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You are here: Home / Recipes / How to make a Christmas Tree Cheese Plate

December 20, 2016 by: Jennifer Priest

How to make a Christmas Tree Cheese Plate

Every Christmas we skip the traditional dinner and make cheese and cold cut platters, sandwiches, and veggie plates in the tradition of my husband's family. Cheese and meat arranged into shapes is one of the best things ever! This Thanksgiving, we made a turkey shaped cheese plate and I thought, you know, that would be super cute for Christmas too. Well, not a turkey! Since I am working really hard to stay on a paleo diet, I had to make sure there were options for me on these holiday cheese plates. Here's how I accomplished that with this Christmas Tree Cheese Plate:

How to make a Christmas Tree Cheese Plate:

Gather the ingredients for the cheese plate. Since we wanted to go a more paleo friendly route, we chose to use apples instead of crackers and includes nitrate free meats. Cheese is not paleo-compliant so I will be skipping the cheese when I eat this Christmas Tree Cheese Plate on Christmas Day. You can add crackers if you like but we wanted to keep the menu gluten-free for our party.

The cranberries are sweetened and not paleo compliant. Use raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, or nuts instead for a more paleo-friendly platter. Since my family is coming over, we wanted to have the same traditional flavors they'd all enjoy too.

If you love cheese, check out this Piñata Cheese Ball recipe made with goat cheese. It's got a special surprise INSIDE!

Here's what you'll need to make this Christmas Tree Cheese Plate:

  • assorted sliced cheese
  • assorted nitrate-free uncured meats
  • sliced apples
  • dried fruit or nuts
  • large platter

Form the trunk of the tree with several cheese slices. Then all the bottom layer of “leaves” using salami. Make sure the salami lies in a slight curve and extends all the way to each end of the platter. Add alternating rows of apples, cheese, and meat to the tree, making each row slightly shorter than and overlapping the previous row. At the top of the tree, place an array of sliced apples splayed out at the bottom end.  Add a small pile of dried fruit to make a “star”. You can also use a cookie cutter to cut a star from cheese. Add rows of dried fruit to mimic a garland. Serve and enjoy!

Are you entertaining at home this holiday? Let me know all about your plans in the comments!

Homemade Pozole Recipe – Gathering Around the Table for Las Posadas
“Batteries Not Included” – Be Prepared on Christmas Morning!

Comments

  1. Maryann @ Domestically Speaking says

    December 23, 2016 at 9:49 am

    So cute and looks so yummy too!

    Reply
  2. Amy Anderson says

    December 23, 2016 at 8:31 pm

    This is SUCH a fun idea! I love cute presentation 😀

    Reply
  3. Amy says

    December 24, 2016 at 12:54 am

    Your Christmas Tree Cheese Plate is so Festive and Cute. Thank you for the idea, and for sharing on Sugar and Spice Link Party. Happy Holidays.

    Reply
  4. bj says

    December 24, 2016 at 7:06 am

    This is super cute…bet everyone loves it. I made a cheese and fruit Christmas Tree that turned out really cute, too.

    Reply
  5. Heather Luckhurst says

    December 26, 2016 at 11:23 am

    Yum!!! What a fun idea – thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says

    December 26, 2016 at 11:25 am

    What a fun plate of food!! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner Link up!

    Reply
  7. Pat says

    December 26, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    I love finding simple snacks we can pick on for our New Year’s Eve family get togethers, and this one fits the bill! Thanks for sharing this at Coffee & Conversation last week. I’ll be featuring it at this week’s party!

    Reply
  8. Mary Beth says

    December 27, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    Pretty and delicious! I’m saving this for next year.

    Reply
  9. Miz Helen says

    December 27, 2016 at 8:48 pm

    I just love your Christmas Tree, it looks awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday! Hope you are having a wonderful week and hope to see you soon!
    Miz Helen

    Reply
  10. Jann Olson says

    December 28, 2016 at 9:06 am

    This is a super fun one! I’ve seen a lot, but this has got to be one of my favs! Thanks for sharing with SYC. I’m sure it’s not intentional, but I’m not seeing a link back to the party. Would like to have featured you. 🙁
    hugs,
    Jann

    Reply
  11. Michelle says

    January 5, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    Cheese plates are always so versatile as a snack and I’m loving your Piñata Cheese Ball recipe. It looks amazing and will definitely add a wow factor when we’re entertaining. Thanks for the share Jennifer

    Reply
  12. Marie from The Interior Frugalista says

    January 9, 2017 at 10:17 am

    What a great cheese plate presentation – love this idea! Pinned to bookmark for next year 🙂

    Reply

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Welcome to Smart Fun DIY where you'll find amazing craft projects, easy-to-make recipes with a Latin twist, clever DIY projects, and smart ways to get the most out of life. I'm so happy you're here and I can't wait to learn more about you! - Jennifer Priest If you're new here, click HERE to learn more.

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