[X]

Home > Recipes > Pesto Cream Cheese Spread

Pesto Cream Cheese Spread Recipe

Pesto Cream Cheese Spread Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Read reviews (5)

Rate recipe

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

This recipe is:

Quick

[X]

Rate Pesto Cream Cheese Spread Recipe

Click on stars to rate

Would you make this recipe again?

Write a review

[X]

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

Light-Bodied White Wine

Enjoy this recipe with a light-bodied white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

More recipes like this:

Menus and More

Recipe Slideshows

Browse slideshows featuring our best recipes, holiday ideas, easy how-tos, cooking tips, and more!

Get Recipes >

Top 10 Recipes

A collection of our favorite, highest-rated recipes—including the best dessert, dinner and holiday recipes.

Get Recipes >

Reviews for Pesto Cream Cheese Spread

Pesto Cream Cheese Spread

Tell us what you think of this recipe.
Did you modify it? Would you make it again? Rate it today! >

Rate and Review this Recipe

(1-5) of 5 reviews

Sort Reviews:

Reviewed on Apr. 14, 2013 by salsadelinda

Awesome recipe! Was gone at the end of a blind wine tasting party. My biggest fan was a 3 year old licking her chops! She was devouring it like ice cream... my tip is saran wrap doesn't work, I lined the pan with non-stick foil... didn't come out as pretty at the picture but tasted delish!

Reviewed on Mar. 18, 2013 by hrsykole

Perfect for St Patrick's day. My tin was a little smaller so I used the extra pesto to decorate the plate. Also I ran out of time so I put it in the freezer for an hour then pulled it out and still came out perfect.

Reviewed on Mar. 16, 2013 by DFJohnson

Would you be able to substitute commercially-made pesto in this???

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!