Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizer
This Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizer feels fancy but is so easy – slices of creamy goat cheese are baked in sweet cranberry sauce until they’re melty and perfect for spreading on crostini.
A Goat Cheese And Cranberry Appetizer Is Easy And Festive!
The holiday season is all about delicious snacks and appetizers, right? So, we’re always on the lookout for things that feel a little fancy (and a lot festive) but use simple ingredients and don’t take hours to prepare, because who has time for that?
This Cranberry Goat Cheese Appetizer checks every box – it’s festive, flavorful, and doesn’t take forever to make.
Tangy, creamy goat cheese is sliced and nestled into sweet cranberry sauce, then it’s all baked together until everything is warm and melty. Spread a bit on toasted crostini and you’ll find yourself lingering around the appetizer table, scooping up every last bite.
Why You Will Love These Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizers
- It’s a crowd-pleasing appetizer idea for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any holiday party.
- It’s a nice way to incorporate cranberries into your holiday meal even if traditional cranberry sauce just isn’t your favorite thing. It tastes like the holidays, in one bite!
- The cranberry sauce can be made up to a week in advance (or you can even use canned cranberry sauce for a shortcut!), so all that’s left to do the day of is layer and bake.
Easy Goat Cheese Appetizer Ingredients
A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.
- 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 to the cranberry mixture. Lemon zest also works in a pinch.
- 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 – we 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 – we garnished this with fresh mint, but other fresh herbs like basil, thyme or rosemary make a fine substitution.
- toasted bread and/or crackers – for serving, unless you just want to eat this with a spoon (no judgement there). We usually just slice up a baguette and toast it to serve with this.
What If I Can’t Find Cranberry Cinnamon Goat Cheese?
While this is usually easy to find in the grocery store in November and December, if you can’t, don’t sweat it. The most important thing for this goat cheese 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. We’ve tested it all of the ways and can report:
- A plain goat cheese log is great here.
- Honey flavored goat cheese works very well with the sweetness of the cranberries.
- Jalapeño goat cheese really spices things up! The combo of spicy, sweet and creamy flavors is so so good.
How To Make Goat Cheese With Cranberries
- MAKE CRANBERRY SAUCE. Add the cranberries, orange zest, orange juice, sugar and cinnamon to saucepot and simmer until the cranberries begin to burst, stirring occasionally. Let this stand 15 minutes to cool.
- BAKE. Spread the cranberry sauce in an even layer in a baking dish. Cut the goat cheese into 10 to 12 slices and nestle the slices into the cranberry sauce. Bake until the sauce and cheese are warmed through. If desired, broil a few minutes to brown the cheese a bit (watch very carefully!).
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Cranberry Goat Cheese Appetizer Home Chef Tips
- Step 1 in the recipe below is just making homemade cranberry sauce. You actually don’t even need to use that recipe. If you have a family heirloom recipe for cranberry sauce, that will also work great! Something similar to our Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce is better than a jellied variety.
- For make-ahead ease, prepare the cranberry sauce mixture up to 1 week in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Shortcut option: use canned whole berry cranberry sauce (avoid jellied) for a quicker version of this goat cheese appetizer.
What To Serve With This Cranberry Appetizer Recipe
This tangy goat cheese appetizer is best served with toasted bread and crackers. Toasted, sliced baguette is our top choice.
You can also add fresh fruit like pear or apple slices to the spread. Fresh veggies add a colorful touch. For a more savory balance, offer cured meats like prosciutto or salami alongside this appetizer (or you can serve this dish as part of a larger cheese board or charcuterie platter spread).
Goat Cheese Appetizer Storage
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.
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Cranberry Goat Cheese Appetizer
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Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- Zest of 1/2 orange
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 log cranberry cinnamon or plain goat cheese 8 ounces
- Fresh mint for garnish
- Crostini and/or crackers for serving
Instructions
- Add cranberries, orange zest, orange juice, sugar and cinnamon to medium saucepot. Heat to simmering over medium heat. Cook 12 to 14 minutes or until cranberries begin to burst, stirring occasionally. Let stand 15 minutes to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread cranberry sauce in even layer in medium baking dish. Cut goat cheese into 10 to 12 slices. Nestle cheese slices into cranberry sauce.
- Transfer to oven and bake 14 to 16 minutes or until sauce and cheese are warmed through. If desired, broil under high heat 1 to 2 minutes to brown cheese (watch very carefully to ensure you don’t burn cheese).
- Garnish with mint and serve warm with crostini and/or crackers.
Notes
- For make-ahead ease, prepare the cranberry sauce up to 1 week in advance and store in the fridge.
- Shortcut option: use canned whole berry cranberry sauce (avoid jellied) for a quicker version of this goat cheese appetizer.
