Cherries and jalapeños come together in a sweet and spicy relish over cream cheese! An easy appetizer or colorful addition to your holiday grazing board.
I think many people are familiar with the ever-popular holiday appetizer - Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip. This cherry version was developed last year when cranberries were all sold out!
Frozen cherries were the closest substitute that could be found, so I went with it and thankfully was not disappointed. Some people actually preferred the cherry version over the cranberry dip. I personally like both.
I think the cherry is a little sweeter than the cranberry version of this dip. Depending on the tartness of the cherries you are using, you might want to use less sugar and/or more jalapenos. To do sweet and spicy right, you have to achieve that perfect balance.
There are many prepared relishes you can buy, but it is surprisingly simple and much cheaper to make this on your own! This recipe utilizes frozen cherries, fresh jalapeños, green onions and a few pantry items.
I plan to try this recipe out with fresh cherries this summer!
Recipe Tips
- Cherries: I recommend thawing the cherries in the fridge before making. Discard the juice and pulse cherries in food processor a couple of times until they are coarsely chopped. You can chop by hand, but it will be messy!
- Fresh Jalapeños: Heat depends so much on each individual pepper. I use 2 medium seeded jalapenos in the relish and garnish with extra diced jalapenos on top. To see if it is spicy enough for your preference, sample it after it sits overnight - you can always add more heat.
- Draining: Frozen cherries have more juice than fresh cranberries, so you will want to drain the juice at least once before serving so that your dip has a nice presentation. I like to pour the cherry jalapeño relish into a fine mesh sieve to get rid of excess liquid.
Serving Ideas
- Place a block of cream cheese on a dish that has a lipped edge, spoon Cherry Jalapeno Relish on top. Serve with crackers.
- Spread whipped cream cheese in the bottom of a pie dish. Top with Cherry and Jalapeño mixture.
- For a charcuterie or grazing board, fill half of a ramekin with softened cream cheese and top with relish.
📖 Recipe
Cherry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 1 - 16 oz. bag unsweetened Frozen Cherries pitted
- ⅓ cup Green Onion chopped
- 3 Tbsp. fresh Jalapenos (approx. 2 medium) finely diced
- ¾ cup. Sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
- ⅛ tsp. Salt
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese
Instructions
- Discarding any liquid, place thawed frozen cherries in a food processor; pulse 3-4 times or until cherries are coarsely chopped.
- In a medium bowl, mix together cherries and remaining ingredients. Chill 4-6 hours or overnight.
- Remove from fridge and place cherry jalapeno mixture in a fine mesh sieve to drain excess liquid.
- To serve, place cream cheese on a plate with a lipped edge and spread jalapeno cherry relish on top. Serve with crackers or pita chips.
Recipe loosely adapted from Cranberry Jalapeno Dip by Sparrows + Lily.
Happy Thanksgiving friends!
Alaine
If you like the sweet heat flavor, you might also be interested in Ancho Chile Chocolate Pie!
Rebekah says
What type of cherries 🍒 did you use?
(Pie, Queen Anne, Black, Rainer ...)
Alaine says
Hi Rebekah - I just used a bag of frozen dark sweet cherries. I noticed they were imported from Greece, but they did not specify the variety. They were not tart at all.