Cranberry salsa with cream cheese (vegan)

This eye-catching holiday appetizer is full of vibrant color and flavor. Zesty cranberry salsa is put over non-dairy cream cheese for a tangy mixture of sour and sweet. Vegan & gluten-free.

The cranberry love continues. Last week I shared a cranberry mimosa recipe. And this week I’m highlighting a classic Thanksgiving appetizer – cranberry salsa with cream cheese.

This vibrant red salsa is made with fresh cranberries. Unlike orange cranberry sauce, it isn’t cooked.

Instead, whole cranberries are blitzed in a food processor with sugar, lime and orange juice, cilantro, onions, garlic, red bell peppers, and orange zest.

Then it moves to the refrigerator. As it soaks in citrus juices and sugar, the cranberries soften & sweeten.

(You definitely don’t want to make it without some kind of sweetener. Cranberries are far too tart without it. It’s like eating rhubarb without sugar. Not recommended.)

After the salsa has had a chance to break down in the sugars, it can be used as a relish with your main Thanksgiving meal. It goes particularly nicely with a seitan roast.

It can also be used like a tomato salsa, on top of tacos. I like to serve it with my sweet potato black bean tacos.

The tacos are prepared with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The smoky heat of the peppers balances nicely with the tart sweetness of the salsa.

Today I’m sharing another way to use this fresh salsa – as an appetizer!

Festive holiday appetizer

This is a classic Thanksgiving appetizer. The bold color of dark red cranberries stands out so beautifully against snowy white cheese.

When I say cheese, obviously I’m talking about the vegan variety. There are loads of non-dairy options to use these days.

Which vegan cream cheese to buy?

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.

How to make this appetizer recipe

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. It all depends on how high you want to pile it.

Before putting the cranberry salsa onto your non-dairy cheese, I recommend using 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.

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.

Or 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.

Cranberry salsa with cream cheese (Vegan)

This festive holiday appetizer is awash with bold red color. Serve on a platter with crackers.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: holiday food, holiday party food, thanksgiving recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 243kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 batch cranberry salsa
• ▢ 1 (8 ounce) container vegan cream cheese
• ▢ Optional garnish: A couple jalapeño pepper slices and/or cilantro leaf
• ▢ 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.)
• ▢
  Move vegan 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

Depending on how heavily you want to load up the cream cheese with cranberry salsa, you may have some salsa left over.

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

Tried this recipe?Tag @cadryskitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #cadryskitchen!

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 Thanksgiving bagel.