One of our favorite things about Thanksgiving is the fact that it’s the one time a year that it’s socially acceptable to drizzle sweet-tart cranberry sauce over absolutely everything you can get your hands on. These colorful little berries have a natural face-puckering zing, but are so versatile and delicious they go with just about everything – especially cheese. Cranberries are incredible when it comes to infusing their flavors and so just about any creamy milky cheese would be perfect, but you don’t have to just stick to a cheese plate scattered with cranberries. We’ve got some of the most innovating ways to combine the tasty flavors of cranberries and cheese coming right up!

Cranberry Wine

Photo Credit: Image courtesy of Sweet Life

If wine and cheese pair well, and cranberries and cheese pair well, then it’s obvious that a nice glass of cranberry wine with your cheese plate would be divine. Just imagine the flavors harmoniously washing over your palate.  There are many recipes online to make mulled wine with cranberries, but there are also some wineries out there making wine from fermented cranberries. Or if you’re not a wine drinker, you could also try Cranberry-flavored beer or hard cider. 

Cranberry Cheese

Photo Credit: Image courtesy of The Wines Ward

Probably the most convenient way to pair cranberries with cheese is to buy cheese already incorporated with cranberries. The cheese will carry the flavor in every bite and the bits of dried cranberries make a beautiful accent to the snowy white paste of the cheese. There are many varieties of cranberry cheeses that you can try including some that you can even make a home like this Wensleydale.

Cranberry Salads

Photo Credit: Image courtesy of Pop Sugar

But cranberries and cheese don’t just go well by themselves, they also combine deliciously with leafy green salads. Try some crumbled chèvre or feta with fresh cranberries for a salad that is as pretty to look at as it is tasty to eat. Don’t love fresh, whole cranberries? No problem! Vermont Creamery’s Cranberry and Tarragon Goat Cheese Crumbles use slightly sweetened dried cranberries. 

Cranberry Comtè Stuffing

Sweet, Savory, Tart, and Tasty. This stuffing has got it all.

 And finally, we have the perfect and cranberry cheese combination that absolutely must be on your holiday table. The nutty aromas of Comté combine deliciously with the tartness of cranberries and herbs to make a stuffing that’s irresistible. It’s sweet, unique, and perfect for vegetarians. Get the recipe here.

Jamie Ditaranto

Jamie Ditaranto is a senior at Emerson College and an online editorial intern for culture, who enjoys writing, photography, and travel. She finds a way to sneak cheese into just about every meal and is a sucker for free samples.