If you need an easy appetizer for the holidays, this Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip will do the trick! Just three ingredients including cream cheese, cranberry sauce and sugar.
"Made this for Thanksgiving this year and was asked to make it again at Christmas time! :-)"-Leah, Pinterest User
I'm going to keep this post light and fluffy, kind of like this easy Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip! The reality is that a lot of us aren't in charge of getting a Thanksgiving meal on the table. If you're like me, your Mom still keeps a firm hold on the Thanksgiving festivities. I will typically contribute, either a side dish or an appetizer.
If we're smoking a turkey, my husband will help out. But, I'm not complaining that the days of prep needed for a Thanksgiving meal aren't on me! My busy season at work typically runs from August until the week before Thanksgiving, and I would really struggle to put together the full meal for our big family.
Last year, I decided that we needed something sweet on the appetizer bar, and I threw together this Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip! It was a total gamble, but I love sweet cream cheese dips, and I figured that the ingredients were so inexpensive that it was worth a shot. There are just THREE ingredients in this easy dip; softened cream cheese, sugar, and cranberry sauce! I used whole canned cranberry sauce, but YES, please use your leftover or excess homemade cranberry sauce. It will be great! One of my personal favorite homemade sauce is my blogging friend Derek's Cranberry Mango Sauce. So yummy!
If you have Cool Whip on hand, throw a few spoonful's in. It will add some extra airiness to the dip! If not, no sweat, you will still have a deliciously sweet and creamy dip on your hands! I serve this dip with cut fruit, ginger snaps, and graham crackers. There are some graham cracker dipping sticks made now that are PERFECT because they won't break like your traditional, thin grahams.
I hope you all have a relaxing Thanksgiving with your family and friends! If you do make this Easy Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip, let me know what you think. My family LOVES it!
If you love this sweet cream cheese dip, I think you'll also enjoy:
- Cream Cheese Peppermint Brownies
- Cajun Crab Dip
- Cranberry Barbecue Meatballs
- Turkey Cranberry Sliders
Recipe

Easy Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 7 ounces whole berry cranberry sauce
- optional: ½ cup cool whip
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mix for 2-3 minutes until well blended and creamy.
- Cover and allow to chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 20 minutes.
- Serve with fruit or sweet crackers and cookies.
Notes
- For the sugar, you can start with ⅓ cup, taste, and add more if needed.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 220Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 38mgSodium 121mgCarbohydrates 22gFiber 1gSugar 19gProtein 3g
Valencia C
Thursday 8th of December 2022
Just whipped this up using my homemade cranberry sauce to take tomorrow night for our congregation’s adult holiday party! Got it chillin in the fridge, and couldn’t resist licking the beaters! Oh my gosh, this is sooooo yummy. I could have eaten the whole bowl! And it really was so easy to make!
Michelle Goth
Wednesday 14th of December 2022
I'm so glad you liked it! We love making it for holiday parties! :)
olivia floyd
Saturday 18th of December 2021
How long will it keep?
Michelle Goth
Monday 20th of December 2021
Hi Olivia- This recipe is pretty stable. You should be able to keep it in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.
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