Sometimes the simplest foods make the best recipes. Delicious entertaining made easy with these Manchego Cheese, Ham and Olive Bites. An easy appetizer for the busy holiday season.
Sometimes it’s the simplest things that taste the best – with minimal intervention. Take this simple bite size dish; Manchego Cheese, Serrano Ham, and Castelvetrano Olives as the simplest of recipes with 3 ingredients and ready in about 10 minutes.
And what better time of year to let simple ingredients shine than over the holidays? Everyone has a hundred other tasks to complete around the holidays; why add another time-consuming one?
Every year we host a holiday party and this year I want more hands off, easy to prepare, yet not short on flavours recipes to make. This one fit the bill nicely. All the ingredients compliment each other and come together in mere seconds. It’s almost a charcuterie board put together, almost.
I had my kids try this just to see how it would go. Totally hilarious, but not huge fans. They both ate the meat, one tried the cheese (didn’t like it), and they both partially chewed the olive before spitting it out.
I didn’t like olives until recently myself and my husband claims to be “allergic” to them so it looks like I get to eat the entire board of these by myself.
I’m thinking these ingredients could also make a killer grilled cheese with crispy ham and chopped olives. Something to try for lunch over the weekend.
I swayed from the full Spanish theme slightly with the olives to suit my own preferences, but if you’re keen on a full Spanish appetizer the Manzanilla olives are your jam.
If you can’t find or don’t like Serrano ham, prosciutto is a fantastic substitute.
A few more easy appetizer recipes and finger food ideas:
- Mini Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Dip
- Endive Beet Bites
- Hot (Medjool) Dates
- 10 Best Make Ahead Holiday Appetizer
Sometimes the simplest foods make the best recipes. Delicious entertaining made easy with these Manchego Cheese, Ham and Olive Bites. An easy appetizer for the busy holiday season.
- 225 grams (1/2 lbs) manchego cheese
- 200 grams (2/3 lbs) thinly sliced serrano ham (or prosciutto)
- 25-30 olives Castelvetrano or variety of your preference
- 25-30 small toothpicks
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Cut cheese into cubes about 1/2" x 1/2". Rip ham into narrow strips and fold over onto itself.
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Top cheese cubes with ham and an olive, pierce with a toothpick and repeat until all ingredients are used up.
Enjoy! xo
Love these! So simple. My kids are crazy over olives, funny, huh?
Also, I want to come to your holiday party. π
Hop on that plane girl! We’d love to have you at our party π Did your kids always love olives? I’m going to try my best to make them an “acquired taste”!
This is such a smart appetizer! Easy to assemble and easy to eat too! I’m pinning this for later.
Thank you! I really liked the easy to eat component – sometimes appetizers can be so messy and difficult to eat.
For sure! I hate when that happens, especially if you’re trying to eat standing up or you’re wearing something nice that you don’t want to spill on. Your appetizer is perfect for both of those instances π
Ha! Both of those situations routinely occur to me! I’m a bit clumsy so streamlined foods work well for me π
This appetizer made me thirsty for a glass of wine. All of my favorite things on a stick. I would make this for just myself on a Saturday night and eat it all. YUM!
That sounds like a terrific Saturday night! The bites would be good with wine … now I need to remake it π