Description
White cheddar cranberry dip with homemade cranberry sauce and fresh cranberries. It’s salty, sweet, and so festive.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups Extra-Sharp White Cheddar cheese, freshly shredded (2 Tbsp. reserved)
- 8 oz. block cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup cranberry sauce (recipe below)
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
Cranberry Sauce
- 1 (12 oz.) bag fresh cranberries, rinsed
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp. orange juice
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat 1 – 1 1/2 quart oven-safe baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the white cheddar and cream cheese. Fold in the cranberry sauce and fresh cranberries.
- Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake 18-23 minutes or until heated through and bubbly. If the dip begins to brown too quickly around the edges, loosely cover with aluminum foil.
- Sprinkle the reserved 2 tablespoons of cheddar cheese on top and place under a broiler for few minutes or until the cheese is melted. Keep an eye on it as the cheese burns easily.
- Best served immediately with crostini, pita crisps, grainy salty crackers, and sweet apple slices.
Cranberry Sauce
- Add all ingredients into a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries burst, about 15-20 minutes. Sauce will thicken and reduce.
Notes
- Slow Cooker Instructions: Lightly coat the inside of a small slow-cooker with non-stick spray. Prepare the dip ingredients as written in step #2. Add the mixture to the bowl of a slow-cooker. Cover and cook on low for 1 hour or until heated through and the cheese is melted. In the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, add the reserved cheese over the top.
- Make Ahead: Cranberry sauce can be made up to 1 week in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator. The dip can be mixed and transferred to a baking dish without baking up to 1 day in advance. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
- Cranberry Sauce: Cranberry sauce recipe makes enough for this dip plus extra for another batch.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 307
- Sugar: 5.6 g
- Sodium: 365.6 mg
- Fat: 25.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Protein: 11.1 g
- Cholesterol: 75.5 mg