This puff pastry Christmas tree appetizer is simple to make with just a handful of ingredients, multiple sweet and savory filling options, 10 minutes of prep time, and everyone will want the recipe! Perfect as either a Christmas appetizer, for brunch, or for New Year’s Eve parties!

It’s less than a month until Christmas, with Christmas parties on the horizon, meaning it’s the perfect time to experiment with simple Christmas appetizers like this puff pastry Christmas tree appetizer! Shaped into a tree with twisting branches and stuffed with a rich pesto and cheesy filling, this pesto pastry is surprisingly simple to make and makes for an impressive centerpiece to any party platter/spread!

I’ve already shared recipes for a pull-apart Christmas tree bread and baked Camembert dinner roll wreath. However, both take quite a bit more time, ingredients, and steps. So, if you’re looking for a recipe that is minimum effort, maximum reward, this pesto puff pastry Christmas appetizer is it! Using store-bought puff pastry and either store-bought or homemade pesto, this simple puff pastry appetizer has you cut, fill, and shape your Christmas tree (it’s a lot simpler than you think!) in just about 10 minutes before baking to perfection!

Plus, you can enjoy this pesto cheese puff pastry either chilled, at room temperature, or warm – meaning it’s great to make ahead, too! That way, it’s ready to pull out for Christmas parties, brunch, as an appetizer at the holidays, or even at your New Year’s Eve party!

Best of all, this pastry Christmas tree recipe is so simple, you can even get your kids involved. So there’s minimal stress and ingredients but maximum “impressive” value. That’s a recipe I can get behind!

Pesto Puff Pastry Christmas Tree Ingredients

• Puff pastry: I used store-bought ready-rolled puff pastry. Use gluten-free if necessary. You’ll need two sheets (either a lage package or 2 regular ones).
• Pesto: you can use your favorite store-bought green pesto or make a traditional homemade pesto or vegan pistachio pesto. Red pesto will work as well but doesn’t look as festive.
• Cheese: I recommend using a melty freshly grated cheese like mozzarella, cheddar, etc. However, you could also use a creamier cheese like feta, goat cheese, or Boursin mixed with the pesto (or a layer of cream cheese/ricotta beneath the pesto).
• Cherry tomatoes: optional but make a great garnish that doubles up as decorative “Christmas baubles” on the Christmas tree appetizer.
• Butter: I used melted butter to brush the puff pastry appetizer before baking. Use vegan butter if preferred or even coconut oil.
• To garnish: you can optionally garnish the Christmas appetizer with fresh basil leaves.

Optional Add-ins and Variations

• Spinach and ricotta: as I used for this puff pastry tarte soleil.
• Olive tapenade: homemade or store-bought.
• Cheesy garlic butter: spread a thick layer of herby garlic butter on the pastry and top off with a melty cheese like mozzarella/vegan mozzarella.
• Jam: I love using homemade jams like raspberry jam, blackberry jam, strawberry jam, or even fig jam. Then dust with some powdered sugar or optionally a drizzle of dark chocolate.
• Strawberry cheesecake: add a fairly neutral cream cheese layer beneath strawberry jam (or your fruit jam of choice) or compote.
• Nutella: you could also make a sweet Christmas tree puff pastry with the addition of regular or homemade (healthier) Nutella.
• Cinnamon sugar: brush a layer of melted butter, then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar.
• Nutella churro: this version is a combination of the two above. Spread a layer of Nutella within the tree and top with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
• Parmesan topping: sprinkle the pastry Christmas tree appetizer with a bit of parmesan cheese and some dried herbs like oregano.

How to Make a Puff Pastry Christmas Tree?

If you are using homemade pesto, you’ll first need to prepare this (I use this traditional basil pesto or this pistachio pesto for vegan). If you use a blender to make it, it just takes a couple of minutes.

Step 1: Cut the Puff Pastry

Gently lay out the two sheets of puff pastry and roll them gently into 11×13-inch (28×33 cm) rectangles.

Then, cut out the Christmas tree shape from the first sheet of pastry. You want to make a large triangle (with the point starting at the center of the top of the pastry sheet) with a small 2-inch long rectangle (5 cm) in the center at the bottom (the tree stump). Slice it from the top to the bottom of the pastry sheet lengthwise.

You can use a clean ruler to help you do this evenly, rather than free-hand. Alternatively, draw and cut out the tree template on some parchment paper and use this to cut around.

Then lay the first Christmas tree over the second sheet of pastry as a guideline. You can optionally cut out a star-shaped Christmas tree “topper” from the pastry scraps too.

There’s no need to waste any of these odd-shaped scraps, either. You can fill them too and make them into individual pastries to nibble on.

Step 2: Fill and Shape the Christmas Tree

First, preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC (fan assisted).

Then, make sure you have all the elements ready in front of you (cut-out pastry, pesto, freshly shredded cheese, cherry tomatoes, and melted butter).

Over one of the Christmas tree puff pastry sheets, gently spread a layer of pesto, and then top with the shredded cheese. Leave around ½-inch border with no filling (about 1 cm).

Then, lay the second sheet of pastry over the first. Gently press the edges to help them seal a bit.

Now it’s time to twist the Christmas tree branches:

Using either a knife or pizza wheel, cut every 1½-2 inches (4-5 cm) apart down both sides of the tree (leaving the top 2 inches/5 cm of the tree). Leave 2-3 inches/5-7 cm of space in the middle, leaving less as you slice closer to the top of the tree (refer to the images).

Once again, use a ruler to help you make even and straight slices in the dough.

Then, twist each branch upwards once (the bottom 2-3 branches may twist twice).

Once twisted, brush the puff pastry Christmas tree with the melted butter and place a whole cherry tomato on each tree branch.

You can also place a star (stuffed with pesto) on top of the tree before baking. Make little parcels with the rest of the dough and fill them with pesto as well.

Step 3: Bake the pesto puff pastry Christmas tree

Transfer the puff pastry Christmas tree to a baking sheet (keep it on the parchment paper it comes with) and bake for between 15-18 minutes until puffed up and golden.

Then remove from the oven, place the “star” at the top of the tree (if you made one), allow to cool for several minutes, then enjoy! You can brush the tree with some extra pesto if wanted.

How to Make Ahead and Store?

Make ahead: you can assemble the unbaked puff pastry Christmas tree and store it covered in the refrigerator for several hours before baking (or overnight when using a filling that isn’t very oily). Alternatively, prepare the entire pastry and reheat it before serving.

Store: once cooled, store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for between 3-4 days.

Freeze: you can also freeze the pesto puff pastry for up to three months. Leave it to defrost in the fridge overnight.

Reheat: you can enjoy the puff pastry appetizer chilled or at room temperature. However, to reheat the tomato pesto tart, you can either use the microwave (will be soft) or gently crisp it up again in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through.

FAQs

Recipe Tips and Notes

• Make half and half: if you want to fill the Christmas tree puff pastry with two different fillings, simply spread one over the left half and one over the right half of the pastry.
• If you have leftover pesto: use it in other dishes like pasta, stuffed veggies, grilled cheese, lasagna, etc.
• To shape it like a wreath: follow my method for this Tarte Soleil, removing the center to make a wreath shape. You could optionally cut out a few slices like holly leaves and round berries to decorate the wreath with.
• To shape it like a snowflake: follow the method for the Tarte soleil. However, instead of twisting each branch in the same direction, grab two at once, twisting them both outwards, then pinching the ends together. Repeat with the remaining branches, and it will look like a snowflake.
• Optionally serve with a sauce: guests can pull off the ‘branches’ like breadsticks and either eat alone or with a dip like warm marinara sauce.
• Alternative filling method: instead of first cutting then adding the topping, you can spread the pesto and cheese over one layer of dough before topping it with the other and slicing. I prefer the former, as it means I can potentially use different fillings and/or make different use of some scraps, but either will work.
• Adapt the branch sizes: make them slightly thicker/thinner based on how many twisted branches you want to make. I wouldn’t go thinner than 1 inch (2 cm), though, as they become harder to turn without making a mess.
• If the pastry becomes very soft before baking: chill it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. If it’s too soft before baking, it will affect the layers and bake of the pastry.

More Christmas Recipes You Might Enjoy

• Tree Pull-Apart Bread (Cheese Buns)
• Dinner Roll Baked Camembert Wreath (Pull-Apart Dough Balls)
• How To Roast Chestnuts In The Oven
• Simple Hot Cocoa Recipe (+ Hot Chocolate Bar Ideas)
• White Hot Chocolate (+ Flavors| Toppings| Crockpot Option)
• Vegetarian OR Vegan Mushroom Wellington
• Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash
• Winter Fruit Salad (With Honey Ginger Dressing | Vegan Option)
• Easy Candied Pecans (Egg-Free | Roasted + Stovetop Methods)

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If you try this easy puff pastry Christmas tree recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d appreciate a recipe card rating below, and tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!