A hearty appetizer that will feed a crowd. Baked 3 cheese appetizer with pesto in Marinara Sauce is easy to make. A purchased jar of quality marinara, some cream cheese and a loaf of french bread. Dig in.
Starting with football season and rounding that corner into the Holidays, we find ourselves on appetizer overload. Small bites, dips, chips, spreads and cheeses. We’re officially in hand held snacking mode. This past week I had the opportunity to partner with Mezzetta Marinara Sauces. Have you tried them? If not, put them on your list for you next trip to the grocery store. They offer so many unique flavor combos.
Cheese dips and spreads seem to be the king of appetizer table so pairing Mezzetta Plum Tomato Marinara with some baked cheese and a baguette came together for this Italian appetizer recipe.
This three cheese blend is baked in marinara, topped with basil pesto and is heavenly served with a sliced baguette or crackers. The creamy cheese combo consists of peppered goat cheese, cream cheese and herbed cheese…a masterpiece once all ingredients are combined.
The list of ingredients in this Italian Plum Tomato Marinara sauce is very simple: tomatoes, olive oil, onions, salt, garlic, pepper, spices and basil. That’s it! You’ve got to love an ingredient list where you can pronounce all the words. And if you’ve been looking for a sugar-free marinara sauce, your search is over.
At Mezzetta they search the world to find the best ingredients for every product they sell. When it comes to their marinara, they know that the best tomatoes are grown in the sun-drenched soils of the San Marzano region of Italy – so that is where they source every single tomato for their ultra-premium marinara.
This steamy baked ball of cheesy cheesy goodness is ready to top with some Basil Pesto Sauce.
Slice some bread and dig in.
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 4 ounces peppered goat cheese room temperature
- 5.2 ounce package of Boursin garlic and herb cheese room temperature
- 1 jar Mezzetta Italian Plum Tomato Delicate Marinara
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup pesto
- sliced baguette for serving
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl combine the cheeses and mix well until combined. In an oven proof baking dish, pour the bottle of Mezzetta marinara in the bottom. For the cheese into a ball and place in the sauce. Sprinkle with the crushed red pepper flakes and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, top with the basil pesto sauce and serve with sliced bread or crackers.
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
August 23, 2016 at 2:22 pmNothing wrong with this! Tomatoes and cheese rock my boat. And Italy-well, a girl can dream! About this dip, too!
John/Kitchen Riffs says
August 24, 2016 at 8:30 amWhat a great looking dish! Cheese and marinara is a wonderful combo. Haven’t heard of Mezzetta, but I should check them out — sounds like a good product. Thanks!
Kirsten says
August 24, 2016 at 4:45 pmWow that looks so good! This would really go great at get-togethers and even as a starter for dinner!
http://www.thewanderingbrunette.com/2016/08/spicy-sausage-pasta-recipe.html
Claudia Lamascolo says
August 26, 2016 at 5:37 amI really cant wait to try this wow!