Christmas Tree Savory Pie with Spinach: An Easy and Scenic Appetizer
If you are looking for an idea for the 2025 Christmas menu that is tasty yet quick to prepare, this Christmas tree-shaped savory pie is the perfect solution. In the kitchen, especially during the holidays, practicality and ease are essential to manage the hustle and bustle without sacrificing a visually stunning result.
A soft rustic with a Sicilian heart
This rustic pie is not only beautiful to look at but also incredibly delicious. The dough is made soft and colorful by the blended spinach, while the heart encapsulates the authentic flavor of salty Etna cheese cut into cubes. Thanks to the use of a tree-shaped mold, with a few simple moves you will serve an original edible centerpiece that will win over all your guests.
How to decorate your savory Christmas Tree
The beauty of this Christmas rustic depends on the decoration, turning it into a true work of art. To mimic the “balls” on the tree, I chose typical products from the Sicilian territory: Etna olives (green and black), cherry tomatoes, and artichokes in oil, blanched cauliflower florets.
Ideas for an original Christmas buffet
You can customize the recipe according to your preferences. For a rich buffet, you might prepare several versions: one with cold cuts and cheese, a vegetarian one with seasonal vegetables, and a crunchy one with the addition of nuts.
Preparing this savory pie with spinach will allow you to impress with minimal effort, leaving you more time to enjoy the company of your loved ones during Christmas Eve or Christmas lunch.
If you are looking for more savory and scenic ideas for the Christmas holidays, also try these super easy and guaranteed success recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: mold 10×8 inches
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, Fall, Winter
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it won’t cost you anything extra!
- 9 oz baby spinach (fresh and cleaned)
- 1 cup type 1 flour
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 3 oz Sicilian canestrato tuma cheese (or mild provola or scamorza)
- 1/2 cup seed oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 5 tbsp grated parmesan
- 2 tsp instant yeast for savory preparations
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 6 olives (black and green)
- 3 artichokes in oil (sliced)
- A few cauliflower florets
- to taste dried oregano
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it won’t cost you anything extra!
- 1 Pan
- 1 Lid
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Chopper
- 1 Bowl
- Electric beaters
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Mold
Steps
Wash the baby spinach thoroughly under running water.
In a non-stick pan, brown the garlic cloves with a tablespoon of oil.
After a couple of minutes, add the spinach with all their natural water and cover with the lid, lowering the heat to a minimum.
Cook for 5 minutes, then adjust the salt and pepper and turn off.
Remove the garlic and drain the spinach very well in a colander or sieve, even pressing them with a ladle to remove the residual water.
Transfer the squeezed spinach into a chopper and blend them in stages.
You should obtain a smooth and homogeneous puree.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, work with electric beaters the eggs with the milk and oil for 5 minutes.
When you have obtained a nice airy and light mixture, add the blended spinach and mix with a spatula.
Add the sifted flours along with the instant yeast and continue working with the electric beaters.
Add the grated parmesan and a pinch of salt and mix with the spatula.
Lastly, add the cubed cheese and mix briefly.
Pour the mixture into a tree-shaped mold or a steel one previously buttered and floured*.
Meanwhile, prepare the ingredients for garnishing: wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half, season them with a tablespoon of oil, a pinch of salt and oregano. Slice the artichokes in oil thinly, pit the olives, and finally, wash and blanch the cauliflower florets for 1 minute in lightly salted water and drain them.
Decorate as desired and bake at 340°F for about 35 minutes. The toothpick test will determine doneness.
Let it cool completely before removing from the mold, especially if you use a paper mold, and serve.
And there you have it…the stuffed Christmas tree with spinach is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 The stuffed Christmas tree with spinach can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days.
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣* The choice of mold: I used a disposable one, but nothing prevents you from using what you have at home, so feel free to use steel molds, which should be buttered and floured beforehand, or silicone ones. If you also choose the disposable one, you will have to wait until the cake is completely cold before removing it, but consider that the dough behaves like that of a panettone in its paper shell and you will need to ease the removal operation by running a knife along the entire edge and bottom.
🟣 To maintain a nice vibrant color, the savory pie should be cooked at a lower temperature. If it darkens too much on the surface, cover it with a sheet of parchment paper in the last minutes of cooking.
🟣For a more rustic version, you can replace type 1 flour with whole wheat flour, or if you prefer milder flavors, you can use only all-purpose flour. As for the use of milk, you can replace it with another plant-based milk such as soy or oat with a more neutral taste.
🟣 You can customize the garnishing ingredients according to your taste and availability: within the dough, for instance, you can replace the Sicilian cheese I propose, which may be difficult to find if you do not live in Sicily, with mild or smoked scamorza or provola or even Asiago; you can completely replace the cheese with ham cubes or salami; for garnish, you can opt for walnuts, almonds, hard-boiled eggs, well-drained marinated mushrooms, broccoli florets instead of cauliflower, sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh ones, etc. In theory, you could prepare several themed savory trees, using either only meats or only vegetables based on your guests’ dietary needs, thus creating fun classic or vegetarian versions.
