Christmas Tree Pesto Breadsticks (An Easy Pull-Apart Appetizer!)

Are you searching for the ultimate easy, festive, and completely irresistible centerpiece for your next Christmas party or holiday gathering? A show-stopping appetizer so fun, so cheesy, and so unbelievably delicious, it will disappear before your very eyes? This incredible, super-easy Christmas Tree Pesto Breadstick is that perfect recipe! We’re talking a soft, warm pizza dough, stuffed with a vibrant, homemade pesto and a gooey three-cheese blend, then cleverly cut and twisted into a beautiful, pull-apart Christmas tree.

This isn’t just another appetizer recipe; it’s a guide to your new favorite holiday tradition. It has all the “wow” factor of a complicated bake, but with the brilliant ease of a few smart shortcuts. We’ll show you the simple but crucial secrets to creating this stunning, interactive appetizer that is as fun to assemble as it is to devour.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Festive & Easy Holiday Appetizer

What makes this Christmas Tree Breadstick so spectacularly fun is its brilliant, pull-apart design and its classic, crowd-pleasing cheesy flavor. This recipe is a masterpiece of festive creativity. The “tree” is made from a simple, store-bought refrigerated pizza dough, creating a soft, chewy, and foolproof base. The real magic is the filling: a vibrant, from-scratch basil and pine nut pesto is blended with a luscious, gooey trio of cheeses—melty mozzarella, creamy ricotta, and salty Pecorino. The entire creation is then cleverly cut into “branches” and twisted to create the beautiful tree shape, which bakes up into a golden-brown, pull-apart masterpiece.

Metric	Time / Level
Total Time	1 hour
Active Prep Time	35 minutes
Difficulty Level	Easy
Servings	8-10

Santa’s Workshop: The Essential Ingredients

This iconic party treat uses a handful of high-quality ingredients and one brilliant shortcut to create its signature festive look and delicious flavor.

• The Pizza Dough (The Shortcut Superstar!):
  • Refrigerated Pizza Dough: This is the key to an incredibly easy and impressive treat! Using a tube of your favorite brand of store-bought, refrigerated pizza dough provides a perfect, soft and chewy base with zero dough-making required.
• The Cheesy Pesto Filling (The Flavor Powerhouse!):
  • The Pesto: The secret to a truly vibrant and fresh flavor is a simple, homemade pesto. A classic combination of fresh basil, toasted pine nuts, and fresh garlic creates a much more flavorful filling than a store-bought version.
  • The Three-Cheese Blend: The secret to the ultimate, gooey, and flavorful filling is a trio of cheeses! Mozzarella provides the classic, melty cheese-pull. Ricotta adds a wonderful, creamy texture and prevents the filling from being oily. And a salty, sharp Pecorino cheese adds a fantastic, nutty depth of flavor.

The Baker’s Masterclass: The Art of the Perfect Twist

This is the most fun and important part of the recipe, and it’s surprisingly easy if you follow these simple, crucial rules.

1. The Assembly: The brilliant secret to the large tree shape is to simply cut your rectangular pizza dough into three triangles and then piece two of them back together to form your base.
2. Seal the Deal: Before you cut your branches, it is crucial to firmly press the edges of your top and bottom dough layers together. This is the key that will seal in all that delicious, cheesy filling and prevent it from oozing out during the bake.
3. The “Cut and Twist”: The magic of the final presentation is the twist! By leaving a 1-inch “trunk” down the center of your tree and then cutting horizontal “branches,” you create the individual breadsticks. Gently twisting each branch two or three times is the beautiful, final touch that reveals the vibrant green filling and creates that wonderful, pull-apart texture.

Step-by-Step to the Best Christmas Tree Breadsticks

This fun and festive project is a joy to prepare.

Part 1: The Art of the Cheesy Pesto Filling

Step 1: First, position an oven rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 375°F ($190^{\circ}C$). Line an upside-down baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2: To make the pesto, in a food processor, add your 2 cups of fresh basil leaves, 1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pulse until everything is coarsely chopped. With the motor running, drizzle in your 1/4 cup of olive oil until it is incorporated.

Step 3: In a medium bowl, combine your 1 cup of shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, and 1/3 cup of grated Pecorino cheese. Add your prepared pesto to the cheese mixture and stir everything together to combine.

Part 2: Assembling Your Festive Tree

Step 1: Roll out your tube of pizza dough into a 12×15-inch rectangle. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into one large triangle and two smaller triangles.

Step 2: Combine the two smaller triangles on your prepared baking sheet to create one large triangle shape. This will be the base of your tree.

Step 3: Leaving a 1/4-inch border around the perimeter of the triangle, spread your cheesy pesto mixture evenly to cover the base.

Step 4: Cover the filling with your remaining large triangle of dough. Firmly press the top edge down onto the bottom edge to seal the 1/4-inch border.

Part 3: The Festive “Twist” and the Final Bake

Step 1 (The Fun Part!): Leaving a 1-inch “trunk” intact down the very middle of the tree, use a sharp knife to cut horizontal lines, about 1 1/2 inches apart, from the middle “trunk” out to each edge to create your “branches.”

Step 2: Carefully and gently twist each “branch” to reveal the beautiful layers of cheese and pesto.

Step 3: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tree is a beautiful golden brown. Lightly brush the hot breadsticks with the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Serve your beautiful Christmas Tree Breadsticks warm, right from the oven.

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What to Serve With Your Breadsticks

These beautiful, cheesy, and interactive breadsticks are a fantastic appetizer all on their own!

• The Perfect Dip: For the ultimate, crowd-pleasing experience, serve them with a bowl of a simple, warm marinara sauce or a classic pizza sauce for dipping.

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Storage and Make-Ahead Tips

• Make-Ahead: This is the perfect make-ahead party appetizer! You can fully assemble the entire, unbaked tree up to 24 hours in advance. Simply cover it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to bake, you may need to add 5-10 minutes to the total baking time.
• Storage: Store any leftovers, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheating: The absolute best way to reheat the breadsticks and bring back their original soft, cheesy texture is to wrap them in foil and warm them in a 350°F oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)