Looking for a great vegan/vegetarian/dairy-free appetizer option for the holidays? Try my easy, fast, delicious "Cheesy" Vegan Tomato Pesto Bites! I partnered with Daiya Foods for this sponsored post - and you can also enter to win a Panini Press plus $75 worth of coupons for Daiya Foods!
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.
Daiya Foods
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 improved Daiya 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
"Cheesy" Vegan Tomato Pesto Bites
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 Daiya slices 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! 
Vegan Tomato Pesto Bites recipe
“Cheesy” Vegan Tomato Pesto Bites
Ingredients
- 8 slices white or wheat bread
- 4 Daiya Cheddar Style Slices
- 4 Daiya Swiss Style Slices
- 1 jar pesto
- 1 jar sun-dried tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Using a circle cookie cutter or pastry cutter, cut out 2 circles from each slice of bread
- Using the same circle cutter, cut out circles from the Daiya slices
- Top each slice of bread with one Daiya circle slice, then top with about a teaspoon of pesto sauce, followed by a teaspoon of sun-dried tomatoes.
- Place each appetizer bite onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, just until the slices have melted.
- Serve immediately.
Enter to Win
ENTER TO WIN: Simply follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter widget below starting with leaving a blog comment. Then you also have several options for additional contest entries.
PRIZE: A Panini Press and $75 worth of coupons for Daiya product (value $115)
DEADLINE: Friday December 16 11:59pm
WHO IS ELIGIBLE: Must be 18+ years or older, and have a physical mailing address on the continental US to enter to win.
12 DAYS OF HOLIDAY GIVEAWAYS
DEC 1 – ENTER TO WIN: 4-pack of tickets to ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo
DEC 2 – A one-year supply worth of Oregon Fruit Product’s Pourable Fruit + Le Creuset bakeware
DEC 3 – A super cool Truly Pawsome pet subscription box
DEC 4 – Bacon lover’s giveaway package: win Smithfield Bacon for a Year ($416 value)
DEC 5 – Some of my favorite new travel bags and accessories!
DEC 6 – Travel Bliss giveaway package
DEC 7 – Wine & Beer Bliss giveaway package
DEC 8 – Foodie Tech Lover’s Giveaway: Verizon Ellipsis 10 tablet ($299 value)
DEC 9 – Food Bliss Giveaway: Panini Press + $75 worth of Daiya product coupons
DEC 10 – Kid Bliss Giveaway Package
DEC 11 – Savory Food Bliss Giveaway Package
DEC 12 – Sweet Food Bliss Giveaway Package
Be sure to check UrbanBlissLife.com daily to find out the awesome specific prizes that I will be giving away each day! Or, better yet, subscribe to receive daily posts in your email so that you don’t miss a single post!
