Spinach Dip Stuffed Crescent Roll Christmas Tree is a delightfully festive and tasty appetizer that is perfect for every holiday party!
Create this deliciously merry Spinach Dip Stuffed Crescent Roll Christmas Tree in less than 30 minutes and wow all of your guests! Keep things low-stress by using crescent roll dough, fresh spinach, cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan, and simple seasonings to make a beautiful and jolly treat!
Holly Jolly Appetizer
Baking and eating become our lives from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Eve, which is probably why it’s my favorite time of year. These days, I like to make things that are simple but still crazy delicious so that I can focus on a more time-intensive dish if I want to. Spinach Dip Stuffed Crescent Roll Christmas Tree is one of my absolute favorite holiday treats, not just because it’s bursting with Christmas vibes but also because it takes so little time to make, and the savory twists are the perfect balance to all of the sweets we eat!
Other Recipes to Serve with Spinach Dip Stuffed Crescent Roll Christmas Tree
- When it comes to Christmas celebrations, don’t forget about the drinks! Keep everyone in the winter wonderland mood with an easy-to-make Crock Pot Wassail!
- What are the holidays without eggnog? Whether the trouble is choosing your favorite way to make it or how else to enjoy it, 25 Eggnog Flavored Recipes has you covered.
Ingredients
Crescent Rolls: Pick up a package of crescent rolls or two if you plan to double the recipe. You can choose from the perforated or sheet of crescent rolls, depending on what is sold in your area.
Veggies: You will need fresh spinach, garlic, and red bell pepper.
Dairy: For this recipe, you will use butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and parmesan cheese. Choosing light or low-fat options for the cream cheese and sour cream will work fine, but non-fat items won’t provide the same level of creaminess.
Seasoning: A little salt and crushed red pepper flakes are needed for this recipe.
How to Make Spinach Dip Stuffed Crescent Roll Christmas Tree
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and put a medium saucepan on the stovetop on medium-low heat. Sauté the bell pepper and garlic in the butter for 3 minutes, and then add the spinach. Stir until the spinach is wilted, and then add the cream cheese and sour cream. Once everything is well mixed, stir in the parmesan cheese, salt, and crushed red pepper, until the cheese is melted.
STEP TWO: On a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, unroll the crescent dough and press the seams together, if needed. Cut the dough to make a triangle tree, and then press the seams of the top two corners that were cut off together to form another triangle. Spread the spinach dip over one of the triangles and then cover that with the other triangle.
STEP THREE: Cut one-inch strips into the dough, leaving the center of the dough uncut. Twist each of the strips a few times. Bake the tree for 13 minutes, or until the tree, is golden, and then serve warm.
Tips for Success
- Don’t overthink the dough. The tubes of crescent roll dough that come in perforated triangles work great, as do the crescent roll sheets. If you want to keep it even more straightforward and all you can find is premade thin-crust pizza dough sheets, that’ll work too!
- Prepare the spinach dip tree on parchment paper. That way, there is no hassle when it comes time to put it on a baking sheet in the oven.
- Remember not to cut through the center of the dough when making strips to twist so that it keeps its excellent tree look.
How do I make this ahead of time?
Making this crescent roll tree ahead of time is a time saver and a stress reliever sometimes! Make the crescent roll tree according to the recipe, and once it has been assembled and the twists have been made, cover the tree with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. You can make this dish one day ahead of time, two at the absolute most. When you are ready, pull the crescent roll tree out of the fridge to warm up a little bit, and then bake it according to the directions in the recipe.
What other kinds of filling can I use?
There are so many filling ideas for this crescent roll tree, both sweet and savory! Serve up this bread in the morning for a great Christmas treat by filling it with cinnamon and sugar, your favorite fruit pie filling, or a sweet pumpkin filling. Go a more savory route and try Buffalo Chicken Dip. The key is to take the flavors your family loves and use them in this dish! Whatever filling you choose does need to be on the thicker side so that it doesn’t run out while baking and leaves you with a big mess and sad bread.
More crowd pleasing holiday appetizers
- Mini Spinach Pies
- Pinot Noir & Cranberry Meatballs
- Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms
- Crock Pot Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Parmesan Puff Pastry Pinwheels
*This post was originally posted on 02/07/2017.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup red bell pepper diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup fresh spinach chopped
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces refrigerated crescent roll dough (1 can)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and it set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook the red bell pepper and garlic in the butter for 3 minutes. Add the spinach to the pan and cook, stirring, until just wilted.
- Add the cream cheese and sour cream to the pan and cook until melted, stirring frequently. Add the Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt, and continue cooking until the cheese is melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Unroll the crescent roll dough into a large rectangle on the parchment paper. Press seams together to seal them. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into a large triangle tree shape. Take the two outside triangles you cut off and press dough together down the center to form a second matching triangle. Spread the spinach dip evenly over one of the triangles. Top with the second triangle of crescent dough.
- Cut 1-inch strips into the tree from the sides towards the center, leaving a strip of dough in the center uncut. Carefully twist each strip several times.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the dough is golden. Serve warm.
Kim says
Delicious spinach dip recipe! Came out cute and delicious! Thanks!
Cathy says
Woukd love a video of making tree!!
Julie says
I have tried a similar recipe for this tree, but my problem was once it had cooled it became gummy and young. How do you keep it warm as you’re serving it?
Deborah Lynn McKee says
When prepping the tree, can I cover it with plastic wrap, put it in the fridge overnight and bake the next morning? You addressed prepping in another post, but did not mention the length of time it would be ok to leave in the fridge before baking. Thank you and looking forward to making this for Christmas.
Aubrey Cota says
You want to avoid letting the dough dry out. If you try preparing the day before be sure to do something like cover it with lightly oiled plastic wrap.
Pat Taylor says
I love this and its easy. However, I added just a touch of chipotle chili pepper to the spinach mix and it really gives it a nice touch. I’m wondering if a little bit of onion would be good, too. And I can’t wait to try it with cinnamon and sugar.
Also I flattened the crescent rolls out on parchment paper on the cookie sheet to start with and so didn’t have to transfer it. Then when it was cooled I just picked it up by the parchment paper and set it on my platter and put in it the refrigerator. when its really cool and ready to serve I’ll remove the parchment. I am wondering if you can freeze this?
Aubrey Cota says
I’m sure you could and like you said just be sure it is completely cooled first so there is no moisture issue creating crystals.
Colleen Kielch says
Made this tonight and it was tasty. Would definitely make it again and the spinach dip was delicious. I have always made recipes that use the frozen spinach but never again. This was so much easier to use the fresh spinanch! The transfer to a plate was a little difficult but you can definitely do it.
Aubrey Cota says
The plate transfer is easily mastered over time, I promise! So glad you liked it.
Danijela says
Looks lovely, and I’m sure it’s really delicious!
Aubrey Cota says
It is!! You’ll have to try it and see how yummy they are.
Concepcion Florendo says
How to make a nice dough.. I never experience to make a dough. And I find your spinach dip crescent roll Christmas tree yummy.
Nancy says
I used Pillsbury Pizza Dough and everyone raved about it.
Aubrey Cota says
Great idea!
Sarah says
Tasty if not incredibly difficult to make a tree shape out of the dough. But again the flavor is out of this world. It was a Christmas eve hit. I used the filling while it was still warm and it made the dough even more difficult to work with so next time I’ll let it cool down. But this is a new Christmas staple. Thank you!
Aubrey Cota says
Practice makes perfect, it doesn’t hurt to have a few around the house while you perfect it right!?
Heather says
I used wax paper to assemble but then had issues transferring onto my baking sheet. Very messy, did I use to much spinach dip? As well crescent rolls did not stay pinched together, hopefully my cookie sheet is not ruined by the dip sticking to it. I used pre made spinach dip from the grocer perhaps this was the problem ?? I have more ingredients so I will try again.
Theresa M Linder says
I use parchment and transfer it with the parchment and bake it. So your cookie sheet is good.
Rhonda says
You said you make this ahead of time? The entire recipe and then chill the tree?
Mary says
Could I use my traditional spinach/artichoke dip in this recipe?
Aubrey Cota says
Certainly.
Leah Pearson says
Instructions sounds confusing. Perhaps a video would help.