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Cheese Ball Christmas Tree is the ultimate holiday centerpiece! Forget the usual platters; this Christmas cheese tree takes your appetizers to the next level with festive flavor and show-stopping presentation.
Inside, it’s creamy and loaded with sun dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, chives, and seasonings. The mixture is built on the same savoury base used in this classic antipasto cheese ball, which forms the foundation of the Christmas tree before it’s shaped and decorated. But it’s the outside that really shines, decorated with antipasto Christmas tree toppings like olives, herbs, and peppers, making every bite just as fun as it looks. Serve your Christmas cheese tree platter with salami, prosciutto, and plenty of crackers for a spread that’s as merry as it is delicious.
What Makes This Recipe Work
This Cheese Ball Christmas Tree isn’t just about looks; it’s packed with flavor. The creamy cheese ball base is blended with sun dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, chives, and seasonings, giving every bite a savory and slightly tangy punch.
The magic is in the presentation. Whether you call it an antipasto Christmas tree cheese ball or serve it as part of a Christmas cheese tree platter, it’s a recipe that looks impressive, tastes incredible, and always gets your guests talking.
What Goes Into This Cheese Ball Christmas Tree
This festive Cheese Ball Christmas Tree starts with a creamy, flavorful dip base, then gets dressed up with colorful antipasto toppings. Here are a few of the standout ingredients that make it shine:
- Cream Cheese: Softened cream cheese forms the base, giving the tree its smooth, creamy texture and perfect structure for shaping.
- Sun Dried Tomatoes: Mixed into the cheese ball and scattered on the outside, they add bursts of tangy, savory flavor that balance the richness.
- Red Bell Peppers: Diced peppers bring sweetness, crunch, and a festive pop of color inside the dip.
- Mixed Olives: A variety of green, black, and Kalamata olives are used to decorate, giving this antipasto Christmas tree cheese ball its signature holiday sparkle.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make This Cheese Ball Christmas Tree
- Mix the Dip: In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, dill pickles, chives, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix until smooth and evenly combined.
- Wrap and Mound: Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface and scoop the mixture onto the center. Cover completely with a second sheet of wrap, sealing the edges to enclose the mixture.
- Shape the Tree: Using your hands, mold into a cone that resembles a Christmas tree. Lift the cone, peel away the bottom layer of wrap, then place onto a serving plate.
- Smooth the Surface: Remove the remaining wrap and use a cake spatula to smooth the sides and tip so it holds its shape. Wipe the plate edges clean if needed for a neat presentation.
- Decorate the Tree: Press olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and rosemary leaves or sprigs into the surface, spacing them like ornaments. Lightly brush with a little sun-dried tomato oil for extra flavor and shine.
- Finish and Serve: Cut a star from yellow or orange bell pepper or use a thick slice of cheese and set it on top. Serve with crackers, rolled salami, and prosciutto, then present your Cheese Ball Christmas Tree.
For a cozy balance, pair your Cheese Ball Christmas Tree with Creamy Pumpkin and Spinach Soup with Crispy Bacon. The creamy pumpkin base and smoky bacon cut through the richness of the cheese ball while keeping the holiday table warm and inviting.
Add some flair with Pull-Apart Stuffed Bread with Chipotle Carne Asada for a smoky, bold kick, and keep things festive with Crispy Greek Lemon Smashed Potatoes. Together, they create a spread that’s colorful, hearty, and anything but ordinary.
Recipe FAQ’s
Chilling the mixture for 30 minutes before shaping makes it firmer and easier to handle. You can also lightly spray the wrap with non-stick spray.
For a lighter version, swap half the cream cheese with Greek yogurt or ricotta. Just note it may be a little softer in texture.
Absolutely! Divide the mixture into smaller portions and shape into mini Christmas trees, perfect for individual servings or smaller gatherings.
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Antipasto Cheese Ball Christmas Tree
Ingredients
For The Dip:
- 4 cups cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 cup red bell peppers diced
- 1/4 cup dill pickles finely diced
- 1/4 cup chives chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 pinch salt to taste
For The Decorations:
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups pitted mixed olives I use a variety of black, green and Kalamata olives – dried with paper towel
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped (dried with paper towel)
- rosemary leaves sprigs to decorate
- Ritz crackers or water crackers or pretzels for serving
- 8 Salami slices for serving
- 8 Prosciutto slices for serving
Instructions
- In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the dip and mix until the ingredients are well combined.
- Place a piece of non-stick plastic wrap on a clean bench top or work surface. Scoop the cream cheese mixture out onto the plastic wrap and completely cover with another piece of wrap (you may need two pieces to cover it).
- Use your hands to mould the cream cheese into a tree shape. Then, carefully pick up the tree with one hand and peel off the plastic wrap on the bottom of the tree with your other hand. Place the tree straight onto a serving plate.
- Use a cake spatula to smooth the edges. Decorate with olives, sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary leaves/sprigs, lightly pressing each element into the cream cheese to ensure they stay on. Brush with some sun dried tomato oil from the jar (optional but adds even more flavour)!
- Top with a star cut out of a yellow or orange bell pepper OR a thick slice of cheese.
- Serve with crackers of your choice, salami and prosciutto slices rolled up!ENJOY!
Notes
- The cream cheese is more stable in a wider tree shape rather than a tall, thin tree. The taller tree folds over and collapses.
- If you find your cream cheese has softened too much and won’t hold its shape, refrigerate it until it thickens again (about 20 minutes).
- Pat dry each olive and sun dried tomato on a sheet of paper towel before decorating your tree to make sure they stay on, or they may slide off if covered in oil from the jar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is such a festive appetizer, I just love it!
We will be spending a quiet Christmas at home this year. We just lost my father in law and times are extremely sad right now. So a quiet dinner with family is in order this year. Hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family. Enjoy!
What a festive treat this Antipasto Cheese Ball will be at Christmas as a between meals snack for everyone. My sisters, our husbands and all our children from ages 11 to 26 gather at Nana and Papas house by 10 am every Christmas morning for our tradition of having a huge breakfast buffet with way to much food, hugs and a little mimosa. Presents are shared and family spends time together until a standing rib roast is prepared for 4 o’clock dinner time. We skip any kind of lunch and we don’t want to fill up before dinner time so a little cheese treat is the perfect food to snack on. Thank you for sharing and wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.
Looking forward to quiet day with friends
This looks amazing! It definitely wouldn’t last the time it’s supposed to be in the fridge – It’d be as good as gone! Lol. Thankfully, I’ll be getting to spend my Christmas with both my boyfriend’s family & my family. We make it work wonderfully together for Christmas, including the commute. So glad we can spend Christmas together & with all the families. Have a Merry Christmas!
First of all, I made this awesome cheese tree last Christmas and everyone went nuts for it. They loved the presentationion and could not get enough. Almost ruined their appetites for dinner. It was fabulous!
My family gathers for dinner on Christmas Eve every year at my home. We have been doing that for over 45 years. It is wonderful bonding time full of food, drinks, fun and laughs. This year will be tough because we lost our Mom and a sister recently. My 98 year old father is struggling but will be with us. Emotions may run high but I am certain God will bless us with another memorable night with all our family traditions. Christmas Day we will all be together for brunch and gifts! A very “family” holiday!
Merry Christmas to you and your family. My family loves your recipes and I always feel confident when I try them. You have given us much enjoyment! Thank you and may God bless you!
I will go to my daughter’s house and spend Christmas Eve with the family. I will stay overnight so I can see the great grandchildren open their gifts on Christmas morning. Am looking forward to it!!!
Looking forward to spending the holiday with family & friends!!!
Part of my family and I are having dinner at a restaurant this year. We did Thanksgiving at a local restaurant last year (2017) and loved it, so we decided to do it for Christmas this year.
We always do the Italian fish feast for christmas eve. This year I’m changing a few dishes to an oriental style like smoked salmon tartar, coconut shrimp with sweet chile sauce,calamari Thai style and clam ragoons .I’ll have some of my usual dishes like octopus salad and macaroni and clams with a champagne sauce..looking forward to eating and being eith family this Christmas
We are spending the holidays with family- lots of driving and visiting as many family members as possible. The kids are young, so we’ll spend Christmas morning opening gifts and taking lots of pictures!