Pesto Cream Cheese Spread Recipe

Pesto Cream Cheese Spread RecipePhoto by: Taste of Home Pesto Cream Cheese Spread Recipe Rating 5

This is a terrific appetizer to serve when hosting an Italian-theme-meal. People may be a little hesitant to try it, but once they dip in, they won't be able to stop! —Cynthia Emshoff, Sarasota, Florida

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Pesto Cream Cheese Spread Recipe
  • Prep: 15 min. + chilling
  • Yield: 12 Servings
15 15

Ingredients

  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Assorted crackers

Directions

  • Line a 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pan with plastic wrap. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and garlic powder until blended; set aside. In another small bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, butter, parsley, garlic, basil and marjoram until blended. Stir in walnuts. Gradually stir in oil.
  • Spread about 1/4 cup cream cheese mixture in prepared pan. Carefully spread with a third of the Parmesan mixture. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cream cheese mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours. Unmold; serve with crackers. Yield: about 1-1/2 cups.

Nutritional Facts 1 serving (2 tablespoons) equals 148 calories, 15 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 128 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 3 g protein.

Originally published as Pesto Cream Cheese Spread in Taste of Home's Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook Annual 2003, p31

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Reviews for Pesto Cream Cheese Spread (2)

Pesto Cream Cheese Spread Recipe

Pesto Cream Cheese Spread

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Reviewed on Mar. 19, 2010 by cheriwinkle

Oops, I forgot! I used Neufchatel cheese (33% less fat 'cream cheese') to help with calories and fat.


Reviewed on Mar. 19, 2010 by cheriwinkle

I made this for a meeting and did not need to have it necessarily look so fancy, so I made 4-1/2 layers in a fancy bowl. I'm a fairly accomplished cook and I had some difficulty spreading the crm cheese layer over the pesto layer. Next time I will have the cream cheese very soft and/or let the pesto layer chill a bit before doing the next crm cheese layer. I layered crm cheese-pesto-crm cheese-pesto-then a thin layer of crm cheese. Put a sprig of parsley on top and chilled it about 1-1-1/2 hrs. Everyone raved about it!

 
 
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