Trina’s Cranberry Salsa (Video)
Trina’s Cranberry Salsa is perfect for the Thanksgiving table, and this fresh cranberry salsa is not too sweet and just slightly spicy. I use Monkfruit Sweetener to make the salsa low in carbs, and it’s also gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan!
PIN Trina’s Cranberry Salsa to try it later!
Trina’s Cranberry Salsa is something I’ve made many, many times through the years for Thanksgiving, and I’ll be making it this year for sure. I admit, for a long time I wasn’t a big cranberry fan, and when my friend Trina first told me about the fresh cranberry salsa she’s been making for years, I was skeptical until she told me the ingredients list.
But the combination of fresh cranberries with cilantro, green onion, lime juice, and Jalapeno had so many of my favorite flavors, it was pretty much a given that I’d like this cranberry recipe.
And it was simple to switch out the sugar in the fresh cranberry salsa recipe for a low-carb sweetener and as soon as I tasted Trina’s Cranberry Salsa I knew it would become a must-have Thanksgiving dish for me! I hope you’ll have time to grab some cranberries and make this salsa!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- fresh cranberries
- Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or other sweetener of your choice
- green onion
- cilantro,
- fresh Jalapeno
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- fresh-squeezed lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
Can you make this Cranberry Salsa without cilantro?
If your tastebuds don’t enjoy the flavor of fresh cilantro, just use more thinly-sliced green onion in this recipe.
How can you use Cranberry Salsa?
- Of course, fresh cranberry salsa is fantastic on your Thanksgiving dinner plate next to the turkey.
- Every year I love using cranberry salsa to make Turkey Pita Sandwiches (with my favorite low-carb pita bread.)
- The cranberry salsa is great dipped up with celery or pita chips in this Cranberry Salsa Cream Cheese Appetizer.
- You can also enjoy it spread spread on a turkey sandwich, but if you’re up for a bit more cooking after Thanksgiving it would also be delicious as a sauce over pan-fried pork or roasted chicken.
How did we make Cranberry Salsa lower in sugar?
There’s natural sugar in the cranberries so Cranberry Salsa can’t ever be a sugar-free recipe. But I use Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) to make it low in sugar. And if you use an approved sweetener this is actually low in carbs since you’re not eating a huge amount of it! And even though you need something to sweeten the cranberries, for me it’s definitely the savory flavors that make this so appealing, so please don’t think of it in the same category as a sweet cranberry sauce.
Can Trina’s Cranberry Salsa be frozen?
I was quite excited when I discovered that this fresh cranberry salsa will freeze well and now I always freeze some of it and make Cranberry Salsa Cream Cheese Appetizer in December!
Want more healthy ideas for Thanksgiving?
Use My Top Ten Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes to find more recipes ideas for turkey day if you’re still narrowing down the menu!
How to make Trina’s Cranberry Salsa:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- Start with a 12 oz. bag of cranberries like the kind you see in all the stores at this time of year!
- Be sure to WEAR RUBBER GLOVES when you cut the Jalapenos in half and scrape out the seeds because those little seeds are no fun at all if you get them on your hands or rub your eyes.
- You can also use a few teaspoons of Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) instead of Jalapenos.
- Have the chopped cilantro (if using), chopped green onion, and chopped Jalapeno ready when you start to process the cranberries.
- Chop the whole bag of cranberries in the food processor, or Trina says you can use a blender. I used my Cuisinart Food Processor (affiliate link).
- I chopped the cranberries first and then added the sweetener and pulsed a few more times.
- Then add the chopped cilantro, chopped green onions, chopped Jalapenos, lime juice, and olive oil and pulsed until the other ingredients are chopped and it’s well-combined.
- Chill the salsa for several hours or overnight and then serve.
- I promise that all your guests will devour this!
More Tasty Ideas with Cranberries:
- Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese
- Cabbage Apple Salad
- Thanksgiving Green Bean Salad
- Cranberry Apple Crumble
- Cranberry Apple Crisp
Trina's Cranberry Salsa
My friend Trina’s Cranberry Salsa is absolutely a winner for Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
- one 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
- 3/4 cup Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
- 3/4 cup sliced green onion
- 3/4 cup chopped cilantro, or use more sliced green onion
- 2 fresh Jalapenos, seeds removed and chopped (see notes)
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T fresh-squeezed lime juice (see notes)
Instructions
- Chop the green onions and cilantro.
- Then WEAR RUBBER GLOVES for chopping the Jalapenos, being careful not to touch your face or eyes or let the juice squirt up. (I don’t put Jalapeno seeds into the disposal either, because the fumes when they are grinding can irritate your eyes. If you’re worried about handling the Jalapenos, I’ve had good luck making this with Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link).)
- Put the cranberries into a food processor or blender and pulse until they are partly chopped.
- Add sweetener of your choice and pulse a few times more to combine.
- Add sliced green onions, chopped cilantro (if using), chopped Jalapenos (or Green Tabasco Sauce), olive oil, and lime juice.
- Pulse until all ingredients are chopped and the mixture is well combined. (If you’re not sure about using 2 Jalapenos, add one and taste the mixture before you add the other, but I’m kind of a lightweight on spicy things and this was just right for me.)
- Put mixture into a glass or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and chill for several hours or overnight.
- If you end up with leftovers, this will freeze very well!
Notes
I'd use Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for this, but use any sweetener you prefer.
If you want to make this easier, you can use Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) instead of fresh Jalapenos.
I used my fresh-frozen lime juice for this recipe.
Nutritional information based on 1/4 cup serving size.
Recipe is from my friend Trina who got it from her friend Georgianna.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 47Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 0g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Since Trina’s Cranberry Salsa contains fruit, it’s obviously going to have some carbs but if you check the nutritional information you’ll see a moderate portion of this cranberry salsa made with an approved sweetener is happily not much of a splurge on carbs. It’s limited to phase 2 or 3 for the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Sauces to find more sauce recipes. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2011, and I’ve made it nearly every Thanksgiving since then! It was last updated with more information in 2022.
65 Comments on “Trina’s Cranberry Salsa (Video)”
Wow, Wow, WOW!!!  I read the recipe this morning and was intrigued.  Thought I’d give it a go for Thanksgiving.  Just finished making it, used one jalapeño, and my husband thought it was delicious!  I can’t stop eating it and may have to make more for T’day!! Franz bakery here in oregon now makes Keto English muffins, and I can envision the toasted muffin with either cream cheese or butter, with this marvelous salsa on top.  Thank You!!!!
So glad you are enjoying it. And now I need to look for those English muffins!
This is a really good salsa! I made quesadillas using low carb tortillas, softened cream cheese, this salsa, smoked chopped turkey, and swiss cheese. Very good! Thanks, Kalyn for sharing!
That sounds delicious; so glad you enjoyed it!
Can’t wait to try several of these recipes.
Hope you enjoy!
I love minimizing the sugar I have to eat, which is I’m excited for this recipe. Do you think it would be a good idea to include some essential oils or would it ruin the taste?
I’m afraid I know absolutely nothing about cooking with essential oils.
This salsa is my absolute favourite when cranberries become in season. This gorgeous and delicious salsa will be perfect to serve this with turkey and stuffing taquitos at this Thursday Thanksgiving instead of a traditional cranberry sauce. Thanks for this absolutely awesome and innovative recipe!!!
Glad you like it!
I love ths recipe. Â You posted it years ago and I faithfully make it at Thanksgiving and Christmas because everyone loves it. Â The cranberries make for a fresh take on salsa. Â This recipe is easy to make hotter or milder based on the crowd you’re serving. Â It’s also good on cream cheese. Â Thanks for the recipe!
So glad to hear you have enjoyed it! I do love that idea of putting it on cream cheese; my family loves that.
Just wanted to let you know that I brought this to Thanksgiving about 5 years ago to a very skeptical room and now it’s required. I come back to this page each year to get the recipe and just thought I would say “thank you” this time! Happy Thanksgiving!
Anna, so glad to hear it been a hit in your family! Definitely a repeater at my house too.
This looks delicious, but fresh cranberries are not available in Turkey. Do you think it would work with dried cranberries, particularly if I soaked them first? Thanks
Oh so sorry to hear that! I don’t have any experience soaking dried cranberries, but truthfully, I am skeptical that it will work.
going to try the recipe, love the combo of flavors… im not a fan of stevia in the raw as it contains maltodextrin.. knocks me out of ketosis… i prefer the pure stevia extract… thnks for a great Thanksgiving recipe…
Your choice of course, hope you enjoy!
Would this work with frozen cranberries? I sure looks so tasty, can't wait to try it.
Barb, I wouldn't use frozen cranberries; I think they'd be really mushy. Hope you enjoy!
Then I will buy some fresh ones. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Thanks for the recipe looks yummy …
Hope you enjoy Alex!