Keto Cream Cheese Board with Red Pepper Pesto

Inspired by the butter boards that went viral on TikTok, this keto-friendly cream cheese board is a different and exciting version. Topped with our unique roasted red pepper pesto, it makes a -much literally- finger-licking quick meal or snack that you can whip up in minutes. Serve at room temperature with our keto seed crackers, pita chips, or any keto-friendly type of crisps and chips.

Table of Contents

• Ingredients
• How To Make Keto Cream Cheese Board
• Tips And Variations
• Frequently Asked Questions
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Everyone loves a cheese board, especially at this time of year, but we’ve taken things to a new level with our keto cream cheese board and delicious red pepper pesto. We’ve taken inspiration from the butter board recipes that went viral on TikTok, but we’ve changed things around, using lighter ingredients and delicate flavors to match the freshness of the scarlet pesto.

Our keto cream cheese board recipe is easy to put together, taking just a matter of minutes to make before serving to a table full of hungry guests. Parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds, olive oil, and garlic create a wonderful balance of flavor when processed with red peppers, resulting in a flavorful pesto that brings a fresh and colorful addition to the cream cheese mixture.

Alongside thinly sliced low-carb vegetables or keto-friendly crackers, our cream cheese board is a stress-free appetizer, perfect for a holiday dinner party with family and friends. Since the food processor does most of the work, this recipe is ideal for a last-minute keto appetizer, snack, or treat during a festive movie.

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Mixture

• Cream Cheese: Full-fat cream cheese is the silky base of our keto cream cheese board, providing a light, fluffy pillow and tanginess for the pesto to be drizzled upon. Serving the cream cheese and pesto on a board is ideal when cooking for multiple guests, as everyone can dive in with veggies or crackers and essentially serve themselves!
• Greek Yogurt: Adding a few tablespoons of Greek yogurt lightens the cream cheese, creating a looser, velvet texture that’s easy to dip and scoop with various veggies. The natural sweetness and tang of Greek yogurt is a perfect match to the cream cheese, keeping the base of the board fresh and light in contrast to the rich and bold red pepper pesto.
• Dried Green Onions: Raw onions can be potent and overpowering, which isn’t the onion flavor we’re after with our cheese board. Dried green onions, however, have a deliciously warm flavor that brings subtle sweetness, unlike the acidity found with fresh onions. Not to mention the time saved in the kitchen by not slicing and chopping fresh onions for the board! If you don’t have any dried green onions to hand, dried mint, oregano, basil, or chives are all ideal replacements.

Red Pepper Pesto

• Roasted Red Peppers: Roasted red peppers are sweet and smokey, providing a delightful contrast from the tangy cream cheese and Greek yogurt. These peppers can either be found in a jar at the store, or you can make your own. Either way, roasted red pepper pesto is a fantastic recipe to learn as it can be used in a range of dishes, from cauliflower rice to roasted vegetables.
• Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan cheese is a common ingredient in pestos, and it gives our recipe another tangy boost of flavor. Parmesan also brings creaminess, as once it’s processed alongside the other pesto ingredients, it becomes more of a delicate flavor with a smooth texture.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: As the pesto isn’t cooked and each of the ingredients can be recognized with every mouthful, it’s best to use extra virgin olive oil. The golden hue of olive oil alongside its peppery notes is what’s needed to thin the pesto but also bring each ingredient together to create a deliciously moreish red pepper pesto.
• Sunflower Seeds: Pine nuts may be a popular ingredient in traditional pesto recipes, but we like to shake things up, so we’ve used sunflower seeds instead. Once processed, sunflower seeds break down, providing thickness and a subtle earthy flavor that hums in the background of the pesto.
• Garlic: Half a clove of garlic is all that’s needed to add a hint of warmth to the pesto. Fresh garlic can be pungent, so if you have a bulb with large cloves, be mindful of which one you use in the pesto! Finding balance with fresh garlic when creating dishes in the kitchen can be tricky, but using a small amount at first will indicate whether you prefer a bit more garlicky heat or even subtler notes.
• Sea Salt: Salt is a crucial component for so many recipes, and our red pepper pesto needs sea salt to enhance and combine all of the flavors together. A sprinkling of sea salt into the pesto is enough to bring balance, but always season to taste, as you may want to add a little more.

How To Make Keto Cream Cheese Board

Quick and easy recipes are often the best to turn to during busy days when time just seems to disappear. Our keto cream cheese board takes all of 5 minutes to prepare, with no cooking involved and simple ingredients and equipment. Served at room temperature alongside keto crackers, chips, or thinly sliced raw vegetables, this board is a satisfying and social way to enjoy comforting flavors around a table with loved ones.

Step one: Add roasted red peppers, parmesan cheese, olive oil, sunflower seeds, and garlic to a blender or food processor, then pulse for a few seconds. Once the pesto reaches a coarse consistency, season it to taste with sea salt and place it on one side.

Step two: In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, yogurt, and dried onions.

Step three: Use a serving board and spread the cream cheese mixture out, drizzling the roasted red pepper pesto on top.

Step four: Garnish the cream cheese board with dried green onions and serve at room temperature with some bitesize keto snacks.

Tips And Variations

Keto Cream Cheese Board With Coconut Yoghurt: Substituting Greek yogurt with coconut yogurt adds a tropical tangy edge, which works well with the fragrant pesto. It’s best to opt for full-fat, unsweetened coconut yogurt, as many yogurts aren’t keto-friendly due to the addition of sugars and syrups.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto With Chilli: A dash of dried chili flakes added to the pesto provides a deeper layer of warmth and a hit of spice with each bite. Chili provides a fiery contrast to the silky smooth and cooling cream cheese base.

Nut And Seeds Blender Tip: If you have a blender that struggles with breaking down solid ingredients, it can be helpful to pulse the hard ingredients first before continuing with a recipe. Taking the time to pulse nuts and seeds down before adding more ingredients to the blender or processor will give the blades an easier time getting through the firmer texture without other ingredients in the way/

Frequently Asked Questions

📖 Recipe