To be fair, I have a lot of favorite food items. I wonder how many of my recipes have the word “favorite” in the title. And realistically, I’ve never had cranberry salsa before this recipe so it’s technically the only cranberry salsa I’ve tried. Easy to make something a favorite when you haven’t tried other variations.
Anyway, my mom used to make homemade cranberry sauce for the holidays, and this is similar, but with a bit of a Tex-Mex twist to it. Salsa is always a fridge staple at our house, so why not make this cranberry salsa a holiday staple?
What sets this recipe apart from others I’ve seen is the fact that I use monk fruit sweetener instead of regular cane sugar to cut the bitterness of the cranberries. Monk fruit is not an artificial sweetener, and it has actually been used for thousands of years for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. It doesn’t impact blood sugar levels the way regular sugar and those chemically artificial sweeteners do (don’t get me started on those).
This salsa is so versatile. It can be eaten by itself, with tortilla chips, or my kids’ favorite – spoon it over goat cheese and eat with crackers. I recently discovered that it is delicious on top of a baked sweet potato, paired with a side of scrambled eggs for breakfast!
Disclaimer: this recipe is not an original creation of mine, unlike the other recipes on this page. I’m not quite sure where the original came from, or I would give a proper shout-out. What I have changed is the sweetener used and I also use a jalapeno with seeds intact because my people like things spicy! (P.S. – I know there is a tilde over the n in jalapeno, but I can’t figure out how to correct that on my laptop.)
To see the Instagram video of the process, scroll to the end.
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 3/4 cup monk fruit sweetener (I use this one)
- 1 jalapeno, seeded if you don’t want too much spice
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 4 green onions
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- Pinch of salt
Directions:
- Throw everything in a food professor or high powered blender and blend to desired consistency. You want it to be chunky.
- Chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving – I think the flavors taste best the second day.
Happy Thanksgiving week! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this version of the recipe. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know!
Sparking Wholeness with Erin Kerry 