingredients.  That’s right, just two! Apple cider vinegar and sugar make this relish a sweet tangy treat.  After the cranberries and peppers have been chilling in the brine for at least 10 minutes, drain all the liquid.  Once the syrup has begun to thicken (about 5-8 minutes) add the cranberry pepper mixture, cool or carefully top your room temperature cream cheese.  That’s how easy this recipe is to make!

Leftover relish? Here are some other ways we’ve enjoyed this relish.

We love having this cranberry jalapeno relish with cream cheese and crackers but the list of possibilities is endless.  Here are a few other ideas on how you can use leftover relish (if there is any):

• sandwiches
• turkey (like a cranberry sauce)
• cream cheese and salami
• cream cheese and toasted baguettes
• hotdogs
• hamburgers

What’s your favorite cranberry dish?

I’d love to hear about your favorite cranberry dish.  Let me know how you like to enjoy cranberries in the comments.

Here’s the full printable recipe. Enjoy!

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Cranberry Jalapeno Relish with cream cheese

Yield: 3 cups relish

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Cranberries and spicy jalapenos in a sweet, tangy sauce serve over cream cheese. An easy 15-minute appetizer served with crackers, salami or toasted baguettes.

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Ingredients

Simple brine (start 5 min before syrup):

• 1/3 cup salt
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

Relish:

• 12 oz bag whole fresh cranberries, finely chopped- can use food processor or blender
• 6-8 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (about 1-1 1/2 cups) to increase spiciness, do not remove seeds
• 1-2 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• crackers, salami, toasted baguettes

Instructions

1. Mix warm water, salt, and garlic powder until salt is mostly dissolved to make brine. Pour brine over diced peppers and cranberries. Let sit at least 10 minutes.
2. Pour brine off cranberry pepper mixture and rinse well (2-3 time) using cold water. Squeeze to remove excess water. Set aside.
3. After the berries and peppers have been brining for at least 5 minutes start the syrup. In a medium saucepan add sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Cook for 5-8 minutes until mixture begins to thicken like a syrup. *See notes*
4. Remove from heat and add drained cranberry pepper mixture. Stir. Let cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
5. When ready to serve, spoon cranberry pepper relish over cream cheese (room temperature).
6. Serve cranberry jalapeno relish over cream cheese with crackers, salami or toasted baguette rounds.

Notes

1. Timing is important in this recipe. Start brining the berries and peppers before starting the syrup. Have the berries and peppers ready and drained before the syrup is done cooking otherwise it will thicken too much before you can mix the berries and peppers into it. I typically let the berries and peppers brine for at least 5 minutes before starting the syrup.
2. Make sure to remove syrup from heat before adding cranberry pepper mixture. If cranberries and peppers cook, they will lose their texture.
3. This relish recipe is delicious on hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, turkey (like cranberry sauce) and more.
4. Relish will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Do not store cream cheese and relish together. Add relish to cream cheese right before serving.