Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread
Whatever the occasion, this Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread is so pretty, it’ll be the star of any table you place it on! A true winner for your next party!
Over the Holidays, I decided to revisit this Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread recipe, which I’d originally posted a whole bunch of years ago…
Firstly, because I hadn’t made it in a while and really felt like putting this beauty on the table for New Year’s. Secondly, because I felt the pictures in the original post could use a little bit of a revamp and I also wanted to add a few process pictures while I was at it, and thirdly, because well, I felt that the instructions needed a little bit of simplifying.
With that in mind, I haven’t changed a thing to the recipe itself, except I added the step where the juice gets squeezed out of the pineapple, which in turn pretty much eliminated the need for letting the cheese mixture stand overnight before shaping it into a pineapple, as the original recipe would have you do.
All things considered, this is definitely an improved version of the initial post, although I’m not too sure about the photos… I think I preferred the originals!
Oh well! I might have to try again sometime… third time’s the charm, isn’t it?
Or so they say!
Until then, I hope that the updated, simplified instructions and step-by-step pictures will inspire you to make this spectacular-looking spread and place it proudly on the table at your next party!
When choosing your pineapple in prevision to make this spread, make sure to pick one that has a rather small top, otherwise it might end up looking a little bit out of proportion…
Trim that top off and then cut it in half lengthwise. Hang on to the nicest looking half and discard the other one.
Now finely chop about a cup of the pineapple flesh. You’ll need about a quarter of a large fruit, but this is not an exact science; you could add a little less, or a little more, depending on how much of the pineapple’s sweetness and flavor you want to add to your spread.
The real important thing is that you squeeze all the juice out of that pile of goodness… if you didn’t do that, your spread would be too soft to hold its shape and you’d have a really hard time turning it into a beautiful pineapple!
To do that, I like to use my trusty nut milk bag, but you could very well use a clean tea towel, or even a fine meshed sieve. Use whatever method works best for you, but be sure to get that pineapple really nice and dry.
You should end up with about 3/4 of a cup of chopped pineapple once it’s been well squeezed, depending on how juicy the fruit was to start with!
Next, in a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, lime juice, grainy mustard, white pepper and cayenne pepper…
Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Now add the reserved chopped pineapple, bell pepper, celery, pecans and parsley.
Note that you could use red bell pepper for a more festive look, sub walnuts for the pecans, add a pinch of chopped green onions, or even replace the parsley with cilantro, if you wanted to… just a few ideas, you know!
Stir everything together with a rubber spatula, until all the ingredients are well combined.
Turn the cheese mixture onto a large serving plate (be sure to choose one that’s big enough to accommodate the pineapple top as well) and shape the spread into a barrel, or flat football, or well, something that looks like a slightly flattened, halved topless pineapple.
Cover that shape with perfect pecan halves of similar sizes, starting at the bottom and working your way towards the top, slightly overlapping each new row and keeping the pecans nice and tight as you go.
You should need about 75 pecan halves to cover the entire body of the “pineapple”.
Finally, place the pineapple top at top to finish the effect; place your spread in the refrigerator until ready to serve, ideally at least 2 hours, to allow for flavors to develop.
Serve your spread with an assortment of crackers or thin slices of your favorite bread…
Leftovers will keep for up to a few days in the refrigerator, although a little softening of the pecans is to be expected.
Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread
Ingredients
- 1- 227g package cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple, squeezed dry
- 1/4 large orange bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 celery rib, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped raw pecans
- 3-4 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp Old Fashioned Grainy Mustard
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 75-100 perfect pecan halves, to make the pineapple effect
Instructions
- Trim the top off your pineapple and cut it in half lengthwise. Hang on to the nicest looking half and discard the other one.
- Chop about a cup of the pineapple flesh (you'll need about a quarter of a large one) and then squeeze out as much juice as you can from it; reserve.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, lime juice, mustard, white pepper, cayenne pepper and mix with an electric mixture on medium speed until smooth and creamy in texture, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the reserved chopped pineapple, bell pepper, celery, pecans and parsley and stir with a rubber spatula until well combined.
- Turn this mixture onto a serving plate, (be sure to choose one that's big enough to accomodate the pineapple top as well) and shape the spread into a barrel.
- Cover with perfect pecan halves, starting at the bottom and working your way to the top, sligthly overlapping each new row and keeping the pecans nice and tight as you go.
- Place the pineapple top at top to finish the effect; refrigerate until ready to serve, ideally a couple of hours, to allow for flavors to develop.
Nutrition
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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And just for the record; here’s the original photo…
63 Comments on “Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread”
Wow, wow, wow. Brilliant! Adorable!
That looks mouth watering!! YUM 🙂
Sounds yummy and looks very tropical!
This is just adorable!! I’m from Hawaii so this totally caught my eye on Foodgawker. I’m going to make this for my next party and everyone is going to think I’m so clever!!
Hehe! You can take all the credit if you want! As long as you and your guests like it, then I’m a happy camper! 😉
I made this and after all the ingredients were all mixed together it was really runny I found. Do I have to refrigerate it over night before I shape it?
What do you mean funny? If it’s a little too soft, it might help to refrigerate for a couple of hours or even overnight, for sure! Hope it turns out OK!
I did already everybody love it
I don’t eat cheese, but this is gorgeous! I’d love to recreate it using cashew “cheeze”! 🙂
This is so cute! What an awesome idea!
The presentation here is just amazing, perfect for a kitschy tiki party!
I’m so intrigued by this recipe and especially the presentation! I’ll definitely be trying this at our next potluck! One question though– what is “old style mustard”? Is it a liquid or dry seasoning?
Sorry, my bad! It should’ve said “Old style whole grain mustard”… My favorite kind of mustard. I could eat it by the spoonful! 😉
Oh my gosh!!! Love this!!! It looks both delicious and adorable!
Sounds yummy and looks amazing! Thanks for sharing, found you via Craft Gossip 🙂
How pretty and yummy!
this looks so dee-lish! wish I had the ingredients on hand to try! will be doing that soon. thanks for the great idea!
You say making it overnight is best, but I’m just wondering, the pineapple top stays fresh overnight as well? I’m worried it will wilt in the fridge or something. I am having a party tomorrow afternoon, if I made this first thing in the morning would that be okay?
I only put the top in place at the last minute, as well as the pecans. It’s only the cheese mixture that I made the day before. Also, I kept the top in one of those plastic produce bags that you get at the grocery store when you buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I think you should be fine if you start making it in the morning, just make sure to allow a few hours for the cheese mixture to firm up a bit and flavors to blend!
What a great idea !
I put a link to your article on my french blog.
Merci beaucoup, je suis flattée!
This is so cute.. bookmarking it and doing it next month!
Wow, how creative!! I am a fellow foodie! 🙂 I’m now following you on pinterest and twitter, as well as following your site. Come follow back if you get a chance.
If you wanted to keep this on the sweet side, do you suppose it would work with the pineapple, craisins, chopped pecans and a bit of frozen OJ in the cream cheese/sour cream?
Frankly, I wouldn’t recommend adding any more liquid to this, as it already is on the soft side… so I would definitely leave that orange juice out. Unless maybe you added gelatin to it? Might be worth a shot!
What about orange zest or candied ginger?
Dashing ideas!
Is one pineapple 150 grams?
You mean as in a complete pineapple? No! A pineapple is a very heavy fruit. 150g is probably somewhere around three quarters of a cup?
Beautiful presentation, can’t wait to try! What do you mean by “squeeze the juice out of the pineapple”??? The whole pineapple or just the portion that is chopped for the spread?
Thank you! Glad you like! 🙂 I mean squeeze the juice out of the portion that is chopped for the spread. And really, squeeze out as much as you possibly can! 😉
Thank you so much for responding. I feel like a complete dork because I somehow missed the above mention of removing the juice from the chunks. When I originally read the directions I thought it meant to ADD the juice for flavoring, not subtract the juice for consistency. Silly me! I am making this right now for a work party. =)
No problem at all, Ms. Priss! And thank goodness you re-read that, ‘cuz adding juice would definitely NOT have been a good idea. 😉 Hope this recipe works out good for you and that you end up liking it! Let me know what you think! I always appreciate getting feedback on my creations! 🙂
I have made a similar recipe without the sour cream. If you left it out or decreased it, it would help it not to be too runny.
This looks and sounds wonderful. I am not a very experienced cook but I’m anxious to try this recipe. However, how many cups equal 150g fresh pineapple, finely chopped? I am from the US and don’t use the metric system or have a metric scale and don’t know if 150g of chopped pineapple is closer to 1/2 a cup or 3 cups. I tried Googling it but didn’t get very far. I think a general estimate should be sufficient, (right?) as I don’t think it needs to be exact, as in baking. Thanks in advance for your help.
You are quite right… this is not an exact science and the amount of pineapple that you use can fluctuate some. What’s really important is that you squeeze out as much excess moisture as you possibly can. I don’t remember exactly how much 150 grams was, but I believe I’d used about one quarter of a fresh pineapple. I’d say about a cup finely crushed pineapple should do the trick! Hope the recipe works for you! Let me know how things went and how you liked the spread! =D
Thank you so much for the quick response. I hope to take this to my next girls night when I’m supposed to bring an appetizer! It looks very impressive and I’m always a fan of wonderful presentation! Thanks again for sharing your recipe and woo hoo for Pinterest!!
Hope this works for you, Evelyn! Make sure you let me know how it turned out! =D
Merci infiniment Sonia, cette tartinade est excellente. Ton passage chez-moi m’a fait grand plaisir. A bientôt, Marie
Tout le plaisir est pour moi, Marie! Vraiment contente que tu aies aimé et tellement bien réussi! 😀
Mahalo, Sonia!
I’m going to reduce the pineapple (squeezed DRY!) by 1/2. . . and add 1/2 cup fresh Mango Salsa (drained DRY). . . This will give a little San Diego “ALOHA” & “South of the Border” fusion! The Mango Salsa that remains will be whirled in my blender, and I will add Ginger Teriyaki to this “dipping sauce” for fresh shrimp on ice. . .perfect party! Thank YOU, Sonia!
Sounds absolutely delish, Denise! So funny, I just made a shrimp cocktail (which I have yet to post) with mango, avocado and ginger “dipping” sauce… looks like great minds think alike! 😀
hey! it seems super yummy, and it looks nice too!
Adorable, edible art. So creative! The only problem is that after I make it I wouldn’t want anyone to touch it because it is so cute! Thanks for sharing! : )
Aw, such kind words. Thank you so much for that, Heather!
Why does mine have a bitter taste?!?
I’m the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your yummy pineapple! You can see it here:
http://funfamilycrafts.com/pineapple-cream-cheese-spread/
If you have other kid-friendly tutorials, we’d love it if you would submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Thanks for sharing the love, Cindy! I appreciate that! 😀
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! We had a Hawaiian themed party last night and this pineapple was a BIG hit!!! After reading all the reviews I used pineapple cream cheese, left out the sour cream, added a few canned pineapples that I really dried out then beat into the cream cheese and it held it’s shape perfectly. I also served it with Roasted Pineapple & Habanero Sauce by Robert Rothschild to top, there was nothing left of the pineapple, it got rave reviews after of course people actually started eating it no one wanted to touch it at first because it was so pretty! lol ….thank you again, I will be making this often!
Hi,
I made this for my best friend’s Thanksgiving gathering and it was absolutely gorgeous….everyone photographed it!! Very impressive. However, the dip went terribly wrong somehow! It tasted very bitter!? The pineapple though not super sweet wasn’t biter, and the orange pepper was sweet. The celery was great. I didn’t taste the parsley but maybe that was what made it bitter? Do you know what would cause that to happen? If pecans were $38/lb I’d try it again…but not until I know what I did wrong. 🙁
It was so pretty – maybe another dip would work as the base.
Thank you for the inspiration.
Seriously, I have no idea what could have caused this… Did it taste bitter immediately after you made it or after sitting for a while?
I made this and upon tasting it immediately it was yummy. Then after a day or two it turned bitter for me as well. I omitted parsley, but besides that I followed the recipe exactly. My guess is the pecans?
I had the same problem this morning I’m so not happy…..
What type of favor, like veggie spread?
I made this recipe and was so excited as I’m attending a luau themed dinner. I’m trying to figure out how to save it- mine turned out tangy (not a pleasant word to use with soft cheese) and had an almost metallic bitter aftertaste. How do I save this?!
I really don’t know what to say, Alli. Apparently, you’re not the first one that had this happen to them. Unfortunately, I have no idea as to what may be causing this… except maybe for an underripe pineapple? Was your pineapple really ripe, juicy and super sweet?
I made this for my club and left out the parsley after reading some reviews that talked about the bitter taste. I haven’t even put the pecans on yet and the cheese mixture tasted bitter after overnight in the fridge. I am very disapointed because of all the ingredients and time spent making this. And my pineapple was sweet and juicy. 🙁
I’m really sorry about this, Kathleen. I wish I could pinpoint what it is that causes this spread to turn bitter on people… I thought perhaps that the use of canned pineapple was to blame, but that can now be ruled out. You used fresh, right? And then apart from leaving the parsley out, you followed the recipe to a T?
Hi! I love this concept and plan to make next weekend. Just to double check… I cut the pineapple and then squeeze those pieces to get all the juice out and then disgrard the jucie? I’s that correct? The juice doesn’t go into the cheese mixture right?
That is correct, Sam!
What is the healthier version to lower fat content? This is great?
Where is the original recipe? Don’t like the new version at all.
As I mentioned in the post, I revisited the post and pictures, but “I haven’t changed a thing to the recipe itself”, so there does not exist an actual “orignal recipe” to prefer… This version is the only version.