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Home » Recipes » Appetizers

Christmas Cranberry Cream Cheese Crostini

Published: Dec 9, 2019 · Modified: Dec 7, 2023 by Claire · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases · 9 Comments

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Perfect for a festive gathering, these cranberry cream cheese crostini make for a fun Christmas appetizer or for holiday celebrations! Super simple to make, we use seasonal cranberry sauce and fridge and pantry staples for a holiday appetizer both kids and adults will love!

Do check out my whipped ricotta crostini for another cute party food favorite!

Christmas cranberry cream cheese crostini on a wooden board scattered with thyme leaves.

With all the busyness of holiday celebrations, it's always good to have a few easy appetizers up your sleeve don't you think? These Christmas cranberry crostini feel so festive with the cute red cranberry sauce topping, creamy cheese and a good crunchy crostini.

Drizzled with honey and sprinkled with herbs, these cranberry crostini (also known as 'small toasts') are perfect for holiday celebrations and you can either follow the recipe below for the topping or perhaps use my refined sugar free cranberry sauce recipe if you prefer.

If you're planning your menu for Christmas party food or holiday celebrations I think you'll love to see my cream cheese stuffed peppers, beet hummus, cottage cheese tzatziki and my cottage cheese dip for more fun ideas!

Jump to:
  • ⭐ Why this recipe is so good
  • 🥖 Ingredients
  • 📖 Variations on the recipe
  • 🔪 Step by step instructions
  • 💭 Recipe tips and notes
  • 📋 Frequently asked questions
  • 🍽 More fun appetizers
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

⭐ Why this recipe is so good

Festive cranberry flavors. Appetizers with cranberry sauce always feel so seasonally appropriate and have a delicious tart sweetness.

Uses holiday ingredients. Whether you make your own cranberry sauce without orange juice, or use one from the store, it's easy to find the ingredients come the festive season!

Quick and easy. Just a few simple steps to make the crostini, and no fancy kitchen equipment required.

🥖 Ingredients

individually labelled ingredients to make Christmas crostini including cream cheese, cranberries, honey and thyme.

All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.

Some notes on a few of them:

  • Cranberries - you can use either fresh or frozen cranberries to make the crostini topping.
  • Brown sugar - to add some sweetness to offset the slightly tart flavour of cranberries.
  • Cinnamon - optional for those on a low histamine diet (if tolerated), but adds a nice flavor if you are good with it.
  • Bread - I suggest to use a good quality baguette and slice thinly on the diagonal.
  • Cream cheese - I suggest using one without any added flavorings and with as few additives as possible.
  • Extra virgin olive oil - we brush the baguette with oil before baking so that it gets nice and crispy.
  • Honey - we use a good drizzle for the best touch of sweetness.
  • Fresh thyme - adds a really nice herby flavor (and looks so pretty too!).

📖 Variations on the recipe

Swap baguette for rice cakes. While they won't technically be holiday crostini, we can make holiday rice cakes using the same toppings and they would be gluten free.

Swap honey for maple syrup. Both are delicious as a touch of sweetness.

🔪 Step by step instructions

Making these Christmas crostini is very simple, and we use festive ingredients and pantry staples that are easy to find in stores.

All the instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these photos will help guide you.

sliced baguette on a wooden chopping board labelled number one.

Step 1: Slice the baguette

Slice your baguette on the diagonal so you have fairly thin slices (image 1). Brush with olive oil and bake in the oven for 8-9 minutes or until light golden brown.

cranberry sauce being stirred in a pot labelled number two.

Step 2: Make the cranberry sauce

Add cranberries, water, brown sugar and cinnamon (if using) to a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Cook on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the cranberries have mostly broken down to a syrup (image 2). Set aside to cool.

Recipe tip: to help the cranberries break down, press against them with the back of a wooden spoon.

crostini topped with cream cheese on a wire rack labelled number three.

Step 3: Spread the cream cheese

Spread the cream cheese over the cooled crostini (image 3).

cream cheese and cranberry topped crostini on a wire rack labelled number four.

Step 4: Spoon on the cranberry topping

Spread the cranberry sauce onto the crostini (image 4). Drizzle with a little honey and sprinkle over fresh thyme leaves to serve.

💭 Recipe tips and notes

  • Slice the baguette fairly thinly so you have a mini crostini perfect as an appetizer - we want cute finger food not an open sandwich!
  • Cook the cranberries down so they have a syrup-like texture, with some whole cranberries but mostly sweet syrup.
  • Don't skip the sugar! Cranberries are naturally quite tart to taste, so a little sugar is needed to balance the flavors.

📋 Frequently asked questions

Which bread do you use to make crostini?

We use baguette to make crostini.

Can I swap cranberry sauce for another fruit topping?

You could easily swap the cranberry sauce for my mango compote or my cherry compote. Just make sure they aren't too thin in consistency, so cook down a little so they are chunky and don't have excess liquid.

cranberry cream cheese crostini on parchment paper on a wooden serving board.

🍽 More fun appetizers

Choose from so many fun appetizers here to serve at a Christmas party, including my spicy baba ganoush, cauliflower hummus, herbed ricotta balls and my quinoa seed crackers, as well as these recent recipes:

  • air fryer Tenderstem broccoli on a white plate with a small bowl of tahini dressing.
    Air Fryer Tenderstem Broccoli
  • blueberry ricotta toast on a wooden board next to fresh blueberries.
    Blueberry Ricotta Toast
  • peach corn salsa in a white bowl with a spoon next to fresh peaches and cilantro.
    Peach Corn Salsa
  • air fryer baby carrots in a white bowl on a wooden board next to a small bowl of herbs.
    Easy Air Fryer Baby Carrots

I’m always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ if you've tried the recipe!

📖 Recipe

Christmas cranberry cream cheese crostini on a wooden serving board.

Christmas Cranberry Cream Cheese Crostini

Claire
These Christmas crostini are a super cute holiday appetizer that are so easy to make and look a little fancy! Guests will love these cranberry crostini as fun finger food at your Christmas parties!
5 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Appetizer, Party food, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American, British
Servings 6 crostini
Calories 92 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

For the cranberry sauce

  • ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1-2 teaspoon brown sugar adjust to preferred sweetness
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional
  • ½ cup water

For the crostini

  • ¼ baguette thinly sliced on a diagonal into 6 pieces
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 tablespoon cream cheese
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • fresh thyme
  • pinch salt optional, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 360F / 180C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Thinly slice the baguette and brush both sides of the crostini with a little olive oil. Bake your baguette slices for 6-8 minutes or until they are light golden brown. Set aside to cool.
  • Add the cranberries, sugar, cinnamon (if using) and water to a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture turns largely syrupy in texture. Set aside to cool.
  • Spread the crostini with cream cheese and then top with the cranberry compote. Drizzle with honey, sprinkle over fresh thyme leaves and add a pinch of salt if using.

Notes

  • Adjust the amount of sugar using to your preferred level of sweetness. Cranberries are naturally tart and need sweetening up, so taste test the compote while cooking (be careful not to eat it when it's too hot!) and add more sugar to your preference.
  • For those on a low histamine diet, try and use a cream cheese that has as few additives as possible.
  • If you prefer not to use bread, then rice cakes or oat cakes are a good gluten-free alternative.
  • Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
 

Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance

All ingredients score 0 on the SIGHI list with the exception of:
  • bread, which scores 1 on SIGHI and a ? as a liberator. Be attentive to any additional ingredients that may be problematic.
  • cinnamon scores 0 on the SIGHI list, but is higher on other lists.
  • cream cheese scores 0, with additional notes you may wish to read.

Nutrition

Calories: 92kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 96mgPotassium: 34mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 135IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 0.4mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @lowhistaminekitchen or tag #lowhistaminekitchen!
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Comments

  1. Sarah says

    July 01, 2021 at 11:25 am

    This looks so yummy, Which cream cheese do you use?

    Reply
    • throughthefibrofog says

      July 01, 2021 at 3:29 pm

      I just use the Tesco own brand. I suggest looking for one with as few additives as possible.

      Reply
      • Sarah Mehmet says

        July 02, 2021 at 1:55 pm

        5 stars
        OK great thanks 😊

        Reply
  2. Sheryl Chan says

    September 04, 2020 at 7:19 am

    I love this! Looks so delicious - I love cranberries. And your photos are lovely - not sure why you'd say otherwise 🙂

    Reply
    • throughthefibrofog says

      September 05, 2020 at 6:35 pm

      Thanks Sheryl! So hope you like it 🙂

      Reply
  3. Katie Clark says

    September 02, 2020 at 12:45 am

    I love cream cheese, so being DF has been sad. But, they are really creating better DF products. I found a DF cream cheese last week that has that tart bite to it that the others I've had in the past didn't. I also love cranberries. This looks like a yummy dessert or breakfast (or appetizer).

    Reply
    • throughthefibrofog says

      September 03, 2020 at 9:35 am

      There are some great df cheese options now aren't there, and more and more are coming to market it seems. Glad you like the ingredients combo!

      Reply
  4. Shruti Chopra says

    September 01, 2020 at 1:48 pm

    This seems like a really nice combination of flavours and beautiful looking too! Creamy - crunchy - tangy - sweet - it's all there!!

    Reply
    • throughthefibrofog says

      September 03, 2020 at 9:34 am

      I love how you describe my recipes Shruti! I need you to do my recipe notes!!! Hope you like this one, perfect for the holidays I think when we all have cranberries in the house 🙂

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Claire. After a diagnosis of MCAS I began to follow a low histamine diet, which has helped me manage my symptoms. Here I hope to show that a restrictive diet can still be full of flavourful meals, and help you enjoy being creative in the kitchen.

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Please see my disclaimer. I am not a doctor or healthcare professional. All posts are for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical or dietetic advice in any way.

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