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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 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.
We flew out from N.J. to L.A. to spend Christmas with our kids.. So glad we were finally able to be able to do this. Early this morning my daughter and I made this Xmas tree olive spread. It wasn’t that hard. Getting the right shape was a bit difficult but we wet our hands first and the process got easier. Can’t wait to serve it tomorrow at the party. Happy Holiday to all of you!
Hi Jane, I am so glad to hear that you and your family will have a wonderful Christmas! We hope you all enjoy this Cheese Ball Christmas Tree recipe! Happy holidays to you too and we hope you enjoy your new year!
We will be enjoying Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our three young grandchildren and our two daughters at home. Merry Christmas!
Hi Martina! That sounds awesome, we hope you enjoy your time! Merry Christmas to you and your family as well!
Spending time with family. Dinner, games, and gifts!
Cooking beef joint for the family using your recipe .
Playing board games after and then just dozing in front of the TV!!!?
Hi Firdsus, sounds like a plan! We hope you enjoy our recipe and that you enjoy your Christmas holidays!
We’ll be spending a quiet, peaceful Christmas at home this year with family. This antipasto recipe will definitely be on our New Years Eve menu!
Hi Tiffany, this sounds good! Happy holidays!
Merry Christmas! All our children and their families will be home for Christmas. The four grandchildren will be together for the first time since Delaney was born last January. We are having low key brunch and buffet dinner later to let the little ones just be together….4 grandchildren 5 and under let the chaos begin!
Hi Terrylee! Merry Christmas to you too! We hope you spend the day full of happiness with your family! Happy holidays!
The Cheese and olives looks great. We are busier than usual this year. Tonight, Christmas Eve, my husband and I will go to our son’s and his wife’s house. They like to cook and we always enjoy their company. I have a few games for us to play, one is having guests unwrap a large round mess of Saran wrap. Each person gets a few minutes to unwrap. There are small gifts along the way, and in the middle the directions say to put in a $50. bill, but I think I will use a $20. Then tomorrow we are having friends here for breakfast and other friends for dinner. Great fun!
Christmas Eve we are volunteering to serve at a community Christmas dinner to serve the people who lost their homes in the Northern Ca. Campfire. Christmas Day we have invited neighbors who have lost everything into our home to share a meal and a few gifts.
Hi Stevie, what you are doing this Christmas is beyond amazing! Thank you for sharing we hope you have a great rest of your holidays!
Merry Christmas Cafe Delites! Today is my sisters birthday and all my family gathers at my moms house to celebrate and eat menudo. THIS Year will be extra special because my brother whom I met for the first time last year will be joining us and meeting ALL my family. It’s so exciting- God is Good 🙂
Thank you Stephanie! We hope you enjoy your Christmas with your brother and the rest of your family! Happy holidays.
I will spend the holidays with all my loved ones! Christmas is at my moms with the family and we all bring our speciality and then we go all around the family for the days to come! My party is for New Year Eve! All my family and friends are coming to party with us and to enjoy a nice buffet made by myself! Can’t wait ?
Happy holidays everyone!! ?