20 minute Cheesy Pesto Tarts

Name: 20 Minute Cheesy Pesto Tarts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 3 Cups Basil (packed); 3 Cloves Garlic; 1/4 Cup Fisher Walnuts; 1/4 Cup Olive oil Extra Virgin (plus 1 Tablespoon); 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese (plus 1 Tablespoon ); 1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Zest; 1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice; Salt to taste; 2 Sheets Puff Pastry; 1 Cup Grape Tomatoes (halved); 1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese (shredded); 1 Pinch Black Pepper Fresh Cracked

4.34 from 3 votes

I don’t know about you, but I adore appetizers, especially around the holidays. We make these 20 minute cheesy pesto tarts all the time!

How Long Will Pesto Keep?

Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Fisher Nuts, however all opinions remain our own.

It’s easy to make a savory appetizer with puff pastry for gatherings and using a few key ingredients will make it taste like you’ve been slaving for hours. Which is my favorite thing, make people think I’ve worked harder than I did.

We’ve done a whole post on pesto, how to make pesto, how to store pesto, how to freeze pesto, how to keep pesto green, how long pesto keeps, and we have plenty of recipes that use pesto which we will link up to at the bottom of the post. So, refer back to THIS post if you need to read up on Pesto.

Just as with our classic pesto, the secret to really great flavor is in toasting the nuts and garlic. Walnuts, when fresh are not bitter like you may believe. Instead they have a sweetness to them and with that robust garlic it really makes for a great pesto.

The pesto we will make today is a little different as it uses Fisher Nuts Walnuts. We did a random sampling and Fisher Nuts were preservative free, tasted the most fresh and not bitter since they weren’t past their date of freshness.

Did you know that? That good fresh walnuts taste juicy, nutty and sweet? To store walnuts, I keep mine in the blue bag we buy them in as the dark colored bag actually is best to keep them fresh, then we place them in the kitchen cupboard as light degrades the oils.

Alright, so we use walnuts instead of pine nuts to really push that more nutty flavor in this pesto and we use store bought puff pastry because hello, who has time to make that from scratch?

Blend up your pesto in a blender or food processor and then stir in a little, or a lot of good quality parmesan or pecorino romano cheese. That’s the secret to simple food, use a few good ingredients and the flavor will take care of itself.

What is Pecorino Romano Cheese?

Pecorino is a term used to define Italian cheeses made from 100% sheep’s milk.

However, the American counterpart of the cheese is made from cow’s milk.

As the name suggests, the history of Pecorino Romano dates back to the Roman times when it was a part of the staple diet of soldiers at war.

Just cut the pastry dough into circles and press into a mini muffin pan. Use a fork to poke holes all over the inside of the puff pastry and bake it until golden. Ours took about 10 minutes, but our oven has been crazy lately so 10-15 minutes should be perfect for you.

Pull them out and stuff with pesto and mozzarella cheese. We love to throw in halved or whole, depending on size grape tomatoes and then bake them off for a few extra minutes to melt the cheese.

What is the Difference Between Grape and Cherry Tomatoes?

Grape tomatoes are oblong and shaped like grapes.

They’re about half the size of cherry tomatoes, with thicker skins.

Grape tomatoes aren’t as sweet as cherry tomatoes, and their flesh is meatier and less watery.

The best part is, you can serve these hot or room temperature and they will still taste awesome!