This post was brought to you by The Soyfoods Council. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own.

I’m trying to get my friends and family #SoyInspired this year for the holidays. Why? Soy is a great source for protein. Plus, it’s lean, healthy, has no-colesterol, and is of course meatless! Besides, I love soy in just about any form. In fact, I don’t think I’ve come across a type of soy that I didn’t enjoy. Milk, tofu, edamame, or otherwise. However, that doesn’t mean that I can cook it well!

I’m not sure what it is about cooking tofu that scares me so much. Maybe it’s because the handful of times that I’ve attempted… I’ve failed, and failed hard.

Needless to say, I was more than a little nervous going into this recipe, since the soy cream cheese is basically made of tofu. And, don’t let that scare you either! The soy cream cheese tasted exactly like the real thing to me. In fact, I may have tasted better. It was just as rich, decadent, and creamy as it’s dairy counterpart.

The idea for this recipe comes from a time long before I had my daughter. My mother and I were out shopping and were passed along a sample from one of the gourmet cooking stations in the midst of the store. The sample was an easy holiday spread that used a spicy cranberry chutney over a warm smear of cream cheese. To-die-for.

We ended up making that same appetizer for the holidays around our house that year, and in the years to follow. Skip ahead a few years, and in my more health conscious years, cream cheese and bottled chutney are not usually in my vocabulary.

Even so, if there’s a will – there’s a way. And baby, here’s your way!

This festive #SoInspired appetizer is a beautiful, amazingly easy, and tasty way to start off the holidays. It’s vegan, gluten free, and vegetarian! What’s even better is that no one will guess that it’s a rather healthy dish. Somewhere between the bold flavors of the jalapeño cranberry relish and the creamy cheese… everyone will fall in love and won’t question a thing.

Speaking of the holidays, The Soyfoods Council is celebrating a #SoyInspired Thanksgiving with a giveaway certain to make holiday entertaining easier: a $200 Williams Sonoma gift card! Enter to win here!

I served my spread with some multigrain rice crackers, just to keep on par with the whole vegan and gluten free aspect. But, this would be great served with any sort of crisp cracker, pretzel, bread, or maybe even some celery sticks.

Cranberry Jalapeño Cream Cheese Spread
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 12 • Size: About 3 Tbsp. • Calories: 98.1 • Fat: 5.4 g • Carb: 12.4 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 0.9 g • Sugar: 9.9 g • Sodium: 90.4 mg

Ingredients:
Cranberry Jalapeño Relish:
12 Oz. Frozen Cranberries
1/2 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Sweetener (I used Stevia in the Raw.)
1-2 Jalapeños, Seeded & Chopped
1 Medium Orange, Juiced (About 2 Tbsp.) & Zested
1/2 Lime, Juiced (About 2 Tsp.)

Cream Cheese:
8 Oz. Soy Cream Cheese
1/4 C. Green Onion

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients for the relish into a medium sauce pan and heat over a medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes; stirring occasionally.

Once done, remove the relish from the heat and set aside to cool and thicken up.

While the relish is cooling, combine the soy cream cheese and the green onions together in a small bowl.

Spread cream cheese the mixture out over a serving dish and top with the relish once cooled slightly.

Sprinkle some extra green onions (if desired) over the top to garnish.

Serve right away and enjoy!

I served mine warm with rice crackers to keep it all gluten free.