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Create a festive holiday party dip, or transform your Thanksgiving or Christmas feast into an unforgettable spread, with my pomegranate cranberry relish. This recipe is addictively delicious and boosted with heart-healthy pistachios and antioxidant-rich pomegranate arils to stand out.
This versatile holiday side dish can also be spread on crackers with cashew cream or goat cheese, dip it with crostini, or scoop out a spoonful to enjoy by itself– it’s a real crowd-pleaser!
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Why You’ll Love It
To make the best Pomegranate Cranberry Relish, I focused on creating the most flavorful relish while also amplifying the nutritional components. Translation: this is not just mouthwatering delicious, each bit has a slew of health benefits:
- Cranberries are brimming with healthy antioxidants, a must-have compound for reducing the risk of illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Alongside antioxidants, you’ll get plenty of immune-boosting vitamin C and skin-friendly vitamin A. Lastly, I love how their high fiber count helps improve digestion and reduce cramping or constipation.
- With the aid of pomegranates, your relish may become your new best friend in your wellness journey. Pomegranates have a unique compound called punicalagin that may reduce chronic inflammation. If you’re worried about developing inflammation-related issues such as arthritis or psoriasis, make pomegranates a dietary staple.
- Pistachios are a nutritional powerhouse, rich in healthy fats, packed with protein, fiber, and antioxidants. I’ve added it to the relish to support digestion and help keep you feeling full longer. Pistachios have been shown to reduce inflammation and improve blood sugar control, super important when having a feast for a meal!
Cranberry Relish Ingredients
Whether you need to whip up an extra special cranberry relish for vegan Thanksgiving or need some ideas for Christmas, I have you covered. This is the best cranberry relish recipe I’ve ever made – this fruity, sweet, and nutty combination has a flavor profile like no other.
- Cranberries: Rinse fresh cranberries thoroughly and remove any debris or wrinkled ones you see.
- Maple Syrup: Look for pure maple syrup— which only has maple syrup as an ingredient. Grade A is lighter in color and more of a neutral taste. Grade B has a more robust flavor with increased minerals.
- You can also swap maple syrup with raw honey, molasses or brown sugar, if you prefer.
- Green Apple: Core the apple, remove the seeds, and cut it into quarters. You don’t need to peel the apple—just chop it into chunks. You can also use red apple to make it less tart and more sweet.
- Orange: Cut the orange in half, removing any seeds, and trim off the ends so the orange can fit easily into your food processor. Save some orange zest to add on top of this final dish.
- Pistachios: Finely chop the pistachios. You can either use shelled pistachios or buy pre-shelled pistachios for convenience.
- Pomegranate Seeds: You can buy pomegranate arils in the refrigerated produce section of most grocery stores, which is a convenient and mess-free alternative. If you can only find whole pomegranates, that’ll work, too. You’ll want to remove the seeds from a fresh pomegranate by hand.
November 9-13, 2026
Jen’s Free Soup Challenge
I’d love for you to soup it up with me! For 5 days, I’ll send you a daily veggie-packed soup that’s easy enough for a busy weeknight and makes enough to freeze and pull out all winter.
Ingredient Modifications
You can tweak this cranberry relish recipe to suit your health needs by mixing in less syrup, adding more nuts, oranges or tossing in a jalapeño. It’s a very forgiving and versatile Thanksgiving relish recipe.
How To Make Cranberry Relish
- Place your cranberries, chopped apple, orange, and maple syrup into a food processor. Use a lower setting to start with so you can adjust the texture as you go.
- Pulse your ingredients into chopped bits (but not too fine). A little texture makes this relish even nicer, but you can chop things up thinner.
- Give it a taste, then stir in more syrup if you want more sweetness. If you want more savory notes, wait until the next step.
- Stir in the pistachios and pomegranate seeds – the former will add a pleasant nuttiness, while the latter adds a little extra sweetness.
If serving for a special occasion, add a sprig of fresh mint, candied orange peel or fresh basil to dress up the dish. You can also dust with coarse sugar or salt (like kosher salt flakes) to add some additional flavors. Once everything tastes just right, serve and enjoy.
Cranberry Relish Storage Tip
You can store this relish in the fridge up to 24 hours before serving, so consider making it the night before. If the liquid separates in the meantime, give it a quick stir.
What to Serve With Cranberry Relish
The only thing more exciting than making a great recipe is enjoying it with all your favorite dishes. This cranberry relish has a bright mix of fruity, tart, sweet, and savory flavors, which makes it surprisingly versatile. Here are some of my favorite ways to serve it:
- A generous scoop stirred into hot, fluffy mashed potatoes—or spooned over roasted whole cauliflower—adds contrast and brightness. The relish brings out the savory, earthy flavors and cools things down just enough when you’re ready to dig in.
- Give your dinner rolls a little extra love with a spoonful of cranberry relish. The bread soaks up the juices beautifully and pairs naturally with the nuts and seeds in the recipe.
- Serve alongside sautéed green beans. Balance your plate with a mix of greens and reds. The fresh, tangy relish adds a pop of color and flavor next to simple roasted green beans.
- Spread it on sandwiches alongside mustard or avocado, or use it in place of jam on morning toast. This relish shines with holiday leftovers. The pistachios add texture and a little extra staying power, too.
More Cranberry Recipes To Try
Once you start experimenting with cranberries, it’s hard to stop! If you have any leftover cranberries after making your homemade cranberry relish recipe, I have a few more tasty ideas for you!
- This orange cranberry smoothie is my ultimate recipe for using up leftover cranberries, especially when I’m in a hurry. It’s extra healthy thanks to its blend of citrus fruits and chia seeds. If you’re more of a green smoothie person, try my Cranberry Spinach Smoothie.
- Smoothie cubes are a flexible and fun way to give your favorite recipes a healthy boost. These antioxidant berry smoothie cubes use cranberries as well as a few other ingredients like beets and pomegranate juice. You can enjoy the cubes on their own during a hot day or mix them into your usual smoothies.
- If you need something to warm you up, try my warm wassail drink recipe. It comes with a soothing and wholesome mixture of healthy ingredients like cranberries alongside cinnamon, cloves, and ginger root.
Common Questions
Pomegranate cranberry sauce and pomegranate cranberry relish can both be perfect additions to the Thanksgiving table! While they’re both made from cranberries, they are both still very different. Cranberry sauce is usually cooked, which gives it a smoother and more consistent texture, with a sweet and sometimes tangy flavor. It’s simmered until the cranberries break down, creating a soft, spreadable consistency. On the other hand, cranberry relish is uncooked and made with raw, coarsely chopped cranberries mixed with other fresh ingredients, giving it a chunkier texture.
Yes, pomegranate cranberry relish is incredibly healthy! It is rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, and fiber, making it perfect for your immune function and digestive health. The natural nutrients in pomegranates and cranberries also help reduce inflammation and promote overall wellness.
If you want to keep your pomegranate cranberry relish for a few more meals, store this recipe in an airtight container for one to two weeks. While I personally like to eat it within the same day for freshness, it’s nice having a little extra on hand for the workweek!
Recipe Card
Pomegranate Cranberry Relish
Ingredients
- 8 ounce fresh cranberries about 2 cups
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 apple cored and cut into quarters
- 1 naval orange seeds removed and end trimmed off
- ¾ cup pistachios finely chopped
- ¾ cup pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- Place the cranberries, apple, orange and maple syrup in a food processor. Pulse until chopped but not too fine. Taste and add more maple syrup if needed.
- If making ahead, refrigerate for up to 24 hours, stirring if the liquid separates.
- Stir in the pistachios and pomegranate seeds just before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Texture Tip: Pulse in short bursts so the relish stays chunky. Overprocessing makes it watery.
- Apple Choice: Cranberries vary in tartness, so use a sweet apple like Honeycrisp or Gala and taste before adding more maple syrup.
- Nut-Free: Use toasted pepitas in place of the pistachios.
- Storing: Store the relish without the pistachios in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Stir before serving, since it releases juice as it sits, and add the nuts and pomegranate just before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25 cups | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g | Sodium: 3 mg | Potassium: 261 mg | Sugar: 16 g | Vitamin A: 114 IU | Vitamin C: 16 mg | Calcium: 38 mg | Iron: 1 mg
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Love the crunch, color, nutrition and taste of this delicious dish!
Thank you for the wonderful review. So glad you enjoyed the relish!
I grew up having cranberry relish every Thanksgiving AND Christmas. Yet my version had a bunch of white sugar— it’s nice to have one without. I like the addition of pomegranates and pistachios. It added a little extra pizazz to make it more of a showstopper and some crunchiness, too. Thanks for another great recipe. I loved it.
Yeahh!! So glad you found this recipe and it met your expectations! It can often be hard to find better swaps to some of our fave recipes.