Christmas Tree Appetizer
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Christmas Tree Appetizer
Christmas tree appetizer using sausages to form a Christmas tree! This festive Christmas appetizer only takes 10 minutes to prepare! Everyone will love nibbling on these yummy holiday appetizers!
Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. I start watching holiday Hallmark movies in July.
I start planning my holiday activities early, like craft dates with friends to make homemade ornaments!
My birthday is in the winter and I just feel my best at this time of year.
Not only do I look forward to all the holiday decorations around town and in my home, but I love the food and Christmas music.
Keto Christmas Appetizers
The older I get, the less I want to eat sweet foods around the holidays. This hot dog Christmas tree appetizer is a great savory appetizer to serve over the holidays.
You can eat it on the keto, Paleo, or gluten free diet (if the sausages used are gluten free). It’s dairy free too and egg free too! So many people and kids need to stay away from those.
Christmas Tree Appetizer Ingredients
This easy Christmas finger food appetizer only requires a few ingredients and you can make it in 10 minutes!
- uncured hot dogs, or preferred sausage
- a few cherry tomatoes
- an english cucumber
- bamboo skewers
How to Make a Christmas Tree Appetizer
Stack 4 cooked hot dogs or preferred sausages, horizontally in a row on a cutting board.
Using a sharp knife, slice the hot dogs diagonally in half.
Make two additional diagonal cuts to create two Christmas trees. One will be upside down.
Slice the english cucumber longways, ensuring it’s a thick enough cut to allow a skewer to go through. Use the cucumber slice to cut Christmas tree stumps (about 1.5 inches each).
Add an english cucumber stump to a bamboo skewer, followed by the hot dog-shaped Christmas tree. Be sure to start with the bottom (longest) cut hot dog and ensure the angled ends are slanted down to create the Christmas tree shape.
Complete the Christmas tree with a cherry tomato on top. Repeat this process until all 10 Christmas trees are assembled.
Variations to try
Instead of using hot dogs, you can use pepperoni sticks, Vienna sausages, beef sticks, turkey sticks, or any type of yummy sausage you want!
Cold Christmas Appetizers
This Christmas appetizer is served cold. It’s easy to make ahead for a party, keep it in your fridge until you’re ready to serve!
Gluten Free Christmas Appetizer
If you eat gluten free as I do, make sure you select sausages that are gluten free. Some sausages use wheat in their sausages.
Read the ingredient label, and see if there is any flour in the ingredients. If you are celiac make sure to look for a certified gluten free label.
It’s not just gluten free, it’s keto and Paleo too! I consider it Paleo. Some people will not eat hot dogs on a Paleo diet because it’s processed food.
More gluten free recipes to enjoy over the holidays
- Gluten Free Charcuterie Platter
- Baked Ham
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Cupcakes
- Almond Butter Fudge
- Almond Flour Thumbprint Cookies
- Grain Free Roasted Turkey & Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
If you are worried about how to eat gluten free at parties read my article. It has lots of helpful advice.
Christmas Tree Appetizer
Christmas tree appetizer using sausages to form a Christmas tree! This festive Christmas appetizer only takes 10 minutes to prepare! Everyone will love nibbling on these yummy holiday appetizers!
Ingredients
- 20 uncured hot dogs, cooked
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1 english cucumber
- 10 bamboo skewers
Instructions
- Stack 4 cooked hot dogs or preferred sausages, horizontally in a row on a cutting board.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the hot dogs diagonally in half.
- Make two additional diagonal cuts to create two Christmas trees. One will be upside down.
- Slice the English cucumber longways, ensuring it’s a thick enough cut to allow a skewer to go through. Use the cucumber slice to cut Christmas tree stumps (about 1.5 inches each).
- Add an English cucumber stump to a bamboo skewer, followed by the hot dog-shaped Christmas tree. Be sure to start with the bottom (longest) cut hot dog and ensure the angled ends are slanted down to create the Christmas tree shape. Complete the Christmas tree with a cherry tomato on top.
- Repeat this process until all 10 Christmas trees are assembled.
Notes
- If you desire shorter skewers as shown in the photos, use sharp scissors to trim them - leaving just a few inches under the tree.
- Be sure to cook the hot dogs until steaming prior to assembling. Even though they are fully cooked they can contain listeria and result in illness if eaten straight from the packaging.
DISCLOSURE: Not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader. Ditch the Wheat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. I only endorse products that I believe in.
Carol Lovett is the founder of Ditch the Wheat and a Globe and Mail bestselling author of the cookbook, Ditch the Wheat. She has been eating gluten free since 2010. She loves all things food, natural living, and spiritual. She's also a reiki master and crystal healer.
Gluten Free Resources
Do you need help with gluten free meals?
I recommend this meal-planning app. It makes cooking gluten free dinners extremely easy and family-friendly.
What gluten free snacks can I eat?
Lots! I have a ton of practical gluten free snack recipes in my cookbook.
How can I eat dessert on a gluten free diet?
You can 100% eat dessert while eating gluten free. Try my dessert cookbook for easy gluten free dessert recipes.
How do I know what is gluten free and what isn’t?
I have a whole section is it gluten free?
How do I make substitutions?
If you need substitution advice I created a ton of resources here.
