I love to make puff pastry appetizers for the holidays because you can easily shape them into anything that you want and you’ve instantly got something themed for whatever holiday you’re celebrating! Just remember that even if it isn’t Christmas, this recipe will still work for you. You can choose a more neutral cutter shape, or you can simply cut your puff pastry into rectangles.
This spinach and feta dip is so delicious! This is the second recipe I’ve made with it. If you haven’t seen my spinach and feta pull-apart snowflake, be sure to check that out here. You can also make the dip on it’s own. Follow the recipe below and then bake the dip in the oven at 425 degrees F for about 10 minutes until it starts to get bubbly and serve alongside veggies, chips, or crackers for dipping!
You can’t go wrong adding this delicious dip to layers of flaky puff pastry. It makes the perfect little finger food and everyone will love the cute shape!
For more holiday appetizer ideas, check out my cranberry goat cheese tarts, roasted tomato and garlic bruschetta bites, or my roasted pear and Brie wreath.
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Cheesy Spinach & Feta Stuffed Puff Pastry Trees
A savory appetizer that’s perfect for the holidays! Warm and cheesy spinach dip in between flaky layers of puff pastry. You won’t be able to eat just one!
9
servings45
minutes18
minutes208
kcal1
hour3
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
1 sheet puff pastry
- Spinach dip
1/4 c sour cream (room temp)
4 oz full fat cream cheese (softened)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp Green Goddess seasoning (or your favorite seasoning)
1/4 tsp fine salt (see notes)
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
7 oz feta cheese, crumbled
5 oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 c shredded mozzarella
1/4 c shredded parmesan
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh dill (see notes)
- Other
1 small egg, beaten for egg wash
1/8 tsp flaky salt
2 tsp freshly grated parmesan
Directions
- Start by making the spinach dip. Prepare your ingredients by mincing 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopping 5 oz of baby spinach (this is 1 small tub), and crumbling a 7 oz block of feta with a fork.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature sour cream and the cream cheese. Mix it well until it’s smooth.
- Stir in the seasonings, minced garlic and crumbled feta.
- Add the chopped baby spinach and lemon juice to the bowl. (You don’t have to measure the lemon juice, I use the juice of half a lemon.) Stir in the spinach and lemon juice to combine with the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the mozzarella, parmesan, and dill and stir to combine. If you’re having a hard time combining everything, let it sit for a few minutes. The spinach will wilt down a bit and it will become easier to fully combine everything.
- You won’t use all of this dip in the trees unless you make a couple batches of puff pastry. Take about 1 1/4 cups of the dip and put it into a separate bowl to use for the trees. You can place the rest into an oven-safe dish and bake at 425 degrees F for about 10 mins to serve alongside the trees with some veggies or chips to dip.
- If using frozen puff pastry, keep in mind that it should sit on the counter for about 30 mins to thaw, until pliable and still cold. I used refrigerated puff pastry for this.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, set a rack in the center, and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat one egg for egg wash and set aside.
- Unroll your puff pastry onto a pastry board, I left the parchment paper that it came with to keep it from sticking to the board.
- Cut the puff pastry into whatever shape you want. I used a Christmas tree similar to this one. You can use any shape, you just want to be able to cut out an even number so that each pastry has a top and a bottom layer. You can skip the shapes and simply cut the pastry into rectangles if you want to.
- If you cut shapes, go ahead and remove the excess puff pastry. I usually set this aside and make it into small twists that I sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake after my main dish is done baking.
- Arrange your bottom layer pieces on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Brush the outer edges with egg wash. You can brush the whole thing, but you really want to get some egg wash on the outer edges of each piece of puff pastry because this will help it to stick to the top layer.
- Carefully add about 2 Tbsp of the spinach dip to the center of each tree.
- Stack the top layer of puff pastry on top of the spinach dip. Line up the edges and lightly press them together.
- Using a fork, press gently around the edges to seal them.
- Lightly brush with egg wash and sprinkle a little bit of flaky salt over your trees.
- Place into the preheated oven to bake. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. I turned my pan at the 15 minute mark so that I could see how they were doing.
- Cool for a few minutes and then grate some fresh parmesan over them using a microplane.
- If you haven’t baked the extra spinach dip and you want to do that, pop it into the oven in a small oven safe dish for about 10 minutes, until the dip starts to get bubbly.
- Arrange your trees on a serving tray. Serve warm and enjoy!
Equipment
Christmas Tree CutterShop on Amazon
Pyrex Mixing BowlShop on Amazon
Silicon SpoonulaShop on Amazon
Wooden Pastry BoardShop at Williams Sonoma
Unbleached Parchment PaperShop on Amazon
Rimmed Baking SheetShop on Williams Sonoma
Measuring Cups and SpoonsShop at Williams Sonoma
Cutting Board SetShop on Amazon
Hexclad Chef’s KnifeShop on Hexclad
Geometry House TowelsSave with SarahR15
Recipe Video
Notes
- I love using Green Goddess seasoning for this dip. I get my Green Goddess seasoning from Trader Joe’s. You can use your favorite seasoning that you have on hand and don’t have to use what I use! An Italian seasoning works really well too. I’ve also used this herb mix for this recipe and it’s delicious!
- My preferred salt for making savory dishes and for this dip is Better Call Sal, but you can use any fine salt that you have on hand.
- For the dill, I just remove the bigger stems and don’t worry too much about the smaller ones. You can also sub in 1 tsp of dry dill from your spice cabinet if you don’t want to buy fresh dill.
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Hi Sarah,
I LOVE looking at your recipes on Instagram but was glad I found you on the internet. Could you please tell me how big your Christmas tree cookie cutter is? There are so many out there but some have too many “tree point” on the sides.
I appreciate any help you can give me.
Many thanks.
Susan
Hi Susan,
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you found my website as well! My Christmas tree tree cutter is just under 4 inches tall and 2 1/2 inches across at the widest part. Let me know if that helps!
Sarah
Can I freeze these? Thanks
Hi Della,
Yes! Can can bake them and then freeze for later!
Sarah
MANY THANKS 🙏 🙏!
Hi Sarah. I just read your answer about freezing these. Could you please tell me how to defrost them—how long at room temperature, how to reheat them? I can’t wait to make & freeze these delicious pastries!!!
MANY THANKS 🙏.
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Susan
Hi Susan,
Thank you so much! I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well! I would defrost these in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat them at 425 degrees F for 7 to 10 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. I recommend wrapping them loosely in foil while reheating them.
Sarah
MANY THANKS, Sarah!!
You have no idea how glad I am I found you, first on instagram, and now here.
I appreciate how you respond to the comments whereas some sites don’t do that.
Hope you are having a great week!
Can’t wait to make these, freeze them & then serve to my family who are coming for Christmas; I know they’ll be impressed!
Susan
You’re so welcome, Susan! I try to reply to all comments and you can always reach out to me via direct message on instagram as well. That’s usually the fastest way to hear back from me. Happy holidays!