We are so excited for the holidays! This Christmas tree cheese platter with sausage and crackers is a fun holiday party appetizer that is definitely coming with us to our next event!
Christmas tree appetizers to try
Headed to a holiday party this season? Need a tasty and fun Christmas tree appetizer idea? I saw a Halloween version of a pumpkin on a cutting board made of food somewhere and it gave me the idea to make a Christmas cheese and sausage platter version!
Make a holiday sausage and cheese tray
This has got to be one of my favorite Christmas appetizer recipes. It’s super easy and affordable, too. To make this holiday sausage and cheese tray, you’ll need a few ingredients that are easy to find – sausage, your favorite cheese and crackers, and cherry tomatoes, to name a few. This is also a fun, hands-on Christmas crafting idea for kids (these reindeer ornaments are fun to make, too!).
Christmas Tree Cheese Platter with Sausage
Ingredients:
- Cheddar cheese
- Club crackers
- Summer Sausage (We LOVE Hickory Farms beef summer sausage!)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Parsley for garnish
Other materials needed:
- large display cutting board or platter
Note: I did not put any specific amounts or measurements in the ingredients above. You can use more or less of whatever you want when crafting your tree.
Prep the cheese, sausage, and veggies
To get started with this Christmas crackers and cheese appetizer, cut the cheese and sausage into desired shapes. I used squares for the cheese and sliced circles for the summer sausage.
Be sure to cut a few extra pieces of cheese for the tree’s stump and five cheese triangles to make the star at the top of the tree (including 1 tomato). Wash the cherry tomatoes and parsley and allow them to dry thoroughly. Set everything aside.
Create your holiday sausage and cheese tray
Grab a large plate, cutting board, flat dish, or whatever you are using to serve the Christmas tree meat and cheese tray. Starting at the bottom of the plate, lay down the cheese first to make the tree stump, then add some tomatoes, a row of parsley, then cheese, then crackers, then sausage, all the way up.
Be sure to make the rows at the bottom of the tree the widest and slightly bring them into a more narrow form as you go up to get that nice triangular Christmas tree look.
Once you have gotten close to the top, seal it off with a little parsley and create the star at the top of the tree with the 5 triangle pieces of cheese and the single tomato. Make sure everything lines up nicely, you should now have a complete Christmas tree appetizer!
Christmas Tree Cheese Platter Appetizer with Sausage
Equipment
- Large display cutting board or platter
Ingredients
- 1 block of cheddar cheese cubed
- 1 box of Club crackers
- 1 summer sausage We LOVE Hickory Farms beef summer sausage!
- cherry tomatoes
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Slice your cheese and sausage into desired shapes. I used squares for the cheese and sliced circles for the summer sausage.Be sure to cut a few extra pieces of cheese for the tree’s stump and five cheese triangles to make the star at the top of the tree.
- Wash cherry tomatoes and parsley and allow them to dry thoroughly. Set aside.
- On your cutting board or serving platter, start at the bottom and lay down the cheese first to make the tree stump. Add a row of tomatoes, then a row of parsley, then some more cheese, then crackers, then sausage, all the way up.
- Be sure to make the rows at the bottom of the tree the widest, then narrow them down as you go up to get that triangular Christmas tree look.
- Once you have gotten close to the top, add a small amount of parsley and create the star at the top of the tree with the 5 triangle pieces of cheese and one tomato.
Enjoy this Christmas tree appetizer!
Try out this Christmas tree cheese platter at home. MJ helped me make it and wanted to eat it as we went along, he had a great time. It’s definitely one of my favorite holiday party foods, both healthy and tasty, and you can use this version or get creative and use any other food. This is a very cute holiday idea and super simple to make. Have fun and enjoy your holiday season!
More fun Christmas and holiday ideas
- 10 Awesome Christmas Party and Holiday Food Ideas and Recipes
- White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Recipe
- Free Printable Christmas Gift Card Holders
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Approximately how many will this serve?
The size I made is about the size of a standard cutting board, so it was good for 6-8 people as an appetizer/finger foods. If you need to feed more, make it a bit larger on a bigger board with more ingredients!
Thanks for the inspiration for this platter. I made it last night and brought it to a Christmas party. It was quick to assemble and traveled well. My girlfriends thought it was very clever and “Martha Stewart like”. I believe that was a compliment.
Thanks again and Merry Christmas!
Very cute edible Tree! I’m sharing your photo and link to your site today on a Christmas Recipe post. Very clever!!
We’re chatting about this adorable platter on our blog today!! Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas with us, we’ll be back!!