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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.

Christmas Tree Appetizer on a plate.

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!

Christmas Tree Appetizer ingredients
  • uncured hot dogs, or preferred sausage
  • a few cherry tomatoes
  • an english cucumber
  • bamboo skewers
Christmas Tree Appetizer on a plate.

How to Make a Christmas Tree Appetizer

Stack 4 cooked hot dogs or preferred sausages, horizontally in a row on a cutting board.

Christmas Tree Appetizer ingredients

Using a sharp knife, slice the hot dogs diagonally in half.

Christmas Tree Appetizer ingredients

Make two additional diagonal cuts to create two Christmas trees. One will be upside down.

Christmas Tree Appetizer ingredients

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). 

Christmas Tree Appetizer ingredients

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.

Christmas Tree Appetizer ingredients

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!

Christmas Tree Appetizers on a plate

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.

Christmas Tree Appetizer on a plate.

More gluten free recipes to enjoy over the holidays

If you are worried about how to eat gluten free at parties read my article. It has lots of helpful advice.

Yield: 10 servings

Christmas Tree Appetizer

Christmas Tree Appetizer on a plate.

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!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 20 uncured hot dogs, cooked
  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 english cucumber
  • 10 bamboo skewers

Instructions

  1. Stack 4 cooked hot dogs or preferred sausages, horizontally in a row on a cutting board.
  2. Using a sharp knife, slice the hot dogs diagonally in half.
  3. Make two additional diagonal cuts to create two Christmas trees. One will be upside down.
  4. 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). 
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

Did you make this recipe?

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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.

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.

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