Bring a touch of classy and festive fun to your next holiday gathering with this delicious pesto crostini Christmas tree! Made with crispy toasted crostini, a vibrant creamy pesto, cherry tomatoes, and a balsamic glaze – this edible Christmas tree will be your favorite new Christmas appetizer!
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Pesto Christmas Tree Appetizer
One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is all of the fun parties – you have cookie exchanges, gingerbread house decorating, and of course Christmas office and dinner parties.
I’ve shared a ton of Christmas cookies and Christmas treats in the past but decided this year that I needed to add some Christmas appetizers to our menus too because you can’t just eat sweet things (as much as I’d really like eat reindeer chow all day).
This Christmas pesto crostini tree is my version of a fancy and impressive dessert without all the work. Like our Christmas wreath charcuterie it looks fancy but without much work at all, especially if you don’t make everything from scratch!
Why you’ll love this crostini tree
- Easy to Assemble – this couldn’t be much easier to put together, making it the perfect option for the busy holidays!
- Impressive – not only does it look fancy, it tastes great! It’s one of those dishes that will impress everyone even though it only takes you minutes!
- Festive – Christmas appetizers are always more fun when they have an actual Christmas theme and this one both looks like a Christmas tree and uses holiday colors for a really festive look!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Pesto – you can use either homemade pesto (this creamy pesto is my favorite) or store-bought pesto to save time.
- Spinach – this is totally optional, but it’s a fun way to give your entire Christmas tree that green color. You could also use fresh basil if that’s easier to get. It’s for looks totally so if you don’t want to use it, just skip it.
- Cherry tomatoes – cherry or grape work, you just want something small enough that when you cut them, they fit on the crostinis.
- Pine nuts – I like to toast mine. Just put them in a cold pan on the stove over medium heat and heat them until they toast lightly (you’ll start to smell them when they are toasting) – just be careful not to burn them because they go from toasted to burnt fast!
- French bread – you can use pre-cut crostini (typically find them in your grocery store bakery) or buy a loaf of French bread and cut and toast yourself.
Tip!
If you don’t buy already toasted bread slices, you can buy a loaf of French bread and cut it into thin slices for this recipe. Brush with olive oil and toast in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes, until they’re just slightly toasted. Just watch them so they don’t burn!
- Cheese slice – you just want something with a yellowish color that you can use for a star. I used cheddar cheese for my ham and cheese Christmas tree appetizer – that would work here too.
- Balsamic glaze – this is optional, but I sure love pesto and balsamic together! Use the instructions in my eggplant rolls post to make a balsamic glaze or buy one at the store.
- Mozzarella cheese – if you can find the little mozzarella cheese pearls, they’re perfect because they fit really well on the crostinis. If you can’t, you can cut pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh goat cheese, or even feta cheese crumbles would be great!
How to make Pesto Crostini Christmas Tree
One of the reasons that I love this pesto crostini tree so much is because it’s so simple to make, especially if you buy all of your ingredients straight from the store. If you’re making things homemade, it’s a bit more complicated but still super easy and doable!
The step by step instructions below are based on you having all of the ingredients ready to go. If they’re not, start by:
- Making (or buying) your pesto – I recommend the pesto I use in my pesto pasta.
- Toasting your pine nuts
- Toasting your bread slices
- Slicing your cherry tomatoes in half if you feel like they are too big
- Cutting your mozzarella cheese into bite-sized pieces (if you don’t get the pearls)
- Cutting a star shaped piece of cheese
Once all of those things are one, you’re ready to make your Christmas tree!
1 – Create your spinach Christmas Tree base
Start by placing your spinach (or basil) leaves down on a large wood charcuterie board or if you don’t have one, you could also do this on a slate cheese board or even a baking sheet.
Lay them down in the shape of a Christmas tree – I’ve included a picture below to give you an idea of what it should look like. Make sure to leave a space at the top and bottom of the leaves to add things on top.
2 – Add the toasted crostini
Once the spinach is all laid down, it’s time to add your crostini. You want to cover the majority of the spinach and keep that Christmas tree shape.
It’s okay if some of the spinach is showing through (that’s the point) but try to make the outer edge of the tree the crostini only.
3 – Add toppings
Once your crostini are all down, it’s time to add the toppings. This part is pretty easy, but you will want to do it carefully simple so you don’t make a huge mess! Here’s what you need to do:
- Add a spoon full of pesto to each of the crostinis and spread it out evenly.
- Add one to two small pieces of mozzarella cheese to each crostini. (I like cheese!)
- Add a small cherry tomato to each crostini (or you could do half).
- Sprinkle pine nuts across all of the crostinis to finish them off.
4 – Finish the Pesto Crostini Christmas Tree
Finish off the Christmas tree by drizzling balsamic glaze across the Christmas tree. I like to use a bottle like this one to drizzle but if you don’t care how it looks, you can also just use a spoon.
You could also omit the glaze altogether (some people aren’t balsamic fans) and serve the tree with a bowl of balsamic glaze nearby for people to drizzle on themselves. Just make sure they know what it’s for!
Once the drizzle is on, finish the Christmas tree by adding the cheese star on top.
Serve these pesto crostini appetizers immediately as they’ll be best fresh. If you know that you won’t be serving them for a while, get all of your ingredients prepped but don’t make the tree until just before serving!
And don’t forget the drinks to wash these (and any other Christmas appetizers) down – this holiday punch would be perfect!
Tips & Storage Information
Don’t start topping the bread until you’re almost ready to actually serve this. You don’t want to have to refrigerate the bread (it’ll end up stale).
Don’t try to store this – it just isn’t great the next day because you want the toasts to be crunchy.
Serve the balsamic on the side unless you know your group likes balsamic. Balsamic seems to be one of those flavors (like cilantro) that is hit and miss with people. I love it and know many people do, but better to keep it on the side so more people can enjoy this just in case!
Recipe FAQs
Can I use store-bought ingredients or do I have to make everything?
While I personally love to make things like pesto from scratch, you can totally make this with store-bought pesto, store-bought balsamic, and even pre-sliced and toasted crostini. It’s Christmas so feel free to make it easy as possible!
Can I use chopped tomatoes?
If you can’t find cherry tomatoes or have something else, you can use a tomato half or even a couple of pieces of tomato instead. I just like the little guys that you can pop right in your mouth!
I can’t find mozzarella pearls. What can I use instead?
Try this with goat cheese or feta cheese crumbles. Or if you still want to use mozzarella, just chop up small bite-sized pieces of fresh mozzarella (not burrata).
More Easy Christmas Appetizers
Serve this pesto crostini Christmas tree with any of these other Christmas appetizers to finish off your holiday table!
- Caprese salad skewers – these would be great served with the same balsamic glaze!
- Christmas tree cheese board – use up the rest of the cheese slices after your cut your star to make this!
- Bacon wrapped smokies – these sweet smokies are a great complement to this super savory pesto crostini appetizer.
- Chocolate chip cheese ball – mix it up with a sweet appetizer instead with this Christmas cheese ball!
- Bacon wrapped stuffed dates – another elegant appetizer that’s super easy to make!
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Pesto Crostini Christmas Tree
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 20 small toasted French bread slices
- ½ cup pesto homemade or store-bought
- 20 mozzarella cheese pearls
- 20 cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup pine nuts toasted
- 1 slice cheddar cheese
- Balsamic glaze optional
Instructions
- Start by placing your spinach (or basil) leaves down on a large wood charcuterie board in the shape of a Christmas tree.2 cups fresh baby spinach
- Add the toasted bread slices on top of the spinach. You want to cover the majority of the spinach and keep that Christmas tree shape.20 small toasted French bread slices
- Add pesto, a mozzarella pearl, and a cherry tomato to each of the toasted brea slices.1/2 cup pesto, 20 mozzarella cheese pearls, 20 cherry tomatoes
- Sprinkles toasted pine nuts across the entire Christmas tree.1/4 cup pine nuts
- Use a star shaped cookie cutter to cut out a star out of the cheese and add to the top of the tree.1 slice cheddar cheese
- If desired, drizzle the entire tree (but not the star) with the balsamic glaze. Or just serve on the side for people to drizzle on their own.Balsamic glaze
Tips & Notes:
- Pesto – you can use either homemade pesto (this creamy pesto is my favorite) or store-bought pesto to save time.
- Spinach – this is totally optional, but it’s a fun way to give your entire Christmas tree that green color. You could also use fresh basil if that’s easier to get. It’s for looks totally so if you don’t want to use it, just skip it.
- Cherry tomatoes – cherry or grape work, you just want something small enough that when you cut them, they fit on the crostinis.
- Pine nuts – I like to toast mine. Just put them in a cold pan on the stove over medium heat and heat them until they toast lightly (you’ll start to smell them when they are toasting) – just be careful not to burn them because they go from toasted to burnt fast!
- French bread – you can use pre-cut crostini (typically find them in your grocery store bakery) or buy a loaf of French bread and cut and toast yourself.
- Balsamic glaze – this is optional, but I sure love pesto and balsamic together! Use the instructions in my eggplant rolls post to make a balsamic glaze or buy one at the store.
- Mozzarella cheese – if you can find the little mozzarella cheese pearls, they’re perfect because they fit really well on the crostinis. If you can’t, you can cut pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh goat cheese, or even feta cheese crumbles would be great!
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