Christmas Cheese Tree Ball Appetizer Recipe

Full of fresh herbs, almonds, and creamy cheese, this Christmas Cheese Tree Ball Recipe would make an excellent snack over the holidays. This recipe involves shaping a cheese mixture into a tree shape before coating it in chopped herbs and dotting it with pomegranate arils and sliced almonds to act as ornaments. This is a delicious spreadable cheese that can be smeared onto crackers or eaten with chopped vegetables.

To make this cheese Christmas tree, you shape the cream cheese into a conical shape with plastic wrap and then refrigerate it until it is solid. Then, it gets rolled in a mixture of parsley, thyme, and dill before being studded with the pomegranate arils and sliced almonds. Finally, it gets topped with a star-shaped piece of cheese before serving it with crackers.

What is a Cheese Christmas Tree?

During the festive season, cheese balls are often made with many different cheeses, nuts, dried fruit, and seasonings for a delicious accompaniment to crackers, sliced baguette, or veggies like broccoli florets, sliced bell peppers, and carrot sticks.

Pro Tips

• Make sure the cream cheese is softened at room temperature to make it easier to shape it into a tree.
• If you don’t love parsley, thyme, or dill, you could simply omit it and use more of the other herbs.
• If you would like more ornaments on the tree, you could add olives, sun-dried tomatoes, pistachios, and/or rosemary.
• If you will be serving a bigger group of people, simply double the amount of cheese and make a larger cheese Christmas tree.
• For extra flavor, you could use a flavored cream cheese such as an herbed cream cheese.

What to Serve with This Cheese Christmas Tree?

This cheese Christmas tree doesn’t need to be served with anything other than some crackers. However, if you would like some variation, you could also serve it with pretzels or fresh vegetables like broccoli, celery, carrots, or bell peppers.

Do I Have to Use Plain Cream Cheese?

While this cheese Christmas tree recipe calls for plain cream cheese, you don’t have to use it. Any flavored cream cheese would be delicious as well such as herbed cream cheese or French onion cream cheese.

Can I Make This Cheese Christmas Tree Nut-Free?

Absolutely! The almonds are primarily a crunchy element and garnish for this recipe, so it would be perfectly fine if you would like to omit them to make this recipe free of nuts. Feel free to get creative and add other garnishes to your Christmas tree as well.

Can I Use Cranberries Instead of Pomegranates?

Yes, you definitely could! While cranberries are more sour than pomegranate, they would make an excellent replacement for garnish if you can find them. Alternatively, you could use dried cranberries if you prefer something a little sweeter.

How to Store This Cheese Christmas Tree

Cheese balls can generally be kept for a week or so in the fridge. However, due to the fresh ingredients in this cheese Christmas tree, it will likely only keep fresh for up to 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Simply wrap it tightly with plastic wrap to ensure it stays as fresh as possible during storage.

How to Make This Cheese Christmas Tree

Step 1

Step 1

Step 1: Lay several sheets of plastic wrap on the counter, place the cream cheese in the centre, and enclose it. Shape it into a conical tree shape and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Step 1: Lay several sheets of plastic wrap on the counter, place the cream cheese in the centre, and enclose it. Shape it into a conical tree shape and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Step 2

Step 2

Step 2: Roll the cheese tree in a mixture of chopped parsley, dill, and thyme. Decorate it with the almonds and pomegranate arils.

Step 2: Roll the cheese tree in a mixture of chopped parsley, dill, and thyme. Decorate it with the almonds and pomegranate arils.

Step 3

Step 3

Step 3: Cut the string cheese into a star shape and garnish the tree. Serve it with crackers.

Step 3: Cut the string cheese into a star shape and garnish the tree. Serve it with crackers.