Easy Layered Cheese Appetizers

White round plate filled with cheese appetizers with crackers and garnished with basil.

5 from 2 votes

Gorgeous layered cheese appetizers with deli-style sliced cheeses and a creamy filling loaded with chopped nuts and dried fruit. Eat them as a snack or fancy finger food hors d'oeuvres! Keep the simple ingredients on hand for any potluck or holiday party, and assemble up to a day ahead. People will be fascinated by the elegant stacks, and they are so pretty on charcuterie or cheese boards.

Prep Time45

Cook Time0

Total Time45

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: appetizer, cheese appetizer, cheese appetizer recipe, finger food

Servings:

Calories: 55kcal

Author: Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Offset Icing Spatula

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese softened, or buy whipped cream cheese
½ teaspoon hot sauce Tabasco
¼ teaspoon sea salt
assorted crackers or pita chips

Cherry, Almond, and Cheddar Cheese

2 ounce packages deli-style sliced cheese 20 slices total
¼ cup almonds finely chopped
¼ cup dried cherries finely chopped

Sun Dried Tomato, Pine Nuts, and Pepper Jack Cheese

¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes dry pack, not oil packed

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese, sea salt, and hot sauce. Use a hand mixer to get it fluffy. Or use whipped cream cheese if you don't have a hand mixer.
Finely chop dried cherries and almonds-this helps the mixture spread evenly. Stir in cherries and almonds until well combined.
OR
Finely chop sun-dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts (toast in a pan until just golden with a sprinkle of sea salt) this helps the mixture spread evenly. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts until well combined.
On a 12-inch square piece of foil, place two cheese slices side-by-side. Spread 2-3 tablespoons (very thin layer) of the cream mixture across both cheese slices using a small offset spatula or knife.
Repeat this four more times. Top with two cheese slices.
Carefully fold the foil like a package around the cheese stacks, and seal tightly. Tuck in the fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours to chill and set.
When ready to serve, remove foil, and cut in half lengthwise down the middle of each cheese slice, and then crosswise down in neat ¼ inch slices. Serve chilled with assorted crackers on a platter.

Video

Notes

More Filling Flavor Combinations

pecans + dried cranberries
dried cherry + almonds
sun-dried tomatoes + toasted pine nuts
macadamia nuts + dried pineapple
dried blueberries + salted cashews
dried apricots + pistachios

sliced cheese

Use any sliced cheese you prefer. I used cheddar and pepper jack. Most packages have 10 slices, so if you stack 2 sets of 5 cheese slices high, it will cut into 36 cheese appetizers.

Nutrition