Honey, Walnut, and Goat Cheese Bites
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These honey, walnut, and goat cheese bites are an easy appetizer recipe that requires minimal cooking – only baking the phyllo cups – so it comes together in very little time. Filled with creamy goat cheese and a honey walnut topping, these bites are perfect for your next holiday party!
I love a great phyllo cup recipe. They’re perfect for this busy time of the year. These flakey little cups are made with layers of phyllo dough and come pre-baked, so all you do is crisp them up, fill and serve.
You can add fresh fruit and whipped cream for a quick bite-sized dessert, or fill them with savory ingredients for a delicious bite.
Honey, walnut, and goat cheese phyllo cups are a simple but delicious appetizer that’s made with easy to find ingredients. The savory goat cheese filling and sweet walnut topping makes this simple appetizer the perfect addition to a snack spread for your party guests. Other bites to include: whipped ricotta dip with honey, vegetarian stuffed mushrooms, and savory pumpkin pinwheels.
You can prep them a couple days ahead of time, then assemble them in the hours before company arrives so you can be focused on your guests while snacking on something tasty.
Want more recipes using phyllo cups? Try these delicious Smoked Salmon Bites with Cucumber, Mini Lemon Tarts, Strawberry Bites with Cream Cheese, Mini Apple Pie Bites, or my Brie Cheese and Spiced Cranberry Bites.
Ingredients
- Mini phyllo cups – Find these thin, crispy shells in the freezer section of your grocery store. Don’t confuse them with puff pastry or other frozen pastry. Phyllo dough cups come already baked and ready to fill. You just have to warm them up in the oven. Puff pastry is raw and needs to be fully baked. Like its name suggests, it puffs up when baked, leaving little room for filling.
- Goat cheese – Plain goat cheese at room temperature works best. I find the honey goat cheese to be too much honey flavor in this recipe. Hate goat cheese? You can use plain cream cheese or mascarpone cheese in this recipe instead.
- Whole milk or heavy cream – Choose whichever you prefer or have on hand.
- Fresh thyme – Fresh thyme is best for this recipe. If you can’t find any, use finely chopped fresh oregano.
- Walnuts – Whole walnuts, walnut halves, or walnut pieces will all work. Don’t like walnuts? Swap these out for pecans.
- Honey – This is a key ingredient for both flavor and texture for this recipe. There isn’t a substitute for it.
- An orange – You’ll need a fresh orange for this recipe since we’re using the peel.
How to Make Honey, Walnut, and Goat Cheese Bites
Crisp mini phyllo shells according to package directions. Allow to cool to room temperature. Set aside.
Toast walnuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Toss walnuts as they toast, being careful not to burn them. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Finely chop walnuts. In a small bowl, combine chopped walnuts with honey and orange zest. Set mixture aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the soft goat cheese, cream, thyme and salt. Beat with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes until mixture is light and fluffy.
To Assemble:
Place ½ teaspoon of goat cheese mixture into a phyllo cup.
Top with ½ teaspoon of nut mixture.
Honey, Walnut, and Goat Cheese Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 phyllo cups, 1 package
- 4 oz goat cheese, softened
- 1 tsp heavy cream, or whole milk
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 zest from medium orange, about 1 tsp
- Fresh thyme sprigs, garnish
Instructions
- Crisp phyllo cups according to package directions. Allow to cool to room temperature. Set aside.15 phyllo cups
- Toast walnuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Toss walnuts as they toast, being careful not to burn them.½ cup walnuts
- Remove from heat as soon as you start smelling the nuts. Cool them to room temperature.
- Finely chop walnuts. In a small bowl, combine chopped walnuts with honey and orange zest. Set mixture aside.¼ cup honey, 1 zest from medium orange
- In a medium bowl, combine softened goat cheese, cream, thyme and salt.4 oz goat cheese, 1 tsp heavy cream, 1 tsp fresh thyme, ¼ tsp salt
- Beat with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes until mixture is light and fluffy.
To Assemble:
- Place ½ teaspoon of goat cheese mixture into a phyllo cup.
- Top with ½ teaspoon of nut mixture. Top with a few leaves of fresh thyme.
- Repeat with remaining phyllo cups.
- Serve at room temperature.
How to Make This Recipe Ahead of Time
This is a great make ahead recipe for holiday entertaining. Make the walnut and honey topping and store it in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Mix well before using. Make the goat cheese filling and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator.
The morning you want to serve these, crisp the phyllo cups, bring the goat cheese mixture to room temperature, and stir the walnut and honey topping. Assemble the phyllo cups up to 1 hour before guests arrive. Cover and leave at room temperature until ready to serve. Do not refrigerate.
Looking for More Easy Appetizers?
Easy appetizers mean easy entertaining! Pair these Honey, Walnut and Goat Cheese Bites with Bruschetta al Pomodoro (Tomato Bruschetta), Blueberry and Goat Cheese Dip with Crostini and Three Cheese Artichoke Dip for a variety of delicious appetizers at your next party.
Holiday Happy Hour Drink Pairings
This phyllo cup appetizer is perfect for serving at the holidays. Serve it paired with a signature drink like my spiced cherry holiday mocktail, cranberry gin cocktail or an apple old fashioned.
I made these recently and they are delicious! The combination of flavors work great. I wondered about the orange zest but it is perfect. You can make them ahead and in fact that just enhances the flavors. Plus they don’t need to be baked. I’m going to be making these over and over.
I’m so glad you liked them! The orange zest adds just that little something extra. 😉