Easy-Easy Festive Goat Cheese Spread

with Fig Jam, Pistachios & Pomegranate

Let’s talk about the ultimate holiday appetizer: goat cheese with fig jam, pistachios, and pomegranate seeds. It’s stunning, ridiculously easy, and tastes like you spent all afternoon on it (you didn’t). Tangy goat cheese is the perfect canvas for the sweet dots of fig jam, while crunchy pistachios and bursts of tart pomegranate take it to the next level. It’s the kind of dish that makes everyone gather around the table, cracker in hand, and demand the recipe. Serve it with toasted baguette slices or your favorite crackers, and bask in the glory of having nailed the easiest, prettiest snack ever.

Approachable, Memorable Homestyle Whole Food, Simply Prepared. "Real Food, Fresh & Inventive. Beautiful Color! Mere Minutes to the Table. A New Addition to The Homemade Pantry, a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Potluck & Party & Kid Friendly. Easy DIY. Vegetarian. Naturally Gluten Free. So Good!!

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The Crowd Favorite, Hands Down.

So our great-niece and her husband hosted a fancy-pants party for some 30+ of his work colleagues a couple of weeks ago. They hired a caterer and a bartender and rented some tables but she did the flowers (so elegant, white and red roses with greenery in square glass with plaid ribbons) and charcuterie (just a few cheeses and meats from Trader Joe's but so festive looking on a giant white snowflake charcuterie board) and her mom and I baked a dozen kinds of mini sweets, fudge, cookies, little tarts and more.

Those sweets? A bust. The caterer's food? Two stand-outs, a crab appetizer and a mini chicken sandwich.

But the surprise of the night was a last-minute, we-kinda-made-it-up goat cheese appetizer. People went crazy for it! Funny, thing, it was the least planned, easiest dish of the entire night!!

So now it's yours ... tis the time!

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Recipe Overview: Easy-Easy Festive Goat Cheese Spread with Fig Jam, Pistachios & Pomegranate

• That's definitely a loooong name for a recipe but you know what? The name is the recipe. It really is as simple as blending goat cheese, cream cheese (in a 4:1 ratio) in a food processor with a touch of maple syrup and salt. Spread the mixture on a plate, dot with fig jam, sprinkle with pistachios and pomegranate. Add some crackers or crispy toasts and that's it! You're a star!

• When to Serve = As a quick, festive appetizer during the holidays.
• Distinctive Ingredients = Goat Cheese + Fig Jam + Pistachios + Pomegranate
• Short Ingredient List = all the above + cream cheese + maple syrup + salt
• Kitchen Tools = A food processor is helpful for completely blending the goat cheese and cream cheese, also for adding air to lighten the two dairy products. But if you don't have one, no worry. This can be mixed by hand, just be sure to really let the goat cheese and cream cheese warm on the counter for a couple of hours.
• It takes only about 15 minutes to make the whole thing.
• This is a time-friendly recipe. For all its simplicity, it produces such a pretty-pretty appetizer! The thing that takes the longest is separating the pomegranate seeds. But good news, you can buy them already separated, or you can do them yourself ahead of time, here are three quick methods, How to Remove Pomegranate Seeds.
• This is pantry-friendly recipe, especially during the holidays. If you need a one-stop shop? Trader Joe's has everything you need! (No, this is not a sponsored post ...)
• The yield is hard to say but my educated guess is that it could go a long ways. The spread itself makes a generous cup, that's 16 tablespoons. If each cracker holds a half tablespoon of Spread (plus the toppings), that means you're looking at more than 30 individual crackers.
• Because it scales, this recipe works especially well for those Cooking for One or Two.
• So good! I hope you love this as much as out niece's guests did!


• This is another goat cheese appetizer, Herbed Goat Cheese. It's baked! And very versatile ...
• Not quite what you're looking for? Check out my other appetizer recipes.

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Why I Love This Recipe & You Might Too

• It's just so-so pretty!
• It makes up in minutes, completely in advance or at the last minute, either one.
• It uses ingredients easily picked up with a single stop. Some cooks, especially at the holidays, may already have them all on hand!
• It's easy to serve, whether at the table, in a buffet, on a appetizer board, or just a small individual plate sitting by the fire before dinner!
• Ready to get started? Here's your recipe!

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How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this recipe inspires you, please do save and share! I'd be honored ...

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EASY-EASY FESTIVE GOAT CHEESE SPREAD
with Fig Jam, Pistachios & Pomegranate

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time-to-table: 15 minutes
Makes about a generous cup of Spread, enough for an eight-inch plate, easily scaled up and down

GOAT CHEESE SPREAD
• 8 ounces (225g) goat cheese, room temperature
• 2 ounces (57g) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• A sprinkle of salt

TO FINISH
• Goat Cheese Spread
• Fig jam
• Salted pistachios, finely chopped
• Pomegranate seeds (How to Remove Pomegranate Seeds)
• Crackers, for serving

PROCESS THE GOAT CHEESE SPREAD In a food processor (see ALANNA's TIPS), process the goat cheese, cream cheese, maple syrup and salt, scraping as needed, until smooth and well-combined. May be mixed a day or two ahead of time, just refrigerate until ready to finish.

TO FINISH Spread the Goat Cheese Spread across a plate or cake stand or small platter about eight inches (20cm) in diameter. Use a spoon to dot the Spread with fig jam, distributing all across. Sprinkle with pistachios, then the pomegranate seeds.

If you make this a few hours ahead of time, no problem, refrigerate it, the colors don't run. But be sure to get it out a good half hour before serving so the goat cheese softens again.

TO SERVE Add some crackers. That's it!

ALANNA's TIPS Do choose salted pistachios, they add the "salty" element to the combination of creamy, tangy and fruity.

FOR MORE INFO If you "skipped straight to the recipe," please scroll back to the top of this page for ingredient information, ingredient substitutions, tips and more. If you print this recipe, you'll want to check the recipe online for even more tips and extra information about ingredient substitutions, best results and more. See https://www.kitchenparade.com/2024/12/easy-easy-festive-goat-cheese-spread.html .

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• ANOTHER TAKE Potato Bites with Smoked Salmon An easy appetizer with an elegant appearance.

• THE RECIPE Spinach Pinwheels with Pears & Dried Cranberries A festive holiday appetizer.
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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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