CANNING: Festive Cranberry Jalapeno Salsa
- Cranberry Salsa Serving Ideas
- Canning your Cranberry Salsa
- Cranberry Jalapeno Salsa Ingredients
- Festive Cranberry Jalapeno Salsa
This sweet & spicy cranberry jalapeno salsa is easy to can. It makes a great holiday gift or accompaniment to your Thanksgiving table, or any day!
This cranberry salsa canning recipe is a zesty change of pace from your standard turkey-day fare, but you can enjoy this sweet and spicy spread any time, not just for the holidays.
If you’re scared of canning, you can cut this recipe in half, or freeze any leftovers. The recipe as written makes about six pints, twelve half pints, or a combination of large and small jars… perfect for holiday hostess gifts and cheese trays. It’s an easy water bath canning recipe, so you don’t need a pressure canner.
Cranberry Salsa Serving Ideas
I love this spicy fruit salsa on a turkey sandwich or sliders (no more boring leftovers this year) instead of mustard. It makes a great easy appetizer with goat chevre or cream cheese on crackers or garlic toasts, or served as an accompaniment to roasted chicken or pork loin.
Anywhere you would serve a fruit chutney, this festive salsa will shine. It’s good with curry or roasts, or on a cheese tray. Or just serve it with tortilla chips and an assortment of other dips! It’s sweeter than a regular salsa, but is fantastic mixed with or poured over cream cheese or neufchatel (instead of the more traditional pepper jelly) for crackers.
Or use it to make festive pinwheel roll-ups: spread flour tortillas with softened cream cheese, cranberry salsa, and deli-sliced smoked turkey breast. Roll up tightly, slice, spear with cocktail picks, and serve for appetizers or a snack.
Mix a few spoonfuls of cranberry salsa with a half cup of mayo and a splash buttermilk to make an autumnal salad dressing for carrot, apple, and cabbage coleslaw or even a tossed green salad. This is also delicious mixed with leftover diced turkey or ham to make a simple holiday turkey salad for sandwiches.
Enjoy this flavor-bomb of a fruit salsa with your next holiday feast, or just dress up a rotisserie chicken on a regular day. It’s a zesty change of pace from regular cranberry sauce, and is delicious with roasted turkey, chicken, duck, ham, or pork loin. It’ll be your favorite (even if it’s your only) cranberry salsa canning recipe!
Canning your Cranberry Salsa
The best part? This is an easy water-bath canning recipe, so you don’t need a lot of specialized equipment to make a big batch of this salsa to stock your pantry in advance for your holiday meals or gift baskets. You can also freeze this salsa if you prefer!
All you really need to can this salsa are pint canning jars (or smaller jars… do not can quarts of this salsa) and new lids, plus two large pots (one to simmer the salsa, another larger pot with a heat-resistant trivet or jar rack with room for 6 pint jars plus water to cover).
If you are new to canning, check out our equipment guide to learn more!
Cranberry Jalapeno Salsa Ingredients
I’ve made some safe tweaks to the flavor profile (adding lime and spices), but it’s based on a USDA-tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, so you can can with confidence!
I substituted commercially bottled lime juice (not fresh squeezed, which is not standardized for acidity) for some of the vinegar. Bottled lemon or lime juice has a lower pH than the vinegar, so this substitution does not affect the safety of the tested canning recipe.
I used jalapeno peppers instead of the serranos in the original recipe. However, you could use either pepper as you prefer, as long as you don’t increase the amount.
Serrano peppers have a bright fruity and floral flavor that pairs well with the cranberries, but are much hotter than jalapenos. You can use either or a blend of both, just don’t increase the total volume. It is fine to reduce the amount of hot peppers, just don’t add more!
You can safely increase the salt in this recipe but do not reduce it. Don’t reduce the amount of sugar or honey, or substitute sugar-free sweeteners (which do not have the same preservative effect). If you want to make these changes to the recipe (other than adding more salt), you’ll need to freeze any leftovers that you won’t use within about a week instead of canning them.
I’ve added a small amount of dry spices to the original USDA tested recipe, but this is a safe recipe tweak that won’t affect the pH or density of the recipe for processing.
Festive Cranberry Jalapeno Salsa
Equipment
- 6-12 pint or half-pint canning jars and lids use new or reusable lids only for safe canning
- 1 jar funnel (helpful but not necessary)
- 1 canning rack insert or trivet
Ingredients
- 6 cups red onion small diced
- 4 large jalapenos minced (seeds removed if you want less heat)
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup lime juice bottled/commercial lime juice for safety
- 1 ⅓ cups sugar
- 6 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp pickling or fine sea salt (more to taste, not less)
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 12 cups cranberries, rinsed 2 ¾ lbs fresh or frozen (not dried)
Instructions
Prep canner & jars:
- Fill your canner or stockpot with enough water to cover jars by at least an inch, fit with your trivet or jar rack insert and bring water up to a boil. I add a splash (just a few tablespoons) of white distilled vinegar to the pot to keep hard-water deposits off the jars).
- Wash and rinse your canning jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Keep hot until ready to use (I like to simmer my jars in in the canner after they're washed. You don't need to sterilize them before processing, but it can't hurt!). Do not simmer your lids (if you are using reusable gasketed lids like Tattlers or Weck jars, follow manufacturer instructions, otherwise, keep lids in clean hot water but do not boil).
Prep cranberry salsa:
- While your canner is heating, prepare your ingredients. Chop ingredients as uniformly as possible for best results. Combine all ingredients *except* for cranberries in a large, heavy bottomed stockpot, enameled dutch oven, or saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to prevent scorching. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes.
- Add the washed cranberries to the pot, reduce heat to medium and bring back up to a simmer, stirring regularly. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Jar and process cranberry salsa:
- Remove jars from the hot water and place on a towel (I like to put the towel on a half-sheet pan for easy clean-up). Using a canning funnel (if possible) fill the jars with the hot salsa mixture, leaving ¼" headspace. Work quickly and keep mixture hot while filling jars.
- Using a thin non-metallic spatula, thin wooden spoon, or jar tool, remove air bubbles from the jars and adjust headspace as needed.
- Wipe jar rims. I use a paper towel or clean lint-free towel dipped in hot water, followed with a clean towel dampened with distilled vinegar. Clean jar rims mean safe seals! Place your prepared lids on the jars and secure with rings (check rings for dents and discard any damaged rings).
- Using jar tongs, transfer the hot jars into the boiling water canner (or stockpot) and make sure there is at least an inch of water over the jars (top up from a hot kettle of water if needed).
- Process in your boiling water bath for 10 minutes (0-1000 ft of elevation), 15 minutes (1001-6000 ft) or 20 minutes (above 6000 ft). Make sure the water is boiling hard the whole time- do not start the timer until the pot is boiling.
Cool and store cranberry salsa:
- When the time is up, turn off the burner under the pot, wait 5 minutes, and then carefully remove the jars with jar tongs (or remove the jar rack, if you used one). Place them on a towel-covered or wooden surface and leave undisturbed until completely cool (if it's cold or drafty, you may want to cover the jars with a towel so they cool evenly). Do not tighten the bands (unless you are using reusable lids- follow manufacturer instructions if so).
- After jars have cooled completely (12-24 hours) remove the bands and check for seals. Refrigerate any jars that did not seal and use promptly. Gently wash jars or wipe with a damp cloth, label, and store in a cool, dark pantry. For best quality, enjoy home-canned goods within 12-18 months.
Try our other simple salsa recipes!
- Enchilada Roja Sauce (Pressure-Canner or Freezer Recipe)
- Guajillo & Roasted Tomato Salsa (mild-med)
- Ancho & Roasted Tomato Salsa Roja (mild-med)
- Fiery Habanero Peach Salsa (med-hot)
- Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde (med)
- Roasted Tomato Salsa Ranchera
- “Mock Ploy” Sweet Chili-Garlic Sauce (Mae Ploy)
- Spicy Habanero Carrot Butter (hot!)
- Taqueria-Style Pickled Jalapenos & Carrots (Jalapenos y Zanhorias Encurtidas)
This looks delicious. If I were to add more jalapeño to the recipe, would it still be safe for canning?
Since peppers are a low-acid ingredient, I would not recommend adding more jalapenos or serranos if you are canning your salsa. You could make a smaller batch and refrigerate or freeze it if you want to change the ratios for a spicier salsa though, or add more fresh or pickled jalapenos when you open the jar to serve it. Happy canning!
Do you chop the cranberries when you “chop all ingredients “ or do you add whole berries when you “add the washed berries to the pot”?
The cranberries are added whole, just rinsed. “Chop ingredients” refers to the ingredients specified as diced or minced in the ingredient list (onion and hot peppers) but I can clarify that if it’s confusing as written! :)