Best Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
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This Cranberry Cream Cheese dip is not only easy, is perfect for the holiday season. 4-ingredients to this cheesy, sweet-tart, salty and savory hot dip. Using homemade or leftover cranberry sauce, this cream cheese cranberry dip will be raved about at your next party.
A slam-dunk holiday appetizer; with sharp white cheddar cheese and cream cheese studded with fresh cranberries assembles in minutes for the best baked holiday appetizer. Plus it’s gluten-free!
I’ve teamed up with other bloggers to bring you the best holiday party food and drinks! And if you love this easy cranberry dip, you will love this even easier, Goat Cheese Appetizer, this Cowboy Crack dip or my pretty whipped goat cheese with bacon and candied dates. And always a classic at any holiday party; this is the best Crudite Dip recipe for veggie platters!
I love cranberries; these bright red, jewels of the holiday season show up everywhere, and I have had so much fun creating new cranberry recipes this week!
Be sure to try my new Oatmeal Cranberry Bars, Cranberry Christmas Cake, and don’t miss out on this stomach soothing Cranberry Relish.
You will want to wash it all down with this luscious Cranberry Lemon Drop Martini or my kid-friendly Cranberry Spritzer.
Simple Ingredients for Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients, directions and nutritional information in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.
- Cranberries | If fresh berries aren’t in season, frozen work too, but don’t thaw them.
- Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese | If you aren’t used to buying extra sharp, give it a try for this white cheddar cranberry dip, the sharpness compliments the sweetness of the cranberry sauce.
- Cream Cheese | I used full fat for this recipe, but you can use what you prefer, be sure it is softened cream cheese, you can leave it on the counter while making your homemade cranberry sauce.
- Cranberry Sauce | A simple homemade cranberry sauce recipe is below, but if you are wondering what to do with leftover cranberry sauce this is a great way to use it!
- Fresh Nutmeg | Why, because as a friend said lately, FRESH NUTMEG! You may substitute with ⅛-¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, but if you have never grated your own nutmeg you are in for a treat. Like on these eggnog butter cookies.
A good aged cheddar cheese is what you want here, it’s the star. The salty bite of the cheese is complimented by the sweet-tart cranberries.
How to Make Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Remove 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, set aside for the dip.
Add cranberries, granulated sugar, orange and lemon juice and water to a small saucepan. Stir to combine, cooking over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
The sugar will dissolve and the cranberries will start to burst, you want some cranberries rather whole, while others will disintegrate. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes on low. Refrigerate any leftover cranberry sauce and then make my Lemon Cranberry Bars!
How to Make Cranberry Dip
Lightly spray a small 1 ½ quart baking dish (I love the smaller one in this set) with a little spray oil and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (350 if using convection).
In a medium-large mixing bowl, stir together the cream cheese and aged cheddar cheese until combined.
Grate some fresh nutmeg into the cheese mixture and combine, this is a taste preference. I like a little more, about ⅛ – ½ a teaspoon (ground may be substituted).
Gently stir in the cranberry sauce and reserved fresh cranberries, spooning the cranberry mixture evenly into prepared baking dish, baking 18-23 minutes until bubbly in the middle and the edges.
Cover if needed with some foil (shiny side down) if browning too quickly. If using convection, check at about 15 minutes.
A few minutes before you are ready to pull it out of the oven, sprinkle remaining aged cheddar cheese on top and remove foil to brown a bit.
Serve immediately with crostini, crackers or pita chips. If desired, grate a little more fresh grated nutmeg over the top.
How to Make Crostini
You can purchase these already baked, however; making your own is easy and superior in taste, plus I prefer them slightly less crunchy than store bought; you might also enjoy this Easy Tomato Bruschetta.
Purchase a fresh French Baguette from the bakery at your store, then run it through the slicer machine; evenly sliced pieces every-single-time!
Pour a little olive oil into a shallow bowl, then lightly dip (don’t dunk) one side of the baguette slices into the oil and place on baking sheet. Alternatively, you may use a pastry brush and brush the tops with oil.
Repeat with as many as you are making. I like to sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt as well.
How to Bake Crostini in a Toaster Oven
Place in toaster oven under the toast setting and set for your desired brownness, I love my new Breville Smart Oven, I set it on toast for 8 slices on the 5-6 dark setting and they came out perfectly.
Crostini in a Conventional Oven
Preheat oven to broil. Place baking sheet in middle of oven, and broil for about 2 minutes, checking often. The crostini may be made ahead of time.
Variations & Substitutions
- Jalapeño Cranberry Dip | Like it spicy? Add two tablespoons of chopped jarred jalapeños to the cheese with cranberries mixture. Sweet, Spicy and YUMMY!
- Swap the cream cheese for Mascarpone cheese for a creamy, cranberry cream cheese dip.
- Love nuts? Add ¼ cup of your favorite chopped nuts, a deconstructed cranberry cheese ball.
- Mix in a little fresh chopped rosemary or thyme for an earthy taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, assemble the dip ahead of time, cover and refrigerate. When ready to bake, remove from oven for 30 minutes to allow to come to room temperature, then bake as directed.
It sure is! But shred your own cheese, sometimes the anti-caking agents they put into pre-shredded cheeses have gluten in them. Plus hand shredded aged cheddar cheese melts so much better.
Yes! Substitute the cream cheese and shredded aged cheddar cheese with your favorite plant-based substitutes.
Absolutely, use a 7×11 or 2 quart casserole dish, double the ingredients and bake until bubbly all the way through.
YES, do not thaw them, if desired, give them a quick rinse right before using in your recipe.
Storage & Rewarming Tips
Make Ahead | Make this dip up to 2 days in advance. Store covered in fridge, bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes) and bake as directed.
Store | If you have leftovers, cool dip completely, store in airtight container in fridge up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this white cheddar cranberry dip.
Reheat | Place cream cheese cranberry dip in an oven safe dish and warm covered with foil in 250 degree F oven for about 20-30 minutes. Or place in microwave safe container and warm in 30-45 second intervals until bubbly. Serve immediately.
Recommended Equipment
- Mixing Bowl | I love my Pampered Chef 2 qt batter bowl with a lid.
- Sturdy Spatula | love these spatulas as you can remove the silicone head and pop in your dishwasher. Plus this one is just plain darling!
- Baking Dish | These Staub dishes are perfect for hot dips, like this Antipasto Dip, or this Chocolate Bread Pudding.
- Board | Since this dish comes straight out of the oven, I like serving it on a cutting board.
More holiday recipes
- Cranberry Walnut Bread (No Knead)
- Burrata and Pesto Appetizer (super festive looking!)
- Lemon Cranberry Bars
- Cranberry Bourbon Sour Cocktail
- Holiday Christmas Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette dressing.
- Air Fryer Ravioli
- Easy Corn Casserole without Jiffy
- How to Make Gravy from Scratch {Turkey Giblet Gravy}
- Don’t forget something festive to sip on like this Pomegranate Punch recipe!
I hope you loved this 4-Ingredient Cranberry Dip — if you did, would you share your creation on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest? And be sure to comment below!
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Equipment
Ingredients
White Cheddar Cranberry Dip
- 2 cups Extra-Sharp Cheddar cheese grated (divided)
- 8 oz cream cheese full fat, or Neufchatel is fine, room temperature
- ¼ heaping cup cranberry sauce canned, leftover or make recipe below.
- ½ cup fresh cranberries may substitute with frozen, do not thaw
Optional Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- 12 ounces cranberries fresh or frozen (do not thaw)
- 1 cup sugar I use all natural cane sugar, white sugar may be used
- 3 tablespoons orange juice fresh squeezed is best, from a naval orange, but store bought is fine.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh is best
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
Optional Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Remove 1/2 cup of cranberries for the dip. If making your own cranberry sauce, then add the rest of the cranberries, granulated sugar, orange and lemon juice and water to a small saucepan. Stir to combine, cooking over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
- The sugar will dissolve and the cranberries will start to burst and pop, you want some cranberries rather whole, while others will disintegrate. NOTE: This recipe makes more than needed for the Cream Cheese Cranberry dip, store leftovers in airtight container in fridge and use another time. Or use leftover cranberry sauce.
Make the White Cheddar Cranberry Dip
- Lightly spray a small 1 ½ quart baking dish with a little spray oil and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (350 if using convection oven or mode).
- In a medium-large mixing bowl, stir together the cream cheese and 1 ¾ cups aged cheddar cheese until combined.
- Grate some fresh nutmeg into the cheese mixture and combine, this is a taste preference. I like a little more, about ½ a teaspoon (ground may be substituted).
- Gently stir in the cranberry sauce and 1/2 cup reserved fresh cranberries, then spooning the cranberry mixture evenly into prepared baking dish, and top with remaining 1/4 cup shredded cheddar. Baking 18-23 minutes (15 minutes if convection) until bubbly in the middle and the edges.
- Cover if needed with some foil (shiny side down) if browning too quickly.
- A few minutes before you are ready to pull it out of the oven, sprinkle remaining aged cheddar cheese on top and remove foil to brown a bit.
- Serve immediately with crostini, crackers or pita chips. If desired, grate a little more fresh grated nutmeg over the top.
How to Make Crostini
- You can purchase these already baked, however; making your own is not only easy, but superior in taste, plus I prefer them slightly less crunchy than store bought; you might like in this Easy Tomato Bruschetta.
- Pour a little olive oil into a shallow bowl, then lightly dip (don’t dunk) one side of the baguette slices into the oil and place on baking sheet. Alternatively, you may use a pastry brush and brush the tops with oil.
- Repeat with as many as you are making. I like to sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt as well.
- Place in toaster oven under the toast setting and set for your desired brownness, I love my new Breville Smart Oven, I set it on toast for 8 slices on the 5-6 setting and they came out perfectly.
- Preheat oven to broil. Place baking sheet in middle of oven, and broil for about 2 minutes, checking often. The crostinis may be made ahead of time.
Fresh Tips
Variations & Substitutions
- Jalapeno Cranberry Dip | Like it spicy? Add two tablespoons of chopped jarred jalapenos to the cheese with cranberries mixture. Sweet, Spicy and YUMMY!
- Swap the cream cheese for Mascarpone cheese for a creamy, cranberry cream cheese dip.
- Love nuts? Add ¼ cup of your favorite chopped nuts, a deconstructed cranberry cheese ball.
- Mix in a little fresh chopped rosemary for an earthy taste.
Storage & Rewarming
- Make this dip up to 2 days in advance, covered in fridge, bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes) and bake as directed.
- After baking, cool dip completely, store in airtight container in fridge up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this white cheddar cranberry dip.
- To rewarm | place in oven safe dish and warm covered with foil in 250 degree F oven for about 20-30 minutes. Or place in microwave safe container and warm in 30-45 second intervals until bubbly. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Recommended Products
It’s time to start planning our holiday parties we all need some delicious and festive recipes to serve! Check out all these amazing holiday appetizers as part of the #FavoritePartyFood blogging event hosted by Jennifer from Take Two Tapas
FAVORITE PARTY FOODS
- Jalapeno Popper Cheese Ball from Take Two Tapas
- Pumpkin White Russian Cocktail from Michaela at An Affair from the Heart
- Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Dip from Ashley at Cheese Curd in Paradise
- Gingerbread Bundt Cake from Julie at Hostess at Heart
- Beer Cheese and Bacon Ball from Christie at A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Pizza Dip from Kathryn at Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog
- Snowman Cheese Ball from Liz at Eat Move Make
- Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip from Kathleen at The Fresh Cooky
- Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Audrey at That Recipe
- Gingerbread Martini from Coleen at The Redhead Baker
- Mini Cheeseball Truffles from Teri at Our Good Life
- Everything Bagel Mini Pigs in a Blanket from Lisa at Blogghetti
- Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Potato Skins from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball from Rebecca at Devour Dinner
- 4 Minute Spicy Garlic Shrimp from Sue at Palatable Pastime
- Easy Italian Meatball Appetizer from Inger at Art of Natural Living
- Goat Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates from Erin at The Spiffy Cookie
- Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella and Bacon from Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Caprese Cups from Radha at Magical Ingredients
About Kathleen Pope
Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer
Hi, I’m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen. Read more about Kathleen here.
I think it’s funny that there was a question about leftovers for this dip!!!! It was THE BEST, and there were no leftovers!!!! Oh, so easy, pretty and YUMMY!! Thanks Kathleen, this will be a staple for the holidays from now on!!
Thank you sooo much Beth!! So glad you loved it as much as we do!!
This sounds delicious! If using canned cranberry sauce, would you recommend jellied or whole berry? Thanks!
I would use whole berry, but you could use either! Hope you love it!!
I bought the ingredients, went to make this recipe and then learned I don’t have orange. What kind of orange? How much sugar, lemon juice, water and “orange” am I supposed to use? This recipe was very unclear. Poor quality. Terrible.
Hi Amelia — I wish you had given me a good email address, because I tried to email you with the details that are actually in the recipe card. You can choose to buy or make your own cranberry sauce, and the how too and ingredients are in the notes of the recipe card, but unfortunately since you gave a bad email address, it bounced. Sorry you had that experience. Kathleen
This is such an easy dip and the added cranberries have a nice tart sweet flavor to them! I’ll be making this again during the holidays for sure!
So glad you enjoyed it, it’s one of my favorites during cranberry season!
Love this dip! It looks very festive!
It’s so festive and delicious too!
This is delicious! I used store-bought cranberry sauce because I was in a hurry and it is still so tasty. Everyone loved it!
That works great! So glad you improvised!!
This disappeared so fast at Thanksgiving. Everyone asked me for the recipe!
Love it!
This cheeseball has so many amazing flavors! The cranberries and orange flavor inside the creamy cheese, is great for any occasion!
I can’t believe how quickly this disappeared when I made it last night! It was so good and the flavors are amazing!
Thank you Jennifer, I agree!
This looks so creamy and delicious! I’d try the jalapeno version too!
You like a little kick do you?! 🙂
I love the sweet and savory flavors in this dip! Totally perfect for the holidays or anytime your craving a delicious appetizer! Can’t wait to make this again, thanks so much for the recipe!
That is wonderful and I love that combo too!
I just love the sweet-tart combination of this dip and it’s Holiday gorgeous. The minimal ingredients guarantee that I make it in a jiffy too.
It is holiday gorgeous!!
This sounds delish! Love cranberries any time of year.
So do we!!
I love that I can make this using leftover cranberry sauce. I always have enough left but nothing to do with it. This will be great to make!
Exactly!! I love that about too!
This sounds totally scrumptious. The perfect,seasonal appetizer.
Thank you Wendy!!