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A retro Christmas appetizer straight from my Nonnie’s kitchen. Just biscuits, butter, and crumbles of blue cheese. Nothing fancy—and yes, I know blue cheese can be controversial—but somehow everyone loves these. Even the picky eaters. And they truly couldn’t be easier to make.
I’ve been talking about this recipe for pretty much the entire life of the website. I shared a variation once in a cookbook, and if you look back, this cranberry appetizer I posted in 2012 was another adaptation inspired by it.
But to this day, I’ve found that nothing beats the original. It’s so retro—definitely the kind of recipe that feels like it came straight from the 1960s—but it’s absolutely delicious.
I’ve tried adding things, swapping ingredients, even using homemade biscuits, and the facts are the facts: you have to stick to the basics. This recipe just works best exactly as it is.
So today, we’re going back to the basics.
This recipe comes from my Nonnie. She made it every single Christmas without fail. If the blue cheese appetizer wasn’t out on the counter shortly after everyone arrived on Christmas night, something was very wrong.
My Nonnie knew exactly how to make the holidays feel special. This little appetizer is just one of her sneaky secrets.
These are the details
Ingredients
- canned biscuit dough – I recommend flaky layers or using crescent rolls
- salted butter
- crumbled blue cheese – the packaged kind (make sure it’s not fancy!)
To make it fancy
- honey
- sea salt
- dried or fresh rosemary
- dried cranberries
What you need from the kitchen
For this recipe, you’ll need a pie plate (two cute options, 1 and 2) or something similar in size. That’s about it!
The Steps
Step 1: Crack Open the Biscuits
I recommend using canned biscuits. It’s not my usual style of cooking, but today we’re sticking to complete simplicity. It’s the holidays—everything will be fine.
I like to use Pillsbury Flaky Layers, but crescent rolls work too.
And if I had a Trader Joe’s nearby, I’d absolutely test their biscuits as well—but sadly, we don’t!
Step 2: Assemble
Cut each biscuit into quarters and arrange them in a pie plate or similarly sized baking dish.
Pour over one stick of melted salted butter, then sprinkle generously with crumbled blue cheese. Be sure to use the blue cheese straight from the package—the least fancy kind. This is the secret.
Step 3: Bake
Bake for about 10 minutes, just until everything is bubbling and lightly golden.
Do not overbake—this appetizer is best soft, buttery, and melty.
Make It Pretty
Nonnie would sometimes add a little parsley, but most often she served this straight from the oven with cocktail napkins and toothpicks on the side.
I love adding a pinch of dried rosemary and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt—that’s my favorite twist. When my mom makes this, she sometimes adds dried cranberries.
Toothpicks or tiny forks work best. But growing up, toothpicks went to the wayside, and everyone just started to dive in with their hands, bite after bite.
I’m already looking forward to making this again on Christmas. It’s one of my family’s favorite foods and a tradition that always reminds me of my Nonnie. And when it comes to Christmas, I’m forever trying to recreate the magic she created for all of us for so many years.
I truly love this time of year!
Looking for more easy holiday recipes? Here are a few more to try!
Crispy Prosciutto and Cheese Sliders
Sweet and Savory Cheesy Bacon Wrapped Puff Pastry Twists
Goat Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates
Pull Apart Roasted Garlic Pizza Dip Sliders
Whipped Goat Cheese with Warm Candied Bacon and Dates
Lastly, if you make 3 Ingredient Blue Cheese Appetizer, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Ingredients
- 1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated biscuit dough
- 1 stick salted butter
- 5 ounces crumbled blue cheese , (not fancy)
- dried rosemary or parsley , optional
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Rub a 9-inch pie plate with soft butter.2. Cut each biscuit into quarters and arrange inside the pie plate. Pour melted butter over biscuits. Top with blue cheese.3. Bake 10-15 minutes. Top with herbs if desired.Make it Fancy: add honey and sea salt. Use dried cranberries for festive color.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I think the butter could be cut in half for this recipe, it made the dish so greasy. Additionally, the biscuits needed a lot longer than the time above because they were so doughy. I wanted to like this recipe but it just seems like several things are off with it.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Becky. Sorry to hear it was not enjoyed!
Recipe as written is not well executed and needs edits. It won’t work well if you make the recipe as written.
I used one can of biscuits and half a stick of butter. I cut the biscuits into 4 pieces and tossed them gently with the melted butter. I only used half a stick—using a full stick of butter here is an absurd use of butter. If you toss the biscuit pieces in the butter, you’ll get a better distribution of butter. I scattered the blue cheese on top, but definitely did not use 5 Oz. That would’ve been too much. I also tossed the biscuit pieces with the blue cheese crumbles a bit to get it better distributed.
I baked for about 25 mins at 375. Look for golden brown pieces all across the top. The middle shouldn’t be too gooey.
I’m not certain Tieghan will publish this comment, but I hope she does. Tweaks need to be made and hopefully she will re-test this and make edits.
I’m a blue cheese addict so I’ll definitely be adding this to our holiday menu!!
Question — is there a reason why you banged the can of biscuits on your counter like that in today’s stories? I was so taken aback to see you do that on such nice/new countertops…
Hi Claire,
I hope you love this recipe! Lol I guess that’s how I always open biscuits? The spoon never works for me.
I hope you love this recipe!
I always open the can by banging it on the counter too 🙂 learned it from my mom. Happy holidays Tieghan! Thanks for the great recipes.
I made this last night for my son who came home from college and loves blue cheese. 10-15 minutes is not enough bake time, I took it out at 12min to check and the biscuits were still doughy in the middle. I ended up baking it for 20 min. I would probably bake at 375 next time too. I would also recommend reducing the butter, maybe by half, the biscuits were kind of swimming in a pool of butter at the bottom. The taste is basic, but good, my son said it was too greasy, but liked the blue cheese flavor.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t love it!
Was hoping for the best with this but sadly I was mistaken. This will not be a repeat recipe on my house.
Hi Sharon,
Very sorry to hear this. Is there something that went wrong or something specific that I can help with? Please let me know!
It still says 1 1 can of biscuits. A reader called this out days ago. Why hasn’t it been fixed? The errors in these recipes are getting out of control.
Separately, if I don’t have the container of pre-crumbled blue cheese, can I just crumble my own? We buy a few different brands that come in a wedge, but if I use a fork they do crumble.
Hi Lynn,
Yes, it’s just how the measurement comes out on the blog, it’s stating one (1) can of biscuits.
Yes, you can crumble your own blue cheese. I hope you love this recipe!
Hi, Tieghan!
First, I want to apologize for all the Karens in the comments. Wowza. It’s biscuits, not a ban or a bill 🤣 Second, do you think this would be good if I subbed a different kind of cheese?
Thanks, Twila:) Totally, another cheese would work nicely for you! Crumbled feta or goat cheese would be great options.
I hope you love this recipe! Happy Holidays!
I’m a little confused because you told the commenter below that you made a larger amount this time, but you reduced the time and the cooking temp. Wouldn’t it be increased for a larger amount? Just trying to decide which recipe to follow!
Hi Rachel,
I made a larger amount for the cookbook:) Thanks for asking!
Could I use another type of cheese?
Hi Brenda,
Sure, you could use a crumbled goat or feta cheese if you wanted to!
Please let me know if you give this recipe a try!
This turned out super soggy for me and kind of like mush.
Hi Sandra,
Very sorry to hear this. How long did you bake for? Sounds like it just needed more time in the oven:)
Hi, I baked even longer than what the recipe suggested. It didn’t help
I’m sorry, I’m not sure what happened for you, this is a tried and true family recipe. All I would suggest is to increase the baking time until everything is thoroughly baked through:)
Follow the recipe from her cookbook, you bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Not sure why she reduced the temp and time for this version. The cookbook one has never been mushy for me!
375° for 20 min. So easy and tasty! Hope this helps.
I am excited to try this!!!
You have a lot of rude people on here. Seems all they do is point out the negative. I’m sorry you have to deal with that.
The recipe looks delish, very cozy and yummy for this time of year. Happy Holidays to you.
Thanks for your kind message! I hope you love this recipe, Anne:) Happy Holidays!!
Hi there. Curious about the “not fancy” Bleu cheese? What does this mean? I wasn’t aware of fancy vs non fancy bleu cheese.
Also, is there a way to incorporate the he cheese in a way that doesn’t leave so much of it on top? The result here is that it kind of looks like the dish has gotten moldy, which is unappetizing. Thanks!
Hey Randy,
Thanks for asking! Your local grocery store should just carry small container of crumbled blue cheese, I just using that rather than a nicer block of blue cheese you would use for a cheese board.
If you want to toss the blue cheese with the biscuits you could try that, but this is really just the look of this appetizer!
I have made this recipe from your cookbook many times! I see for this version you call for a smaller can of biscuits and more cheese and then reduced the both the cooking temp and the cooking time. What are the reasons for these changes?
Hey Kelsey! I used my Nonnie’s original recipe here! For the book, I believe I just made a larger amount!
They’re both delicious!! Happy holidays!!
Hi there. The recipe quantities say 11 can golf biscuits but the copy just says 1 can. I’m confused! 11 seems like a lot???
Hi Sally,
Sorry about that, it’s just 1 can of biscuits.
Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it!
I just made this last Thursday(from the Super Simple cookbook) for a gift-exchange Christmas party after work, and it was a hit. I only had 1/2 hour for prep and cook time and it fit the bill perfectly! Thanks, Tieghan! PS I appreciate you sharing cookbook recipes on the website, nice to be able to have them digitally when I am away from my cookbooks 🙂
Hey Nikki,
Happy Monday! I love to hear this recipe turned out well for you! Thanks for making it:)
Happy Holidays!
This looks great but what do you mean by not fancy blue cheese? Can you please give us an example? Thank you
Hi Marla,
You local grocery store should just have a tub of crumbled blue cheese, I would recommend that rather than a nice blue cheese wedge that you would serve on a cheese board.
I hope this makes sense!
Can you clarify how many tablespoons of butter instead of just one stick?
Hi Tina,
1 stick of butter is equal to 113 grams or 1/2 cup. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
How about dried cranberries and hot honey on top after baking?
Hi there,
Totally, that would work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe!
Happy Holidays!