~ So quick to make, but this Easy Christmas Appetizer “Hummus Wreath” is guaranteed to impress everyone at your holiday party! Even better? It can be made completely ahead – total bonus during the busy holiday season! ~

This Recipe Is:   •  Ready in 30 Minutes or Less  •  Make-Ahead  •  Vegetarian  •  Gluten Free (Depending on Your Choice of Optional Dippers)  •

But no worries! Trust me – this will be your new Christmas hit! (Maybe just don’t do the singing part.)

I mean, just check out our little video tutorial to see what a snap it is to make this showstopper!

Video Tutorial

A Long-Time Favorite (All Decked Out for Christmas)

You might remember our Layered, Baked Hummus Dip. We published it almost four years ago, but I still make it alllll the time, especially around the holidays (because of all the reasons we just discussed). It’s so easy for me to whip up (no added holiday stress here!) … and people gleefully dig in, every single time I make it.

It’s a no-fail headliner.

But I got to thinking … how could I make my tried-and-true favorite recipe more Christmas-y? More fun and festive?

And suddenly it was so very obvious!

A wreath! Riiiiiiight!

I adapted the crazy-popular idea of my wreath-shaped Christmas Salad, creating a Christmas appetizer instead!

Still so easy (I promise!), and pretty enough that you almost don’t want to eat it. (Almost.) Seriously gorgeous enough to do double-duty as an edible centerpiece.

But wait. “Gorgeous centerpiece” and “so easy” don’t usually go together in the same sentence, do they? Well, they do this time! Take a look at what a snap this is to make …

How to Shape Hummus Into a Christmas Wreath

All you need are a few simple, healthy ingredients!

And they come together in a twinkling!

First, grab some plain, store-bought hummus (we use Sabra “Classic”), and stir in reduced-fat feta and thinly sliced green onions. (Try not to face-plant into the bowl and scarf it all down straightaway – focus and keep working!)

On a round serving platter (ours is this one, which is about 12.5 inches across), place a drinking glass or small bowl upside down in the middle, to serve as a guide for spreading the hummus.

If you plan to serve this appetizer with a bowl of dippers in the middle of the wreath (the way we did in some of our photos), then you’ll want to be sure the hole you make in the center of your wreath is large enough to fit that bowl.

You can either use the actual serving bowl as a guide (that’s what we did in these photos), or you can use a drinking glass that’s similar in diameter.

If you happen to have a drinking glass that’s about the right size, you’ll save yourself the time of cleaning hummus off your little serving bowl. Plus, tall drinking glasses can be a bit easier to pull away once you’ve finished spreading your hummus. But really – either works.

Spread your hummus dip mixture in an even layer (our hummus is about 9 1/2 inches across).

Then, carefully remove the glass or bowl you used as a guide. It can help if you use a little twisting motion as you do this. And, if you’re having any trouble cleanly removing it, I’ve found it can sometimes help to gently insert the tip of a toothpick under the glass/bowl to help it release.

And voila! A wreath shape! You’re almost done already!

Greenery for Your Festive Christmas Wreath

Our pretty (and edible!) holiday greenery here is Italian flat-leaf parsley, tossed with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and salt. Simple and really fresh-tasting – kind of like a super-basic tabouli salad.

Spoon your parsley mixture evenly around, leaving a small hummus border showing.

Next, add a few halved cherry tomatoes to your wreath, cut-side down so they look like Christmas ornaments nestled into your greenery.

I use a small bow-shaped metal cookie cutter to make a bow from the sidewall of a large red pepper. Look for a pepper with broad, flat sides if you can find one.

If you don’t happen to have a cookie cutter, though, don’t despair. This Hummus Wreath still looks plenty jolly with just the tiny, round tomatoes.

So, skip the red pepper bow if you have to, but I definitely suggest grabbing a cookie cutter to keep on hand for the next time you make this wreath. Just be sure you buy a metal cookie cutter and not a plastic one, so it’s sharp enough to cut through the pepper effectively. Even with a metal cutter, you have to be a little gentle in working the cutter through the pepper so it cuts cleanly.

Sprinkle with Tasty “Snow”

The final flourish here is a light sprinkling of very finely crumbled feta.

The key here is to make sure it’s really finely crumbled – so it looks like a dusting of snow and not big clumps of cheese!

On the recipe card, we suggest using about 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons of feta, but feel free to adjust the amount slightly, depending on the overall diameter of the wreath you create. You don’t want to pile on so much feta that it looks like your wreath just rolled through a blizzard! You’re going for just enough to suggest snow flurries, without obscuring the reds and greens of the other ingredients.

Make It Ahead!

I’ve tested making this even a day or two ahead, and it works out just great. (Hurray, holiday sanity!) You’ve actually got a couple time-saving options here:

One option is to prep partially ahead. You can make the hummus mixture and the parsley salad mixture separately, and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble your wreath.

Another option is to go allllll the way here, and construct your entire wreath appetizer, then cover your beautiful creation tightly with plastic wrap until you serve it (amidst applause, appreciative cheers, and angels singing, no doubt!). I was surprised how terrific it still looked even after a day or two (the parsley topping will soften just a little over time, but it still looks nice).

Serving Suggestions

This Christmas appetizer wreath is delicious with any dippers that you normally enjoy with hummus and tabouli.

If you choose to set a little bowl of dippers in the center of the wreath, you’ll need to have plenty more alongside, as well, since a bowl small enough to fit in the center of the wreath won’t hold enough dippers to get you through an evening of happy party munching.

And of course, you can choose not to set a bowl of dippers in the middle at all – or to remove the little bowl once those dippers have been eaten.

The wreath looks so pretty, either way!

No doubt: this is one Christmas appetizer recipe that truly does hit all the right notes – and never disappoints! It’s quick and easy (sanity-saving!), absolutely delicious, guilt-free (hello, skinny jeans on January 1st), and drop-dead gorgeous.

Just last night, I was asked to be in charge of the appetizers for an upcoming holiday party. Guess which one is the very first recipe on my list?!?!

Yup! You know it!

And already I feel more relaxed, knowing I can pull this one off, easy-peasy! Which means I’ll have extra time to wrap gifts, bake healthy cookies, or (ahem) maybe practice my Falalalala-ing!

We love this recipe so much, and I can’t wait for you guys to try it at your own parties this holiday season! You’ll love hearing all those oooooohs and aaaaaahs (even better than Falalas, right?!?!)!

Psssssst … For even more oooooohs and aaaaaahs, check out our super-popular collection of festive, holiday-themed CUTE Christmas Appetizers, and our line-up of blissfully EASY Christmas Appetizers, too!

Merry Christmas, friends!