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A holiday favorite – Christmas Tree Cheese Ball Appetizer. You can turn your favorite cheese ball into this festive, easy to make showstopper. It will make your holiday table so much fun! Totally customizable. Can be made in advance. Great Keto appetizer, if served with low carb crackers.
This is a small batch recipe and makes one cheese ball, shaped like cone (Christmas tree) and covered with olives, cherry tomatoes and chopped chives.
You can certainly double or triple the recipe, if you are hosting a bigger party.
Quick and easy to make. It takes less that 5 minutes to shape the ball, around 30 minutes to refrigerate and have it set and 10 minutes to decorate it.
I like to have different appetizers, so I usually make just 1 of these and plenty of other holiday appetizers. Some of our favorite ones are The Best Crab Stuffed Mushrooms and The Best Deviled Eggs.
How to make Christmas tree cheese ball?
Ingredients:
- Cream cheese – preferably block, not whipped, since the ball will be more stable.
- Feta cheese – crumbled and the water should be squeezed out before adding to the mixture.
- Dill pickles – diced, they add great texture, crunch and flavor.
- Fresh chives – adds freshness. Could be substituted with chopped green onion.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garlic powder – I prefer the powder to fresh garlic, since it makes a more balanced taste.
- Green and brown olives, cut in half, dried with paper towel.
- Cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half, seeds and flesh removed, dried with kitchen towel
- Chopped parsley (optional)
- Rosemary springs (fresh)
- Chips, crackers or fresh veggies for serving.
You may swap the fresh tomatoes with sun dried tomatoes. Adding diced carrots or red and yellow peppers to decorate the tree will be great, too.
Chopped nuts can be used for decorating.
Directions:
In a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, feta cheese, pickles, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and chives. Stir to combine and. Gather into a ball, then shape like a cone. You may want to use gloves, when shaping.
Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes or up to 1 day.
When ready to “decorate”, remove the wrap. Place the tree on a plate.
Stick olives and tomatoes (perfectly dry, wipe with paper towel), chopped chives and small rosemary springs.
Top with a star, cut out from a piece of cheddar cheese. Keep i the fridge until ready to serve.
What to serve with?
Since it is a cheeseball, I suggest that you serve it with crackers of some sort. You can use your favorite crackers, no matter if they are gluten free or even Keto. Could be served with chips of your choice.
Serving it with fresh veggies like peppers, carrots or small florets of broccoli is an option, too. Serve with your favorite chips.
Add some sliced salami, prosciutto or sliced cheese on a platter, the crackers and place the “Christmas tree” in the middle. I like to use a separate plate to put the cheese ball on, the place it on the bigger platter.
Can you make it in advance?
Yes, luckily you can make this cheeseball in advance. Since this is a Feta cheese ball, the the Feta will most likely release some liquid with the time. So I don’t recommend making is more than 1 day in advance.
You can make the ball (cone) and wrap with clear plastic wrap, then freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge overnight and decorate.
To be honest, with the amount of time it takes to make, I wouldn’t make it in advance.
More holiday Appetizers:
Cheese trays are my go to appetizers, when it comes to the holidays.
Here are some more, different appetizer ideas:
- Sesame crusted Ahi tuna
- Easy Broiled Shrimp – a great seafood appetizer for the holidays. Quick and simple to make.
- Smoked Salmon Appetizer With Cucumber
Christmas Tree Cheese Ball Appetizer
Ingredients
- 12 oz Cream cheese - preferably block, not whipped, since the ball will be more stable.
- 1 cup Feta cheese - crumbled and the water should be squeezed out before adding to the mixture.
- 1/2 cup Dill pickles - diced, they add great texture, crunch and flavor.
- 2 tbsp Fresh chives - adds freshness. Could be substituted with chopped green onion.
- 1/4 tsp of each Salt and pepper
- 1/4 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 cup or more Green and brown olives, cut in half, dried with paper towel.
- 1/4 cup Cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half, seeds and flesh removed, dried with kitchen towel
- Chopped parsley, optional
- Rosemary springs, fresh
- Chips, crackers or fresh veggies for serving.
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, feta cheese, pickles, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and chives. Stir to combine and. Gather into a ball, then shape like a cone. You may want to use gloves, when shaping.
- Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes or up to 1 day.
- When ready to "decorate", remove the wrap. Place the tree on a plate.
- Stick olives and tomatoes (perfectly dry, wipe with paper towel), chopped chives and small rosemary springs.
- Top with a star, cut out from a piece of cheddar cheese. Keep i the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hey! Looks very delicious. Moreover, it’s not too difficult to make so I will try soon. Thanks for your sharing!