Kick off the holidays with this festive Christmas Appetiser – an Italian Cheese Log! It’s like an antipasto platter in dip form packed with minced salami, olives, peppers, green onions, a hefty dose of Italian seasonings, AND topped with sun dried tomato.
Terrific easy, make-ahead economical alternative to expensive cheese platters – and bursting with the holiday cheer!!!
A FESTIVE CHRISTMAS APPETIZER IDEA!
Bringing on some Christmas cheer with this festive Italian Cheese Log!! It’s a far cry from your usual cheeseball with a handful of token flavourings. This one is jam packed with flavour…. loaded with Italian flavours!!
The secret ingredients in this are finely chopped salami and sun dried tomato. Taking the time to mince the salami really makes a difference because then it’s all throughout the cheese log – nobody wants to be that person who takes a giant scoop of dip only to find it’s completely devoid of salami!
As for the sun dried tomato – well, I contemplated putting it in the cheese log, but I simply couldn’t resist how great it looks when piled on top. Add a few sprigs of rosemary, and it just looks so fabulously festive – it’s a perfect Christmas appetiser for sharing!! 🎄🎄🎄
WHY YOU NEED THIS IN YOUR LIFE!
It would be so easy to ramble on and on about how great this Italian Cheese Log is, but you don’t need that. So let me just get right down to why you’ll love this!!
✅ Looks fabulous – a great Christmas appetiser made for sharing!
✅ Tastes incredible – packed with flavour!
✅ Easy
✅ Make ahead – keeps for up to a week*
✅ Makes loads
✅ But can also be scaled down
✅ Economical alternative to expensive cheese platters
✅ Adaptable and versatile! Skip the salami to make it meatless, change up the add ins!
* Subject to shelf life of salami
AN ANTIPASTO PLATTER – IN CHEESE LOG FORM!
I just love the colours in this. Even making it brings on the holiday cheer – look at all those colours! ↑↑↑
We’ve got salami, olives, chargrilled peppers (I like to use the jar with mixed colours – yellow and red – just for extra colour), cheese, and a nice hit of freshness from minced green onion.
Add a good dose of Italian seasonings – I like to make my own simple mix here but you can absolutely substitute with an Italian seasoning mix – then simply mix it all together, scrap into a loaf pan or freeform it into the shape of a log and refrigerate.
The refrigeration time is to firm it up so it can be turned out onto a platter and also to give it time for the flavours to meld. It’s terrific made on the day, but it’s even better the next day… and the next… and the next!
QUICK FESTIVE LOOK
Decorating it is my favourite part – the beauty of it being that it’s so easy!! I literally just dump an entire jar of sun dried tomatoes over the top – oil and all.
The oil is infused with flavour and it’s part of the overall eating experience. So with every bite, you have crisp salty crackers, the soft flavour packed Cheese Log, some extra pops of flavour from sun dried tomato AND juiciness from the sun dried tomato oil.
Ahhhh, it’s the perfect bite!!! 😇
If your people are more civilised than mine, then consider serving this Italian Cheese Log with small cheese knifes to spread onto crackers.
But if your people are like mine, you’ll skip the cutlery and just let everyone dive in with their hands, grabbing crackers and dunking it straight into the cheese log.
Yep, it’ll get messy. All that effort you go to, prettying it up and they are going to annihilate it.
And that’s totally ok. That’s what sharing food is all about, right?? Especially during the festive season! 😂 – Nagi x
MORE CHRISTMAS APPETISER IDEAS!
CHRISTMAS APPETISER – ITALIAN CHEESE LOG!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Christmas Appetiser: Italian Cheese Loaf
Ingredients
Cheese Log:
- 500g/ 1 lb cream cheese , softened (Note 1)
- 1/3 cup sour cream (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp EACH thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, black pepper OR 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp EACH garlic powder, salt, red pepper/chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
- 2 cup cheddar or other cheese , freshly grated (Note 3)
- 280g / 9 oz roasted peppers , drained and finely chopped
- 180g / 6 oz salami , finely chopped (Note 4)
- 3/4 cup green olives , finely chopped
- 1/3 cup green onion , finely minced (3 - 4 stalks)
Topping/serving:
- 220g / 7 oz sun dried tomato strips with OIL , roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley , finely chopped (or chives)
- Rosemary sprigs (decoration)
- Jatz or other crackers , for serving
Instructions
- Spray a loaf pan with oil then line with cling wrap with overhang.
- Mix Cheese Log ingredients together. Taste and adjust salt if needed (bear in mind saltiness of crackers you are serving with).
- Scrape into loaf pan and level surface, pressing to remove air pockets. Smaller pan = taller loaf.
- Cover with cling wrap overhang and refrigerate for 4 hours+ (up to 1 week).
- Turn out onto platter, peel off cling wrap.
- Top with sun dried tomato and pour over oil. Garnish with parsley and rosemary sprigs to give it a festive look.
- Best to serve closer to room temp than fridge cold. Serve with crackers! Knives for smearing optional - it's soft enough to scoop with crackers.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Cute Christmassy photos of Dozer is all part of the Christmas tradition. Except…… he fell asleep mid photo shoot! 😂
I made this for a get-together with some friends. I halved the recipe for 5 of us, and there were leftovers. Making it again for Christmas Day, it was really good! I added the salt, and I think as per some comments, I will either use less or omit completely. Really tasty!
Made this 2 days ago for an early Christmas party. Made it in mini loaf pans with enough left over to make a quarter loaf for us to test before I passed it to 30 people! This is delicious! And such an unusual cheese type log. Thank you! Making more for actual Christmas!!
Loved this and easy to make. Looks and tastes terrific. I added extra chilli flakes!
Fantastic!
This is a great recipe! My only ‚but‘ is the teaspoon of salt – makes it too salty for me. I left it out the 2nd time I made it, and it was perfect! Unfortunately I just made it again and put in the salt as I forgot to exclude it 🫣 Does anyone else find it too salty as per the recipe?
I will make this again this year for Thanksgiving. I made it last year and it was a big hit. I love it. It makes quite a bit so you can enjoy it for the whole week. Very tasty! Told all my friends at the bar this past weekend about it. It’s also easy to make. Thanks so much for this recipe it will be a staple in our home.
Hi Nagi, this really is one of those you’ll keep coming back for more. I made this for Christmas, now I am hoping there’s a Thanksgiving version for this too given how this is 20/10 score for us. Thank you.
Has anyone tried freezing the leftovers?
I find that freezing cream cheese causes it to crumble.
This was absolutely amazing!!! So tasty and different. Every time I make this everyone raves. I love the flavor of basil in this, so I chop up more basil and sprinkle it on the top (instead of the rosemary). It’s still green (and so looks Christmasy) and it’s yummy.
Absolutely success! Substituted the salami with artichokes. Thank you for the fabulous recipe.
I made this for a pre-Christmas party and NYE. Always a huge hit! I have passé this recipe along to many friends and coworkers who all rave about it. Like others have said, the recipe makes A LOT. If you aren’t having a party for 30 people, cut the recipe in half. And definitely make it at least a day before!
Great appetizer! With leftovers, I softened the cheese log, thinned it with some milk to desired consistency added fresh spinach (cooked and chopped), heated in microwave and put it on cooked tricolor rotini–fabulous!
A wonderful colourful and tasty cheese log made for Christmas lunch. Served with the Homemade Gourmet Crackers! A huge hit all round.
Made this for New years eve, it’s amazing! Was a massive hit
Made this for Christmas nibbles. Not one bit left at end of day. So many compliments and were to get recipe. Recipetineats of course.
Hi – I made this New Year’s eve. I made some slight additions to my taste. It was fabulous.. I may halve it next time❤️
I made this for Christmas Eve for 8 people and halved the recipe and it still made a huge ball! It was a hit. Everyone loved it. And here’s a tip.. try serving it warmed in a ramekin like queso.. OMG it takes it to another level!
A hit with our Christmas guests, and I’ll be making it again. Easy to overdose on it – yum. Halved your ingredients and even this made far more than we needed, given we had other dishes. 1/3 next time! Made 2 days ahead of time.
I made this for a “second Xmas day” and it went down a treat. Quick and easy to make and ultra decicious😋
Made this Christmas Eve to serve Christmas night. It was delicious. I have plenty left over, not realising how much it makes. This feeds a large crowd.