Breakfast
Cranberry Cheese Tarts [Vegan]
Prep
20 minutes
Cook
25 minutes
Yield
8
🎄 Get into the festive spirit with these easy vegan cranberry cheese tarts! With tart organic cranberries, creamy plant-based cheese, and flaky pastry, these 10-minute appetizers will be the star of your holiday spread.
Nothing says holiday season like the taste of cranberries in a warm and delicious pastry, paired with vegan cheese! These holiday cranberry cheese tarts are vegan, butter-free, and make the perfect appetizer for your festive gatherings.
❤️ Why You’ll Love These Cranberry Cheese Tarts [Vegan]
- Simple: These tarts are surprisingly easy to make, taking only ten minutes to assemble.
- Batch-Friendly: Easily scale up for holiday hosting and large gatherings.
- Minimal Ingredients: Made with less than ten ingredients for stress-free holiday cooking.
🍲 Ingredients
Cranberries – The star of these holiday tarts that brings tartness, vibrant color, and impressive health benefits. These ruby gems contain 192.5mg of polyphenols per 55g serving, providing antioxidants that may improve digestion, help with weight management, and support cardiovascular health.
Vegan Cheese – The creamy counterpoint to tart cranberries that creates the perfect flavor balance in these holiday tarts. Plant-based cheese adds richness and savory depth without any dairy, making these appetizers suitable for all your guests. When melted, it creates that irresistible gooey texture that makes these tarts truly special.
👩🍳 How to Make These Cranberry Cheese Tarts [Vegan]
- Preheat your oven to 400F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Into a small bowl combine your olive oil and garlic. Season to taste just slightly and stir till well combined. Let it sit for 20 minutes before using it.
- Grab your thawed puffed pastry and cut into 4 even rectangles. Leaving 1 inch on each side and begin to brush on the garlic-infused olive oil (around 1 tsp), then place 1 tsp of onion chutney, 1 tbsp vegan mozzarella, 13-15 cranberries and sprigs of fresh thyme. Pinch each side with a fork (1-inch boarder) and finish by brushing with more garlic-infused oil around the edges.
- Place tarts in the fridge for 1 hour before baking. This will help make sure they’re nice and crispy and fluffy!
- Bake for 25 minutes or until perfectly crispy and golden.
- Perfect addition to your holiday appetizers and small-ish bites plates!
🗒 Tips and Tricks
- Infusion: Create garlic-infused oil by adding 2-3 crushed cloves to one cup of quality olive oil.
- Quality: Use premium cranberries for the best tartness and flavor balance.
- Temperature: Keep puff pastry cold before baking for the best rise and texture.
🗒 Variations
Make these holiday Cranberry Cheese Tarts [Vegan] your own with these variations:
- Berries: Blueberries or raspberries can replace cranberries for a different flavor profile.
- Cheese: Any vegan cheese works – try different varieties for unique flavor combinations. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, you can use any mild cheese like plain cream cheese.
- Herbs: Rosemary or sage make excellent alternatives to thyme and oregano.
🗒 Best served with
- Plant-Based Cheese Ball with Cranberry, Thyme and Walnut
- Holiday Cheeseboards
- Chocolate Brownie Hemp Whoopie Pie
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store completely cooled tarts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
🤔 Common Questions
Yes! Assemble them up to 24 hours in advance, keep refrigerated, and bake just before serving for the freshest result.
The key is to partially bake the pastry shells before adding the cranberry and cheese filling. This creates a barrier that prevents moisture from making the base soggy.
A mild, meltable vegan cheese like mozzarella or a herb-infused cream cheese alternative pairs beautifully with cranberries. Avoid strongly flavored varieties that might overpower the fruit.
Yes! Thaw and drain them well before using. They may release a bit more liquid, so you might want to toss them with a teaspoon of cornstarch before adding to the tarts.
Look for golden-brown edges on the pastry and the cranberries should be softened and bubbling. The vegan cheese should be melted and starting to get golden spots on top.
Cranberry Cheese Tarts [Vegan]
Ingredients
- 1 package Puffed Pastry 2 sheets
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic pressed
- 8 tsp. onion chutney
- 8 tbsp. vegan mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 tbsp. fresh thyme
- season to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Into a small bowl combine your olive oil and garlic. Season to taste just slightly and stir till well combined. Let it sit for 20 minutes before using it.
- Grab your thawed puffed pastry and cut into 4 even rectangles. Leaving 1 inch on each side and begin to brush on the garlic-infused olive oil (around 1 tsp), then place 1 tsp of onion chutney, 1 tbsp vegan mozzarella, 13-15 cranberries and sprigs of fresh thyme. Pinch each side with a fork (1-inch boarder) and finish by brushing with more garlic-infused oil around the edges.
- Place tarts in the fridge for 1 hour before baking. This will help make sure they’re nice and crispy and fluffy!
- Bake for 25 minutes or until perfectly crispy and golden.
- Perfect addition to your holiday appetizers and small-ish bites plates!
I’m a big fan of all your recipes and your book and I totally fell in love with this one. So easy, so pretty and so impressive. Didn’t have onion chutney at home so I used fig mustard. Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s one of my new favs.
THANK YOU SO MUCH MARIE! You’re so welcome, please let me know what you make next hun!
Delicious, easy to make, and so inviting for the holiday season! What more could you ask for? Thanks for this amazing recipe, Maria!
YESS!! So easy and fun to make…Not to mention, FAST!
Made these for our Christmas dinner starter, they were so delicious and everyone wanted seconds! And really quick and easy to make
right, arent they just so easy?!
I made these beauties last night. I was a bit nervous because I have never used puff pastry before. It was so easy though! My non-vegan friends gobbled these up and wanted the recipe.
These are going to be in heavy rotation for me over the holidays! It’s a total winner of a recipe.
YESSSS!! This makes us so happy, thanks so much for the review love!
These are amazing! Such a fun treat for yourself or your guests! Very easy to reheat, I popped mine in the microwave for a few seconds.
Amazing!! This is so good to know. Great on the go!
I made these and they are soooo good! Couldn’t find onion chutney so made a quick version myself. Non-vegan husband loved them.
Yes, Brenna! Way to improvise! Thanks so much for the love. These are such a favourite for us!
These are absolutely delicious and a wonderful winter treat! I used the Miyokos mozzarella. Super super easy and so yummy. Going to make them again this week and see if they reheat well!
Thank you so much, Kathleen! They are my favourite!!!