This cranberry balsamic whipped ricotta is one of my favourite quick and easy holiday appetizers! It’s make-ahead friendly or comes together quickly if needed for a last-minute appetizer. Lovely served with baguette slices or spread onto crackers.
We all need a back-pocket appetizer recipe for the holidays, and this is one of my favourites. You can make the whipped ricotta well ahead and even chop the cranberries and pistachios ahead if you like. For last-minute company, this delicious holiday appetizer can be made in just about 15 minutes!
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Ricotta cheese – Full-fat ricotta cheese will yield the nicest and creamiest results and is recommended. If you have a choice, opt for the “Smooth” variety of ricotta rather than the Traditional, as it will whip up more easily and be smoother in the end.
Balsamic glaze – If you aren’t familiar with bottled balsamic glaze, look for it in with the balsamic vinegars at the grocery store. Nonna Pia’s is the brand you’ll most likely find. If you can’t find any, you can make your own balsamic glaze by reducing balsamic vinegar and a bit of brown sugar on the stove top until it is thick and syrupy.
Thyme – A few fresh thyme leaves in the ricotta adds a lovely flavour note. You could also use a pinch of dried thyme leaves. If you don’t have either, simply omit.
How to make cranberry balsamic whipped ricotta
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete instructions in the Recipe Card below when making the recipe.
- Start by adding all the whipped ricotta ingredients to a food processor (or blender).
- Process the mixture until smooth. (Can be refrigerated at this point for several days!)
- To serve, spread the whipped ricotta into a shallow bowl or onto a plate.
- This is the brand of balsamic glaze that is most easily available at grocery stores. Look for it in with the balsamic vinegars.
- Generously drizzle the balsamic glaze over the whipped ricotta.
- Top with the chopped dried cranberries and pistachios.
Recipe tips!
- Be generous when drizzling the balsamic glaze over the whipped ricotta, to be sure to get a nice balance of flavours.
- This is a great recipe for making family time special, too. The whipped ricotta keeps several days in the fridge, so it’s easy to grab a bit, top and serve to enjoy for family holiday movie nights.
- Chop the dried cranberries and pistachios ahead, too and keep them in an airtight container to use as needed.
Serving suggestions
Spread the whipped ricotta into a wide, shallow bowl or a saucer-shaped plate. You don’t want the whipped ricotta layer to be too thick, and you want plenty of top surface area for the delicious toppings. You could also make a couple of smaller portions to spread around the room by assembling them in shallow ramekins.
You could certainly serve this whipped ricotta as a dip. Crackers are the best option for dipping. If serving with baguette or pita slices, I love to serve this with a small knife for spreading onto the bread or pita slices.
Serve with baguette slices (plain or toasted), pita slices (fresh or toasted) or an assortment of crackers.
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Get the Recipe: Cranberry Balsamic Whipped Ricotta
Ingredients
For the whipped ricotta:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, full-fat, smooth recommended
- 2 Tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 Tablespoon runny honey, neutral-flavoured recommended
- juice of 1/4 lemon, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- few fresh thyme leaves, or a pinch of dried thyme leaves
- freshly ground black pepper
For the topping:
- 2-3 Tablespoons balsamic glaze, *see Note 1 below
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 2-3 Tablespoons pistachios, chopped
- Pinch flaky salt
For serving:
- baguette slices or crackers, to serve
Instructions
- You can double or triple the recipe if you're feeding a crowd. The whipped ricotta can be made well ahead and refrigerated. It will keep well in the fridge for several days.
- To make the whipped ricotta: Add all the whipped ricotta ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate or assemble right away.
- To assemble the whipped ricotta: Spread the whipped ricotta in a wide, shallow bowl or onto a plate. Drizzle generously with balsamic glaze. Sprinkle the chopped dried cranberries and pistachios over the top and sprinkle with a pinch of flaky salt.
- To serve: Serve with baguette slices (plain or toasted), crostini, pita pieces (plain or toasted) or assorted crackers. The whipped ricotta can be treated like a dip with crackers, but adding a small serving knife is best if serving with baguette or pita slices.
Notes
More holiday appetizer recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Jennifer, Do you use table or kosher salt here. Also, generally across all your recipes do you stick with either kosher or table? Salt is so important to that final taste and although “to taste” is often used in recipes it is great that your offer a measurement.
Hi Den, unless I specify otherwise, “salt” refers to fine table salt. If I used kosher, I will always specify that.
I very much appreciate your website and have made several of your recipes with good success. Question – I’d like to use a homemade cranberry sauce instead of chopped dried cranberries (which I often find overly sweet). Do you think this might work.
Hi Gisele, and thanks so much :) As for cranberry sauce, I think it would work flavour-wise. My only concern would be that it might be a bit messier, as the cranberry sauce (in combination with the balsamic glaze) might slide around a bit on the top of the cheese. The nice thing about the dried cranberries and nuts is that they embed themselves in the cheese quite nicely, so they are quite neat when dipped or spread.
Jennifer, Such a great seasonal presentation. a really spiffed up version of a typical whipped ricotta. I happen to have sour cream not cream cheese right now, any thoughts as to how subbing will affect this dip. I want to try today but don’t want to alter it too much, I’ll send hubby out for cream cheese!!
Thanks Den. While I think sour cream would probably work, it is both thinner and tangier, so it might alter the consistency and flavour slightly.
I held out for the cream cheese rather than chancing the sour cream. Glad I did, big hit dip and big hit presentation. Such great flavors and as you said the chopped nuts and cranberries disbursed as we dipped! I got a box of Valley Lahvosh Christmas tree crackers which really was a nice holiday touch. We also enjoyed with carrot and celery crudite, scooped up easily. Thank you, this was a great improvement on a whipped ricotta dip!
So glad you enjoyed it, Den :) Thanks so much!
I waited to get the dream cheese rather than chancing the sour cream. This dip/spread is terrific. I brought to a dinner last night and it was a hit. I had Christmas Tree shaped crackers Valley Lahvosh which are available this time of year so fitting with your green/red topping. Thank you for another keeper recipe.