This savory cranberry and cheese tart is a great way to use Thanksgiving leftovers in a delicious new way - sweet and savory, it's easy and so good.
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So Thanksgiving is over and you are probably still recovering. But when you do get round to eating again, you may well be looking to use up some of those leftovers. I don't know about you, but I find there are a ton of recipes for leftover turkey, but not so many for other things.
This savory cranberry and cheese tart helps solve the "what do I do with..." question in a delicious way. Not only do they use up some cranberry sauce, fresh breadcrumbs and cheese you might have got for a cheeseboard, but they are easy to make.
They are also nicely different from your Thanksgiving meal itself. In fact I would even make extra cranberry sauce just to make these.
I know there is of course a deeper reason to celebrate Thanksgiving, but for many it's really all about the food. Apparently my husband and his brother used to have eating competitions on Thanksgiving when they were younger.
They would weigh in at the beginning and end of the day. Thankfully they are both pretty healthy the rest of the time and have stopped doing that, but we do still enjoy having a great big meal. But I also love having leftovers.
Lovely leftovers
Leftovers are great anyway to make an easier lunch or second dinner, but there's something particularly special about Holiday leftovers. Somehow those festive flavors and dishes we wouldn't have so much otherwise are so enjoyable.
Although that said, I can only cope with a couple days of turkey. Even varying the dishes, after that, I need to freeze any more to save getting bored.
This cranberry and cheese tart is a great way to enjoy some festive flavors in a very different way to avoid that boredom. They are based on the caramelized onion and goat's cheese tartlets I shared before, with a bit of variation.
And I have to say I wish I had tried something like cranberry sauce in underneath the cheese filling before. It's both so easy and adds delicious flavor. It also goes perfectly with the cheesy topping.
How to make these savory cheese tarts
This savory cranberry and cheese tart is easy to make, as you simply mix the breadcrumbs with melted butter, press the crumbs into the mould and bake until gently brown.
While it's crisping, mix up the cheesy topping. Then once the base is ready, add in your cranberry sauce and pour over the topping. Bake until it is gently browned on top and enjoy.
While these are a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers, they're really so good that I'd happily make some more cranberry sauce just to make these. In fact I conveniently have some cranberries in the freezer to do just that.
This savory cranberry and cheese tart makes a delicious lunch, brunch or even a light meal. It's easy to make, with tasty flavors and a delicious mix of crisp base and creamy topping. Perfect for leftovers, or any excuse.
Try these other tasty leftover ideas:
- Leftover steak and quinoa bowl
- Thai-style leftover chicken Buddha bowl
- Leftover lamb pasta sauce with eggplant
- Plus get more ideas in my Holiday leftovers collection as well as lunch recipes archives.
Savory cranberry and cheese tart
Ingredients
- 2 ½ tablespoon butter 25g
- 1.75 oz fresh breadcrumbs
- 2 oz soft goats cheese 55g
- 2 oz brie 55g, or similar other soft cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon plain yogurt
- 4 tablespoon cranberry sauce homemade/store bought
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
- Lightly grease two small tartlet moulds (2 ¾-3in diameter) and melt the butter.
- Add the breadcrumbs to the butter and stir. Divide the crumbs between the two pans and press the crumbs down and gently up the sides. Place on a baking sheet then bake the crusts for around 10-12mins until just starting to brown.
- While the bases are cooking, make the filling by mixing together the goats cheese and brie/other cheese, egg and yogurt until smooth. If you roughly dice the brie, you can do this by hand but you can also use a blender/food processor.
- Once the bases are lightly brown, carefully spread over 2 tablespoon cranberry sauce into each tart. Be careful not to spread it round but more dab it in, as otherwise it will pick up the crumb base. Then spoon the cheese mixture on top and put back in the oven to cook for around 12 minutes until slightly brown and mixture is set.
- Once they are ready, leave the tartlets to rest a minute before removing from the moulds (or eat from the mould). Best served warm but works room temperature as well.
Nutrition
See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.
See all the other cranberry recipes being shared today:
- Cranberry Apple Sauce from Cooking With Carlee
- Cranberry Bliss Bars from Palatable Pastime
- Cranberry Cheesecake Brownies by The Bitter Side of Sweet
- Cranberry Cheesecake Dream Bars from Life Currents
- Cranberry Grains Power Bowl from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
- Cranberry Streusel Bread from Hostess At Heart
- Pumpkin Dump Cake with Cranberries from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Roasted Cranberry Bourbon Crush from Take Two Tapas
- Tuna Salad with Cranberries from Sew You Think You Can Cook
HIlda
This reminds me of a memorable sandwich I once had made of brie and cranberry sauce, so I know the combination is great. This is a brilliant way of using leftovers, but I would be happy to have this for its own sake. Thanks for bringing it to Fiesta Friday
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Hilda, that combination was a standard one post-Christmas for me! I agree, it's a great combination, and this tart is a lovely variation on the theme.
Christie
These look delicious!! Reminds me of a savory cheesecake I made once. Definitely going to have to try this recipe.
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Christie, it's such a tasty combination. Hope you enjoy.
Julie
What a delicious idea! Perfect for using a few of those leftovers!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Julie, it absolutely is!
Carlee
These sound amazing! And that is hilarious that your husband and his brother used to weigh in before and after Thanksgiving.... I could totally see my family doing that!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Carlee, these are really tasty. And I agree, it was a funny tradition!
Cindys Recipes and Writings
I never combined cheese and cranberries, sounds like a keeper!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Cindy, it's such a great combination - definitely one to try!