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These beautiful whipped goat cheese bites are made with seasoned crispy pie crust topped with whipped goat cheese and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and rosemary. The perfect holiday appetizer!
Growing up, every single Christmas went the same way.
- Christmas Day was celebrated at my grandma’s with ham, delicious sides, a million desserts, and many presents.
- Christmas Eve was celebrated at home with TONS of appetizers and desserts and (weirdly, I know) when we opened all of our presents.
This means when it comes to Christmas, I think of one thing – appetizers!
While I love classics like Everything Bagel Pigs in a Blanket, Sausage Cheese Balls, and Garlic Herb Roasted Olives, sometimes you want to try something new – like these whipped goat cheese bites.
They are made with crispy seasoned pie crust, topped with homemade whipped goat cheese (seasoned with honey, lemon, garlic, and rosemary), pomegranate seeds, and a sprinkling of extra rosemary, honey, and pepper.
I also love how this dish looks fancy but is simple. It’s just a refrigerated pie crust I seasoned and then topped with delicious goat cheese. Plus, those little red pomegranate airels look like Christmas bulbs. How cute!
Craving more whipped cheese? Try my Harissa Whipped Feta, Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta, or Preserved Lemon and Mint Whipped Feta Dip.
Ingredients needed
- Refrigerated pie crust
- Olive oil
- Black pepper
- Goat cheese
- Honey
- Rosemary
- Lemon zest
- Garlic
- Heavy cream
- Pomegranate seeds
How to make whipped goat cheese bites
It’s time for your new favorite holiday appetizer! It uses easy pie crust crackers and tops them with whipped goat cheese and pomegranate seeds.
- Unroll your pie crust and cut it into 3-inch rounds.
- Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper.
- Poke each round with a fork and bake for 5 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
- Add goat cheese, lemon zest, rosemary, garlic, and heavy cream in a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. If the mixture is too thick, add more heavy cream.
- Spread the whipped goat cheese onto the pie crackers and top with pomegranate seeds.
- Sprinkle the bites’ tops with honey, rosemary, and black pepper.
Substitutions and Adaptations
- Not in the mood to cut out pie rounds and bake them? Use a hearty cracker instead. I like using round pita crackers.
- You can use feta cheese instead of goat cheese. The taste will be similar but with a different tang.
- Rosemary can be replaced with fresh thyme or oregano.
- I’m using honey as a sweetener, but maple syrup is also tasty.
- You can double the whipped goat cheese (just hit 2x on the recipe card!) and turn this into a dip! Just whip the ingredients together, put it into a serving bowl, and serve with chips.
My Pro Tips
Goat Cheese Bites Recipe Tips
- Keep your dough cold so it crisps up nicely in the oven.
- Remember to poke the round with a fork so it does not puff up too much in the oven. It would be best to have it semi-flat so you can top it with whipped goat cheese.
- Use goat cheese in a log for the best results. Crumbled goat cheese is much dryer.
- Use lighter honey such as wildflower or orange blossom.
More appetizer bites
Whipped Goat Cheese Bites
Ingredients
- 1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust, unrolled
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons honey, divided
- 3 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary, divided
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream, may need more
- Pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Using a small 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out little rounds in your pie crust. Cut out as many little rounds as you can, about 24 rounds.
- Lay your pie crust rounds onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush each round with olive oil and sprinkle each one with cracked pepper. Using a fork poke each round a few times so it does not puff up too much.
- Bake for 5 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- While the pie rounds are cooling, in a medium-mixing bowl add goat cheese, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon minced rosemary, lemon zest, grated garlic and 1 tablespoon heavy cream.
- Using a food processor, blend until whipped and easily spreadable. If it's too thick, add more heavy cream until you reach the desired texture.
- Spread the whipped goat cheese onto the cooled pie rounds, top with a few pomegranate arils, a sprinkling of the remaining rosemary, a drizzle of the remaining honey and a few cracks of black pepper.
Saving this for Christmas! They look delicious!
Seriously gorgeous appetizer! Mind if I sneak a few?!
This is the perfect holiday appetizer!! YUM!!
The black pepper pie crust is so inspired! You’ve come up with a real winner here, Brandy!
We open all of our presents on Christmas eve too! When I was growing up we had Christmas eve at my nana’s and then Christmas lunch at my Mas house. We got presents from Santa on Christmas morning but all others were done Christmas Eve. We use to do a meal on Christmas Eve but this year were thinking of doing appetizers and desserts too! Might have to make these!
I’ve still never had goat cheese but I have had those Pillsbury pie crusts and they’re my favorite!
There are so, so beautiful!!!
Seriously these are stunning! I love goat cheese and honey.
Love how simple & festive this recipe is! Perfect for holiday entertaining. 🙂
Do you know if these rounds would keep well for a day? I have a work party I’d love to bring these to, and was hoping I could bake the rounds and prepare the toppings (separately) the night before, and then assemble them day-of.
Hi Erika! Sorry, I’m a few days late in replying. Yes, the rounds should hold up well since they are just pie crust. Hope you enjoy them!