We are already looking forward to Christmas dinner with friends and family and would like to take a little more time to prepare the dishes. At Christmas you can have something very special and if you really want to impress your guests this year, then you should check out our ideas for cold appetizers for Christmas!
Whether light salads, creamy soups, tartares or small appetizers - appetizers always increase the appetite for the main course and immediately make you want more. But so that there is still room left for dessert afterwards, the starters should not be too heavy on the stomach. And with all the cooking around the holidays, cold appetizers come in handy for Christmas.
When it comes to appetizers,crisp saladsand creamy dips are always a good choice. But this year we want to go all out and make sure your eyes shine at Christmas dinner. With our ideas for cold appetizers for Christmas, dinner with the family will be a real celebration, we promise!
Christmas cheese platter
Whether for a party or a relaxed Netflix evening - Charcutterie Boards always work and ensure a real taste explosion. If you are looking for ideas for quick, cold appetizers for Christmas, surprise your guests with an extraordinary Christmas cheese platter. Everyone loves cheese, right? Depending on how many people the cheese platter is intended for, you can choose between 5 and 9 different types of cheese. To ensure there is something for every taste, make sure you have a mix of mild and spicy, soft and firm varieties. The fine cheese flavors come into their own with small side dishes such as nuts, dried fruits or good bread. How you arrange the cheese board is entirely up to you, but I personally love the above idea in the photo.
Cream cheese Christmas tree
Preparing cold appetizers for Christmas is fun and a great way toto develop our creativity. How about, for example, surprising your loved ones with a cream cheese Christmas tree? The preparation is really child's play, but the result is really cool!
Ingredients
- 450 grams of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 200 grams of Gouda, grated
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 each red, orange and yellow pepper
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 bunch each of fresh parsley and fresh basil
- Some chopped walnuts
- Salt and pepper
preparation
- Mix the cream cheese with the Gouda, the spring onions and the sauce well in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Using a piece of cling film, shape the mixture into a Christmas tree and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Cut peppers of different sizes into stars.
- Place the Christmas tree on a large serving platter and cover completely with chopped parsley and basil.
- Then press walnuts and pepper stars into the tree - these are the garlands. This cut is optional, but it completes the appetizer.
- Serve with crackers or fresh bread and voila – your cream cheese Christmas tree is ready!
Stuffed tomatoes with cheese
And here's a delicious, cold Christmas appetizer that your guests will love! Instead of serving salad again, make these stuffed tomatoes with cheese that look like Santa Claus instead.
Ingredients
- 7 tomatoes
- 140 Grams Mozzarella
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 20 Gramm Mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp sour cream
- 14 cloves
- 7 Cranberries
- Salt and pepper to taste
preparation
- Grate the mozzarella and squeeze out the garlic.
- Mix the mozzarella, garlic and mayonnaise in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and carefully scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
- Pour the cheese mixture evenly into the tomatoes.
- Put the tomato lid back on.
- Lightly press the nose of the cloves and the eyes of the cranberries into the tomatoes.
- Trace the beard with the sour cream and your cold Christmas appetizer is ready!
Gefüllte Tartalletes
Delicious, sophisticated and quick to make - hearty filled tartalettes are really the perfect cold appetizer for Christmas. Add some festive cheer by decorating with Christmas tree cucumbers. To do this, simply cut a cucumber into thin slices with a peeler and then fix the strips in a wave shape vertically with a toothpick. What you fill the tartalettes with is purely a matter of taste, but here are our favorite variations:
Tuna tartare:
- 150 grams of tuna, sushi quality
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tomato, chopped small
- Spring onions or dill, chopped finely
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Waldorf-Salat:
- 250 grams of celery
- 150 grams of apple
- 50 Gramm Mayonnaise
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 20 grams of walnuts
- Salt and pepper
Tortilla Roll-ups
Whether as a Christmas appetizer or lunch for the office to take away -Tortilla Roll-upsare ideal when things have to go quickly. They look particularly cool if you arrange the little appetizers as a Christmas tree like in the photo. Here are two delicious ideas for what you can fill your tortilla rolls with.
Ham and cheese filling:
- 230 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
- 60 grams of cheddar cheese, grated
- 100 grams of ham
- 40 grams of Greek yogurt
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon each paprika powder and oregano
- Salt and pepper
Greek style:
- 40 grams of Greek yogurt
- 50 grams of feta cheese
- 1 tomato, diced small
- 1/2 cucumber, chopped finely
- 50 grams olives, chopped finely
- 1 red pepper, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
Penguins olives
Aren't these penguin olives cute? The recipe is super fun and the perfect addition to Christmas dinner.
Ingredients:
- About 30 black olives
- 1 carrot
- 1 ball of mozzarella
Preparation:
- Clean the carrot and cut into slices about 5 mm thick. Cut out a small corner from each slice.
- Drain the mozzarella well and cut half of the olives lengthwise, but not completely.
- Cut a small hole in the remaining olives.
- Cut the mozzarella into small pieces and stuff the olives with it.
- Place 1 olive on each carrot corner.
- First put the sliced olives and then the stuffed olives on the skewers.
- Finally, finish with a small slice of carrot and your Penguine olives are ready!
Rote Bete Hummus
If you are the host, you should of course also think of your vegan guests and this beetroot hummus will really delight them! The color is just perfect for Christmas and the taste is fabulous.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium beetroot, cooked
- 250 grams of cooked chickpeas
- The juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 30 Grams Tahini
- 60 grams of olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper
Preparation:
- Put all the ingredients except the olive oil in the blender and puree until fine.
- Add olive oil little by little.
- Adjust seasoning if necessary and serve the beetroot hummus with crackers.