Baked Cranberry Goat Cheese Appetizer

Feels fancy but so easy, this Baked Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizer pairs sweet seasonal cranberries with tangy goat cheese, and you can spread it all on toasted bread. Perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

What are your thoughts on Thanksgiving appetizers? I think it kind of depends on what time you eat your main dinner.

I know some families that will do an appetizer lunch earlier in the day, but then have their main dinner with bourbon turkey and grandma’s old fashioned dressing and all the other trimmings later in the evening.

My gathering usually eats our meal around 3pm, so we keep appetizers pretty simple (maybe a very small charcuterie board idea) so that we don’t fill up too much before the main event. I mean, I like to save some room for Thanksgiving salad and Thanksgiving fruit salad, because I’m a weirdo.

This simple baked goat cheese cranberry appetizer for Thanksgiving is a little something to nibble on that won’t fill you up terribly.

Plus, like my cranberry tart pie, this appetizer with goat cheese is a nice way to incorporate cranberries into this seasonal meal if traditional cranberry sauce just isn’t your favorite thing.

Goat Cheese Appetizer Ingredients

• cranberries – you will need 12 ounces of fresh cranberries for this cranberry goat cheese appetizer. Frozen cranberries work too, as long as they are just plain frozen cranberries with no additives.
• orange zest – cranberry and orange are a natural flavor pairing, so we will be adding the zest of 1/2 an orange. Buy a few extra oranges and make a orange bundt cake for dessert!
• orange juice – might as well juice the orange after you’ve zested it! You actually might need two oranges to get the 1/2 cup fresh orange juice that you’ll need.
• sugar – regular granulated white sugar will sweeten the cranberry sauce base of this recipe.
• cinnamon – this warm spice is a welcome addition to this sweet and cheesy appetizer.
• goat cheese – I used an 8 ounce log of Montchevre brand cranberry cinnamon goat cheese. You do not need to buy this exact brand or flavor for this appetizer with goat cheese. More on this below.
• mint – I garnished this appetizer with fresh mint, but I discuss other garnish options below.
• toasted bread and/or crackers – for serving, unless you just want to eat this with a spoon, which would be fine with me. For a really special treat, you could even make homemade brown rice crackers.

What if I can’t find cranberry cinnamon goat cheese?

The most important thing for this cranberry appetizer is that you buy a goat cheese that’s sold in a log, so that you can slice medallions of it to nestle into the cranberries.

But, if you can’t find cranberry cinnamon goat cheese there are plenty of other options.

Plain goat cheese is absolutely delicious here, and if you buy an extra package, you can make goat cheese pasta salad for lunch next week!

Honey flavored goat cheese would work great with the sweetness of the cranberries, and can also be used for a fried goat cheese salad.

I’ve even seen jalapeño goat cheese, which would really spice things up in this cranberry goat cheese appetizer! I think it would balance great with the sweetness of the cranberries. I would even try it in my sweet potato breakfast casserole for a spicy wake up!

How to Make This Cranberry Goat Cheese Appetizer Ahead of Time

This cranberry goat cheese appetizer can easily be prepared ahead of time for stress-free entertaining.

The biggest thing you can do in advance is make the cranberry sauce and store it in the fridge.

If you’d like to slice the goat cheese in advance, you can place the slices on a parchment-lined plate and cover it in plastic wrap, but it might be easier to just slice the cheese and nestle it into the cranberry mixture right before baking.

Goat Cheese Appetizer Variations

You have lots of options when it comes to garnishing this goat cheese appetizer. I had mint left over from making lamb lollipop recipe, so I used that.

If fresh mint isn’t your thing, you can easily swap that out for another herb, like thyme, rosemary or even basil.

You could also sprinkle a handful of chopped nuts over this baked goat cheese. I would recommend walnuts or pecans.

Another option is one of my favorite seasonal ingredients – pomegranate seeds. They are beautiful in Christmas salad and would add a nice crunch to this cranberry goat cheese appetizer.

A store-bought shortcut for this goat cheese appetizer

As you’ll see in the recipe below, the first step of this cranberry appetizer for Thanksgiving is to make homemade cranberry sauce.

Well, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to! Just like my cranberry sauce muffins, this recipe can be made with canned cranberry sauce.

If you’re using canned cranberry sauce for this cranberry goat cheese appetizer, be sure to look for the words “whole berry” on the label.

You don’t want the “jellied” kind, because that will be too thin and smooth to make a good base for the baked goat cheese.

What to Serve With Baked Goat Cheese

This goat cheese appetizer is best served with crackers and toasted bread.

You can also add fresh fruit like sliced pears or apples to the spread. For a more savory balance, offer cured meats like proscuitto or salami alongside this appetizer.

Storing Leftover Baked Cranberry Goat Cheese

If you have leftovers, transfer them to a storage container and place them in the fridge uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until warmed through.