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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.
CANNOT WAIT to spend time cooking and eating and laughing with my AWESOME FamilY ❤️❤️❤️
A very Merry Christmas to you ?
ENJOY!
BTW can’t wait to try this recipe with my bestie next week!
Hi Susan, that sounds awesome! Hope you enjoy your time making it and eating it with your friends and family! Merry Christmas to you too!
Very low key. Just my Hubz and I. This cheese ball is so pretty and tasty I’m sure…I love olives. happy holidays!
Merry Christmas I’ve been baking all week and delivered trays of cookies today. I will be cooking Christmas dinner at my house and of course making the antipasto cheese ball love this recipe
Hi Dd, we are flattered to hear that you all loved this recipe as much as we do! Merry Christmas!
Our family of 5 celebrated December 22, 2018 with my husband’s family and then celebrated with my family on December 23,2018. I am working December 24 & 25 with an amazing group of 3 individuals with intellectual disabilities and making sure they enjoy the holidays with their families at their group home. God bless and merry Christmas to each and everyone!
Hi Brandy! It is wonderful to hear that your Christmas is full of happiness with your family! We hope work isn’t too stressful for you around this time and we are praying for those you are helping with their disabilities. We hope you enjoy the rest of your holidays and the new year!
Hi Karina! This Christmas I will spend in company with my wife and my two babies, twins of 11 months that have me crazy.
Hi William! That sounds like a good Christmas with your family, we hope you enjoy your holidays!
This year my husband, myself our 3 year old son and my sister came to Cape Town, South Africa to spend Christmas with our aunt. She lives in South Africa now because she is on a 3 year long work assignment. This is really a non-traditional Christmas for us but we thought it was important to spend time work family who can’t be home in the U.S. with us. On Christmas Day we will all go down to the beach to swim, look at penguins and eat gelato.
Hi Nakyria, These holidays sound good! It’s always good to travel and spend some time with family members! We hope you all enjoy your Christmas and the rest of your holidays!
We are taking it easy this year. Yesterday was spent with my dad’s family and all of the cousins had a blast playing together. They only see each other a few times a year so it is always fun to get them together. Tonight we are having my mother in law over for dinner, one of your lovely salmon recipes…I am still deciding which one, then attending church with her. We have a tradition of driving around to look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve, so we will do that tonight as well. Tomorrow morning, the kiddos wake up and open gifts, then we are having cinnamon rolls with breakfast and just hanging out at home together. We will play some games and probably do some crafts. I love the coziness of this time of year. You always inspire me to stay out of a cooking rut and try new things. Merry Christmas!
Hi Shandra, I hope you enjoy Christmas and the rest of the holidays with your family! Sounds good enjoy your new year!
Our two sons will be coming home with their significant others and hubby and I tag team to make all the foods. We have a nice beef tenderloin and using your recipe, also making your Mac and Cheese, as well as your string beans! I’ve baked 2 almond butter stuffed braided pastry’s,…with a Maple glaze, and toasted almonds on one of them, but not on the other(1 son loves nuts, the other hates nuts;)) We listen to Christmas Music until beginning a late lunch, then we each share what Christmas means to each of us. After lunch, Hubby passes out a gift to each person with a card and written letter as to how we see their growth over the past year. We hope they will keep the cards/letters and go back and read them later in life and see if they have grown in the way we were able to discern at that time. After this, Hubby and I have 6 Mac and Cheese dishes we made that we’re going to carry to people we know may not have a Christmas meal. The only tweak we added to your Mac and Cheese for these were adding Chorizo Sausage.
I love your web and recipes! Your photography is AMAZING! Another great recipe, tasty ingredients, fancy appearance:)
Hi Dee! Thank you so much for your supportiveness of this website it is very much appreciated! We are happy to hear that you will be enjoying your Christmas this year and hope you and your family all have a wonderful rest of the holidays and the new year! Best of luck!
I will be making this antipasto Christmas Tree between Christmas and New Years. On Christmas morning we will visit the “Children of the Dump” here in Puerto Vallarta to distribute gifts to all the poor children that were bought with money donated by the expat community here. Freda Is the person responsible for the buying and distribution but many others helped in this huge endeavour.We are so fortunate to be able to give back as we are very blessed.
Hi Linda, it is great to hear that you will be spending your Christmas helping the children in need! We hope you have a wonderful rest of the year and for the new year coming!
This post and recipe has some seriously perfect timing! I’m 5 months pregnant so we will be enjoying a low key Christmas this year with a charcuterie assortment in lieu of me cooking all day! Love love your content and sending lots of happy Christmas wishes your way!
Hi Allison, congratulations on your pregnancy! We hope you and your family enjoy this recipe! We hope you all enjoy your Christmas and spend the holidays full of happiness!