Ready to prepare a Christmas appetizer without cooking? Let me introduce you to my recipe Christmas Tree with chips without cooking, an easy and quick appetizer to make to satisfy both adults and kids! I fell in love with this recipe after seeing a reel on TikTok and so this morning I made it! So easy, so quick, and so delicious that it disappeared in two seconds, just the time to record the video and take the photographs!
I will explain how to prepare the Christmas Tree appetizer with chips and the trunk of cheese spread, chives, nutmeg, and a pinch of pepper. By following my recipe, we will make a Tree approximately 6 inches tall, perfect as an appetizer for four people. Are you writing the Christmas menu, the Boxing Day menu or the New Year’s Eve menu? Great, even better! Save or print this recipe and amaze your guests!
This savory Christmas Tree is spectacular, ideal as a centerpiece to share with family or friends. I chose the lactose-free cheese spread to make it perfect even for those who are lactose intolerant. I then added dried chives which I love, a pinch of nutmeg to give the cheese that extra flavor touch, and black pepper to balance the sweetness of the cheese. The chips, so recognizable, are perfect to create the Christmas Tree effect. In the final section, I’ll propose some ingredient alternatives that you can use to create new tastes and flavors.
Over the years I’ve made many Christmas appetizers, but I’m really satisfied with this one especially the photographs. Very spectacular, don’t you think? The magic of the lights, the table set for the Christmas holidays, the family gathered, or the evenings with friends are things that I love about Christmas. And you?
Since we are talking about Christmas menus and recipes for Christmas, I feel like recommending other easy and quick recipes that have the shape of a Christmas Tree. From the savory pie Christmas Tree with speck, cherry tomatoes, and olives to the Christmas Trees with sandwich bread with tuna sauce and arugula. Or you could try the savory puff pastry Christmas Trees filled with salmon, ricotta, and arugula or the savory Christmas Trees to be served with a platter of cold cuts and cheeses.
All the above recipes are listed below. Each link is clickable and will take you directly to the recipe you choose to read. I’ll be waiting for you every day in the Facebook group and fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day! An unmissable appointment to start the day with a sweet or salty treat!
Now let’s move on to the recipe for Christmas Tree with Pringles chips and cream cheese!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, New Year's Eve
- Energy 351.72 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 3.91 (g) of which sugars 0.21 (g)
- Proteins 10.49 (g)
- Fat 32.80 (g) of which saturated 1.06 (g)of which unsaturated 0.53 (g)
- Fibers 0.54 (g)
- Sodium 347.46 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 120 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a Christmas Tree with Chips
- 14 oz oz cream cheese (lactose-free in my case)
- 2.8 oz oz potatoes (classic Pringles in my case)
- 1 pinch pepper
- as needed chives
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- as needed cheese (aged 36 months)
- 0.7 oz oz emmentaler (for the star)
You can choose a cream cheese of your liking, of course. To create the snow I chose a 36-month aged grated cheese to keep the recipe lactose-free.
If you want to be even quicker in preparation, remember that there are already available flavored cream cheeses: there’s cheese with herbs, salmon, vegetable, and Jalapeño. In other words, you are spoiled for choice to give flavor to our Christmas Tree with chips. You can indeed prepare more than one with these cheese variations to provide options for your guests!
Tools to Prepare the Christmas Tree with Chips
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Hand Whisk
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Plastic Wrap
- 1 Freezer
- 1 Plate
- 1 Toothpicks
- 1 Cookie Cutter
Remember, before you start the preparation of the Christmas Tree, that the trunk of cream cheese must rest in the freezer for at least 1 hour, to reach the right consistency to be skewered with the chips and served at the table as a Christmas appetizer!
Steps of the Recipe Christmas Tree with Chips: Easy and Quick Appetizer Without Cooking
I start the preparation of the Christmas Tree with chips from the trunk. I take a nice large bowl, a hand whisk and a spatula. I tear off some sheets of plastic wrap and lay everything on the work surface. In the bowl I pour the amount of cream cheese, add the chives and sprinkle with nutmeg and pepper. With the hand whisk I work the ingredients.
Then, with the help of the spatula, I transfer the cheese cream onto the sheets of plastic wrap and with my hands I create a nice cone with a base of about 3 inches and a height around 6 inches. I close the plastic wrap well and place the cone trunk in the freezer to rest for at least 30 minutes. The best timing to obtain an excellent consistency ranges from 40 to 50 minutes.
After this amount of time, I can proceed. I carve out a star, which is the top of my tree, with a cookie cutter from the piece of emmentaler. I place on the work surface the chips, a plate, some grated cheese to create the snow, and a few rosemary sprigs for the final decoration. I then retrieve the trunk from the freezer and proceed.
I remove the plastic wrap and place the cheese trunk in the center of the plate, strictly red. I start at the bottom by inserting the chips, turned downwards, that is, the concave part towards the base of the tree, as can be seen from the photos. I try to place them alternately to create a tree full of branches.
I skewer the star with a long toothpick and position it at the center of the trunk, just as you do with the top of the Christmas Tree. I sprinkle with the grated cheese and a little more chives. I add a few rosemary sprigs and I’m ready to serve the easiest no-cook Christmas appetizer in the world!
I just have to wish you bon appétit and remind you that I’m waiting for you every day here on my food blog with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips and Variations of the Recipe:
Tips for the recipe: if you want to get a stable trunk, keep the cheese cone in the freezer for more than thirty minutes, so that it can reach the perfect consistency. This will give even more flavor to the trunk. Prepare the Christmas Tree with chips shortly before serving it at the table. Do not leave the cone in the freezer for too long, otherwise, you will find yourself with frozen cheese that you will not be able to skewer the chips into.
Variations: if you want, you can also add, during the working of the cream cheese with chives, pepper and nutmeg, grated cheese. If you are not lactose intolerant, you can use a classic cream cheese, whichever you prefer. As mentioned earlier, if you don’t like chives, you can replace them with a herb of your choice. I like it a lot, its aroma is irresistible, just like the nutmeg.
