Published: Nov 21, 2021 · Modified: May 23, 2022 by kaydimaggio

Vegan Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites

Name: Vegan Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 sheets Puff Pastry; 8 ounces Vegan Cream Cheese; 2 cups Cranberry Jelly; 3 sprigs fresh rosemary chopped

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These Vegan Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites are easy and delicious to make. The perfect appetizer, these bites come together with only four ingredients and 20 minutes.

I feel like the appetizer season always coincides with the holiday season. The problem with that is that during the holiday season, you are always making a million other main dishes, side dishes, and desserts for a crowd. It is easy to forget about the appetizers until you are hungry and still have hours to go before dinner.

That is where these Vegan Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites come in. These Vegan Cranberry Bites are beyond easy to make and have a ton of flavor from the buttery puff pastry to the tangy cranberry sauce to the smooth cream cheese. Top it off with a sprig or two of fresh rosemary and you will have to stop yourself from eating them all!

For more delicious appetizers, check out this Cranberry Jalapeno Dip or this Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
FAQ's
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
Vegan Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites
Food safety

Ingredients

Four ingredients make this easy and quick! All ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.

Puff pastry, cream cheese, rosemary, cranberry jelly — Cranberry Cream Cheese Bite ingredients

Ingredient Notes

Puff Pastry- Did you know that most puff pastry is vegan?? The buttery flavor comes from palm oil. It is the same butter flavor that you get from movie theater popcorn. Some people consider palm oil to be a problematic ingredient due to the way that it is sourced, I don't mind using it now and again. Always make sure to double-check that the puff pastry is vegan though. Pepperidge Farms is vegan as well as the Good and Gather Brand at Target, however, Trader Joe's brand is not! So always make sure to check.
Vegan Cream Cheese- Feel free to use whatever kind you prefer, I use the Trader Joe's brand.
Cranberry Jelly-I do not do anything fancy with this. I use just jarred cranberry jelly however you can feel free to make your own if you prefer.

Instructions

Remove the Puff Pastry from the freezer and let it thaw a bit before unrolling to prevent breaking. I normally let it thaw on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour ahead of time.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Once thawed, roll the puff pastry out on a floured surface until it's 12 inches x 12 inches. Cut into 12 rectangles each. For a total of 24 bites between the two sheets of pastry.

Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and press the puff pastry into the muffin tins. Using a spoon, spoon one teaspoon of vegan cream cheese and one teaspoon of cranberry jelly into each pastry.

Continue until all 24 are filled.

Top with chopped fresh rosemary.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the pastry, has puffed up and is a light, golden-brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Use a fork to gently remove and place onto a serving plate.

Hint: If the puff pastry bite is stuck to the muffin tin, let cool a bit and then run a butter knife around the edge to loosen it.

Substitutions

Low Sugar - Replace the cranberry jelly with fresh cranberries tossed with your favorite sugar-free sweetener. Mash the cranberries up and add 1 teaspoon to each bite.
Cheese - Swap out the vegan cream cheese for a vegan cheddar to give it a sharpness or a vegan brie to mimic the creaminess.
Savory - Add some crumbled vegan sausage to these bites to give a savory element.

Variations

Try some of these fun ways to spice this recipe up!

Caramelized Onion- Add some caramelized onions to the top of these bites to add savory depth of flavor.

Chipotle Powder-Again with the savory, add ⅛ teaspoon of chipotle powder to the cream cheese before filling to give these a subtle smokey flavor.

Other Fruit Filling Ideas- Try making these with fresh blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries to give these a fresh look. You can also try any type of jam that you want in these bites. I love making them with apricot jam during the springtime.

Check out this other delicious cranberry appetizer!

FAQ's

Can I use something other than puff pastry?

Of course! If you aren't a fan of puff pastry or don't like the idea of using something made with palm oil, try making these vegan cranberry bites with pre-made pizza dough, pie dough, phyllo dough, or even crescent rolls.

My oven is occupied, can I make these in the Air-Fryer?

Yes! To cook your vegan cranberry bites in the air fryer, spread them in the basket. Bake at 350° F for 10-12 minutes. Check at the 7 minute mark to avoid burning the puff pastry.

What do these Vegan Cranberry Bites taste like?

These vegan cranberry bites have the perfect crunch from the puff pastry, and then you have the creaminess from the cream cheese and the tangy flavor from the cranberry. So much texture and flavor going on there.

Equipment

Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. See below for the equipment needed for this recipe.

Muffin Tin
Sharp Knife

Storage

Store these Vegan Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge. If needed, reheat in the air fryer to re-crisp them up.

These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

Top tip

Make this recipe super easy by using a jarred cranberry jelly. You are more than welcome to make your own, but using pre-made jarred jelly makes this recipe so easy!