"Cheesy" Vegan Tomato Pesto Bites Party Appetizer Recipe (2024)

Looking for a great vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free appetizer option for the holidays? Try my easy, fast, delicious "Cheesy" Vegan Tomato Pesto Bites!

Going dairy-free has been fairly easy. However, I've had the hardest time missing real cheese.Do you know how hard it is to be a food blogger and avoid cheese at all of these amazing food events, especially the wine events? There is always, always GOOD cheese! It's crazy difficult, and sometimes I do indulge and then pay for it for the days after.

One of my fave dairy-free cheeses

Luckily, there are brands like Daiya Foods, who work hard to constantly improve their plant-based products. Some pizza places even use their Shreds (similar to shredded cheese) as dairy-free cheese options. All Daiya products are dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and free of eggs, peanuts, fish, and shellfish. That's quite a feat to create products that are allergen-free!

Recently, I had the opportunity to try the new and improvedDaiya Cheddar Style Slices and the Daiya Swiss Style Slices. I was admittedly impressed! They were more flavorful and had less of a processed factory taste than other vegan "cheese" alternatives.

I've enjoyed the slices to be delicious in grilled cheese sandwiches, and have used them to create some delicious party appetizers. I hope you enjoy the recipe I'm sharing today -- and that you enter to win today's Day 9 of my 12 Days of Holiday Giveaways: a panini press and a

Step-by-step instructions

These are SO super easy to make because I use a lot of shortcuts. You start with wheat bread slices, and you could definitely use gluten-free bread slices if you want.

Using a cookie cutter, cut out bread circles and then cut out Daiyaslices with the same cookie cutter. Top the bread slices with one Daiya slice.

Look how cute the Daiya Swiss style slices are: they have holes in them just like regular ol' Swiss cheese slices do!

Then you top each bite with a small teaspoon of pesto. I use store-bought pesto, but you could also use your own homemade pesto made without any cheese. My creamy avocado pesto would be great for this appetizer - just make it without parmesan cheese for a 100% vegan dish!

Finally, top each bite with a spoonful of sun-dried tomatoes. Again, you can totally use jarred sun-dried tomatoes - or you can make your own.

Pop into a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes, just until the Daiya slices have melted. Serve and impress your guests!