Pesto Crostini Christmas Tree

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!

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!

1. Pesto – you can use either homemade pesto (this creamy pesto is my favorite) or store-bought pesto to save time.
2. 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.
3. Cherry tomatoes – cherry or grape work, you just want something small enough that when you cut them, they fit on the crostinis.
4. 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!
5. 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.

6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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!

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:

1. Making (or buying) your pesto – I recommend the pesto I use in my pesto pasta.
2. Toasting your pine nuts
3. Toasting your bread slices
4. Slicing your cherry tomatoes in half if you feel like they are too big
5. Cutting your mozzarella cheese into bite-sized pieces (if you don’t get the pearls)
6. 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:

1. Add a spoon full of pesto to each of the crostinis and spread it out evenly.
2. Add one to two small pieces of mozzarella cheese to each crostini. (I like cheese!)
3. Add a small cherry tomato to each crostini (or you could do half).
4. 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!

Recipe FAQs

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!