Cranberry salsa with cream cheese (vegan)

It’s made by topping non-dairy cream cheese with raw cranberry salsa. The salsa is filled with fresh cranberries, sugar, lime and orange juice, cilantro, onions, garlic, red bell peppers, and orange zest.

It’s then drained and served over your favorite non-dairy cream cheese.

It’s a delightful mix of tart, sweet, and creamy. So beautifully tangy spread over crackers!

In this post:

My favorite store-bought options are from Miyoko’s, Kite Hill, Trader Joe's, and Go Veggie. I like the flavor of Miyoko’s the best.

For the purposes of this appetizer, remember to get plain flavor. Something with chive or onion isn't going to work here.

If you'd prefer to make homemade, I love the recipe in Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner. The recipe isn't difficult. It just requires some pre-planning.

This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Start by making the cranberry salsa. <— Get the full recipe details here.

Once it’s prepared, move the salsa to the refrigerator to soften and sweeten.

(The salsa recipe makes about 2 cups. So that's more than enough to put some on cream cheese, and to use some for other purposes like sweet potato tacos.)

Remove the non-dairy spread from its container. Use a knife to smooth it.

Then put the salsa on top of it. You can pour it across haphazardly.

Or you can use the back of a spoon and/or your hands to form it to the cream cheese like a ball.

Garnish with jalepeño pepper slices and/or cilantro.

Before putting the cranberry salsa onto your non-dairy cheese, use a fine mesh sieve to drain the salsa. Otherwise, the extra liquid will pool at the bottom of the plate.

Also, if your cheese itself has any liquid pooled on top of it, drain that too before putting it on a plate to serve.

If you'd prefer, you can prepare the crackers ahead of time for your guests.

Just smear non-dairy cheese onto crackers with a knife. Then finish with a dollop of bright red salsa onto them one by one. Put them out on a serving tray.

If you have any leftovers, I recommend just stirring the cream cheese & cranberry salsa together. Put it in a covered container, and store it in the refrigerator.

It gets a beautiful pink color. And it works well as a spread on crackers or a bagel.

📖 Recipe

Cranberry salsa with cream cheese (Vegan)

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 3 votes

This festive holiday appetizer is awash with bold red color. It has a beautiful combination of tart, tangy, and sweet. Great for Thanksgiving or Christmas! Serve on a platter with crackers.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: holiday food, holiday party food, thanksgiving recipe

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 batch cranberry salsa
• ▢ 1 (8-ounce) container vegan cream cheese plain
• ▢ 2 jalapeno pepper slices optional garnish
• ▢ Cilantro optional garnish
• ▢ 1 package crackers for serving

Instructions

• ▢
  Use a fine mesh sieve to drain cranberry salsa. (Too much excess liquid will make the cream cheese runny.)
• ▢
  Carefully drain any liquid pooling on top of the non-dairy cream cheese. Then move the cream cheese to a serving plate. Use a knife to smooth it.
• ▢
  Cover the cream cheese with cranberry salsa. You can loosely pile it on top. Or use the back of a spoon and/or your hands to form the cranberry salsa around the cream cheese like a cheese ball.
• ▢
  Top with optional garnish of a couple jalapeño pepper slices and/or cilantro leaf.
• ▢
  Serve right away with crackers.

Notes

For the vegan cream cheese, I recommend Miyoko’s. However, feel free to use any non-dairy cream cheese that you enjoy.

Depending on how heavily you load up the cream cheese with cranberry salsa, you may have some salsa left over. Serve it on its own or use it as a topping on sweet potato tacos.

If you have any leftovers, I recommend just stirring the cream cheese & cranberry salsa together. Put it in a covered container, and store it in the refrigerator. It gets a beautiful pink color. It works well as a spread on crackers or a Thanksgiving bagel.

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Nutrition

Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 372mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 3.5mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1.7mg

Content updated September 16, 2021. Originally published November 5, 2018.