Christmas Cranberry Dip

Christmas Cranberry Dip is the perfect, festive appetizer for the holiday season! Fresh cranberries, pineapple preserves, and cream cheese with buttery crackers!

This Christmas Cranberry Dip has been a favorite in our family, and on Mostly Homemade Mom, since 2012! I love using fresh cranberries in this recipe and the combination with the cream cheese is just perfect with buttery crackers.

Where can I find fresh cranberries?

Beginning in September through to December, grocery stores usually carry bags of fresh cranberries in the produce department. If you’re planning on making this recipe any other time of the year, be sure to grab a few bags and stick them in the freezer. I haven’t been able to find fresh cranberries in my area any other time of the year, unfortunately.

Where can I find pineapple preserves?

Check in the aisle with jams, jellies, and peanut butter. Smaller grocery stores may not carry it, but I’ve always been able to find pineapple preserves at Giant, Target, and Walmart in my area.

How do I make cranberry dip?

Rinse and dry fresh cranberries and place in a 2 quart baking dish. Stir in sugar, cover with foil, and bake.

After baking, remove foil. Stir in pineapple preserves. Transfer to a container with a cover and chill overnight.

Spread softened cream cheese in the bottom of a deep dish pie plate. Spread chilled cranberry mixture over the cream cheese. Serve with buttery crackers.

What do I do if my dip gets watery?

If you have this dip sitting out for a while, the cranberry mixture sometimes releases extra moisture. You can carefully drain this off if it’s unappealing, but I can honestly say it does not change the flavor of the dip at all!

Can this be made ahead of time?

Absolutely! Just cover the prepared dip with foil and keep in the fridge before serving. Freezing, however, is not recommended as the cream cheese will change texture when frozen.

Other favorite holiday appetizers:

• Slow Cooker Raspberry Balsamic Meatballs
• Spinach Dip Stuffed Mushrooms
• Smoked Sweet Kielbasa Bites

If you liked this recipe for Cranberry Dip, leave a rating and a comment below this post!

Cranberry Dip

Cranberry Dip recipe with fresh cranberries, sugar, pineapple preserves, and cream cheese.

3.59 from 34 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberry dip recipe, cranberry dip with cream cheese recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Chill: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 331kcal

Author: Kelly Miller

Ingredients

• ▢ 12 oz fresh cranberries rinsed and dried
• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 cup pineapple preserves
• ▢ 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
• ▢ buttery crackers

Instructions

• In a 2 quart baking dish, stir together cranberries and sugar.
• Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
  
• Remove cover and stir to be sure cranberries have popped and released their juices.
  
• Add pineapple preserve and stir until well combined.
  
• Allow to cool to room temperature and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
  
• Spread cream cheese over bottom of a pie plate or 8×8 baking dish.
  
• Spoon cranberry mixture over cream cheese and spread out evenly.
  
• Serve with crackers.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 107mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 405IU | Vitamin C: 9.4mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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