This easy to make mozzarella-stuffed pull-apart dinner roll snowman is cheesy, herby, and scrumptiously savory. Served as centerpiece or starter it is festive, fun, and will disappear before you know it.
When it comes to Christmas, I’m all about recipes that feel special but don’t take me hours in the kitchen. That’s exactly why I love making this snowman cheesy pull apart bread. It looks so fun and festive on the table, but underneath it’s just simple bread dough, gooey cheese, and garlicky butter.
Every time I serve this cozy comfort food, it’s gone in minutes, kids, adults, everyone grabs a piece before I can even blink! Also loved is this Grinch Dip as well as this Christmas Tree Cheese Board.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Next Level
Here’s why this pull apart garlic bread has become a Christmas tradition for me:
- It’s festive and fun: A snowman made of bread? Instant smiles.
- It’s super simple: I don’t need fancy baking skills, just some dough and cheese and a few extras.
- It’s affordable: I can easily throw this together with pantry staples.
- It’s shareable: A centerpiece that doubles as food, yes please.
Ingredient Notes
Here’s what usually goes into my pull apart snowman bread, plus a few ideas of how I like to change it depending on what’s in the fridge/freezer:
- Bread dough: I prefer to use frozen yeast dinner rolls but store-bought or rolls work just if I’m short on time. I used Rhodes brand frozen yeast dinner rolls for this recipe. You can use whichever brand of frozen dinner rolls or bread dough that you prefer.
- Cheese: Mozzarella is my go-to choice since it melts so perfectly, but I often mix in cheddar and parmesan or what I’ve got to hand. Cube mozzarella for easier handling and melting.
- Garlicky herby butter: I always mix up a quick herby garlic butter with (unsalted melted butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper) to brush over the bread, for all the flavor. If using salted butter, omit the added salt. Swap in oregano, chili flakes etc
- Snowman details: Use whatever you have. Feel free to try Black olives for eyes and buttons, or cut cherry tomatoes for the buttons, a little carrot nose, red or even yellow pepper slices for the scarf, rosemary sprigs for the hands etc. Make it as silly and festive as you like.
- Sauce: I like serving this with pizza sauce but marinara sauce works too.
- Extras: On a fun day, I’ll tuck in pepperoni or sprinkle on Parmesan.
How To Make Garlicky Cheesy Pull Apart Bread
Grab all your ingredients and let’s make this treat. Get the complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.
- Arrange your frozen dinner rolls about ½ inch-apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brush rolls with some olive oil, then cover with plastic wrap or cheesecloth, and set aside for 30 minutes to thaw and rise to twice their original size.
- Preheat your oven to 350⁰ F and line another large (full) sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Take a portion of dinner roll dough and flatten it to a disk about ½-inch thick in your hand and place a cube of mozzarella in the center of the disk.
- Pull the sides of the dough up and around the cheese and seal into a ball shape and place the stuffed ball of dough onto your prepared baking sheet, seam down.
- Repeat the process with the remaining rolls and mozzarella, then shape the stuffed dough balls into a snowman silhouette.
- Brush the beaten egg yolk over the tops of the rolls and bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown on top and the cheese is melted inside.
- Mix together the melted butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and brush the butter mixture over the tops of the rolls while still hot.
- Garnish with slices of bell pepper to look like a scarf, sliced cherry tomatoes (cut-side up) to look like buttons, and rosemary sprigs to resemble arms, if desired.
- Serve this cheesy bread warm with pizza sauce for dipping.
Bintu’s Recipe Tips
I’ve made this Cheesy Christmas Tree Pull Apart Bread enough times to know that these tips and tricks make a big difference:
- Don’t overstuff the cheese to avoid it leaking out.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat leftovers in the oven at 325⁰ until the cheese is melted and the rolls are heated throughout.
More Festive Recipes
Love festive treats? Then check out these other recipes too.
- Reindeer Pretzels.
- Ninja Creami Gingerbread Ice Cream.
- Grinch Dip.
- Christmas Tree Cheese Board.
- Easy Brie Appetizers.
Serving Suggestions
This is best served warm, straight from the oven.
- Serve simply with pizza sauce, marina sauce, aioli or a garlic sauce.
- Serve this along with some of your favorite soups like Tomato Soup and Cabbage Roll Soup.
- Serve it alongside dips like hummus, Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip and Spinach Dip Christmas Tree.
Did you make this recipe? Then I would love to hear how it turned out. Please leave a comment and star rating below. And I really appreciate you sharing this recipe with your family and friends. Enjoy every mouthful 😊🍲 – Bintu
Get The Christmas Cheesy Pull Apart Bread Recipe
Snowman Cheesy Pull Apart Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20-24 frozen yeast dinner rolls
- 8 ounces (225g) cubed mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg yolk beaten
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ black pepper
- For garnish:
- Fresh rosemary sprigs
- Slices of red bell pepper 12-inch wide x 3 inches long
- Sliced cherry tomatoes
- For serving:
- 8 ounces pizza sauce
Instructions
- Arrange your frozen dinner rolls about ½ inch-apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brush rolls with some olive oil, then cover with plastic wrap or cheesecloth, and set aside for 30 minutes to thaw and rise to twice their original size.
- Preheat your oven to 350⁰ F and line another large (full) sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Take a portion of dinner roll dough and flatten it to a disk about ½-inch thick in your hand and place a cube of mozzarella in the center of the disk.
- Pull the sides of the dough up and around the cheese and seal into a ball shape and place the stuffed ball of dough onto your prepared baking sheet, seam down.
- Repeat the process with the remaining rolls and mozzarella, then shape the stuffed dough balls into a snowman silhouette.
- Brush the beaten egg yolk over the tops of the rolls and bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown on top and the cheese is melted inside.
- Mix together the melted butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and brush the butter mixture over the tops of the rolls while still hot.
- Garnish with slices of bell pepper to look like a scarf, sliced cherry tomatoes (cut-side up) to look like buttons, and rosemary sprigs to resemble arms, if desired.
- Serve this cheesy bread warm with pizza sauce for dipping.
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