Sun-dried Tomato Blue Cheese Spread is rich, creamy and bursting with bold flavor! With only three ingredients, it’s a simple, no-cook appetizer that can be made in mere minutes to delight guests who drop by unexpectedly – or to just satisfy your everyday snacking needs!
This blue cheese and tomato spread is also a flavorful addition to any charcuterie tray, cheese board, and snack tray for low-carb summer entertaining.
Other serving suggestions for this creamy spread is to stir into warm pasta or veggies for an irresistible sauce. Additionally, a dollop of leftover creamy sun-dried tomato spread on a baked potato or over a plain grilled chicken breast creates “next level” yumminess.
The simplicity of this easy blue cheese spread with sundried tomatoes is legit – I mean, it’s REALLY EASY. Almost embarrassingly so, lol! Soften cream cheese and stir in blue cheese crumbles and sun-dried tomato pesto until mostly creamy (but I do like a few little lumps of the blue cheese to remain). Use a little spatula to transfer to a serving dish – the recipe yields enough to fill a 5 or 6-oz standard ramekin. If you want to get fancy, you can garnish with a sprig of fresh basil!
The first time I made this, I CHOPPED oil-packed sundried tomatoes by hand . . . but quickly realized that I could just purchase a sundried tomato pesto and save so much time and mess. Do what you prefer – just don’t use the dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes though – they don’t add as much flavor and incorporate as well into the spread.
As I hinted, this recipe is low carb by nature – use full-fat cream cheese (which I did) if you are looking for a Keto cheese spread with the lowest possible carb yields. Each serving of this easy keto appetizer (about ½ ounce) has 46 calories, 4.4g fat, 0.6g carbohydrate and 1.4g protein.
Soften cream cheese and blue cheese on counter for 15 minutes. Mix together cheese along with pesto in bowl until mostly smooth, but some lumps of the blue cheese is wanted. Keep chilled until serving.
Serve with crackers or bread. Also great melted into warm veggies, noodles or a spoonful dolloped on a baked potato or over a simple grilled chicken breast or steak.
Fresh blackberries, yum! Nothing says toes-in-grass summer dessert more than a berry tart and that’s what I did with a recent windfall of plump, juicy blackberries!
My Paleo Blackberry Almond Tart is also gluten-free, vegan-friendly, made lower carb with some sweetener swaps. It’s a healthy berry dessert recipe that fits with so many dietary eating patterns!
Blackberries are rich in antioxidants, fiber, and a variety of other health promoting nutrients. If this, plus their sweet taste, isn’t enough motivation to eat them, check out the blackberry macros: just 6.1g of carbs 0.7g of fat, and 61.9 calories (plus, surprise – 2g protein)!
This is a super simple recipe, and starts with super-fine ground almond flour and coconut flour crust made without dairy, egg, or high calorie sweeteners (instead I used granulated Monk Fruit sweetener to moderate the carbohydrates and make it a (not LOW) but lower carb blackberry tart).
After baking the crust in an 11” Tart Pan, the fresh berries are simple tossed with a little more sugar substitute along with lemon juice and lemon zest. It’s popped back into the oven for 30 minutes until the berries are nearly bursting with juices.
Best served warm, as is – or with the creamy topping of your choice. I used a non-dairy yogurt mixed with lemon curd.
Each serving of this Paleo Blackberry Tart has 309 calories, 22g fat, 24g net carb (39 total with 15g fiber), and about 7g protein.
Do you have a favorite healthy berry dessert or Paleo blackberry recipe?! Please share – in need inspo for the rest of my fresh blackberries (which, BTW, were about $0.80 per pound where I picked them up!!!! A super deal!)
Also, another perfect blackberry recipe for summer entertaining: Skinny Blackberry Nectarine Margaritas!
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BLACKBERRY ALMOND TART (PALEO, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN, LOWER CARB)
Prep Time
10mins
Cook Time
40mins
Total Time
50mins
This delicious berry recipe is simple and perfect for summer entertaining!
Course:
Dessert
Keyword:
blackberry, blueberry, gluten free, paleo, tart
Servings: 8servings
Calories: 309kcal
Ingredients
1 ½cupsuper fine almond flour
½cupcoconut flour
1/3cupcup-for-cup sugar substitutelike Monk fruit or stevia
¼tspbaking soda
¼tspsalt
½tspground cinnamon
1/3cupcoconut oilmelted
½tspvanilla extract
4 to 5cupsfresh blackberries
¼cupcup-for-cup sugar substitutelike Monk fruit or Stevia
1tablespoonfresh lemon juice
2ouncestoasted almond slivers
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Mix together dry ingredients: almond flour, coconut flour, sugar substitute, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon. Mix in coconut oil and vanilla. Mixture will be crumbly, use hands to shape into ball.
Set ball into middle of non-stick tart pan (11”) and press down and around with fingers until flattened and going up sides of tart pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until turning golden on top.
While crust baking, in bowl toss together blackberries, sugar substitute, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Remove crust from oven and pour fresh berry mixture over rust. Return to oven and bake for 30 to 35 additional minutes, or until fruit starts to bubble.
Remove at top with toasted almond slivers. Serve warm.
Winner, winner easy fish dinner! Pan-seared Lingcod with Creamy Burst Tomato Sauce is brilliantly delicious, so easy to make, low-carb on its own, but a family favorite with that creamy sauce sliding over into rice, potatoes or noodles. I’ve noticed that even the non-fish fans in my family are licking the plate!
This easy fish recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make and is perfect for quick, weeknight meals – but also snazzy enough to serve on a special occasion.
I used mild, white lingcod from Sitka Salmon Shares for this skillet fish recipe (it reminds me a lot of halibut). This fisherman’s co-op reels in the BEST wild Alaskan seafood (salmon, cod, sablefish, king crab, and more) and ships it straight to your door, it’s been my go-to fish source now for two years. Visit them at sitkasalmonshares.com and use my code FITFORK to save $25 on a premium share!
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Other firm white fish will work too like halibut, cod, pollock, haddock, and such. It’s really up to your preference. Pan sauté skinless filets that have been seasoned simply with salt and pepper. After just cooked through, remove from skillet temporarily while making the sauce.
The sauce is fresh and simple. In the same unwashed skillet that the fish was cooked in, add whole grapes and sauté until they start to pop. Then finish bursting tomatoes with a fork – piercing the skin to let the juices out and then mashing down before, pouring in a little veggie stock to deglaze the pan. Season this sauce for the lingcod fish recipe with garlic, Italian seasoning and a little paprika – then stir in some heavy cream to give this sauce that rich and luxurious mouthfeel.
Gently add back in the cooked fish, spoon sauce over top of filets to coat and sprinkle with chopped fresh basil.
Oooh la-la-la, lemon! Low-carb Lemon Coconut Bites are a quick, no-bake treat to make that taste just like little morsels of creamy cheesecake.
Sublimely sweet-tart, low-carb and suitable for keto and gluten-free diets, these two-bite dessert bites are easier to manage portion size than slicing a wedge from the whole lemon cheesecake. Only 108 calories, 9g fat, 2.2g net carb, 5g protein per lemon coconut ball.
https://bit.ly/GreatLakesWellnessI incorporated lemon-lime collagen powder from Great Lakes Gelatin as a way to add protein, keep the carb count low and “dough” firm enough for shaping into balls. Plus, I get a boost from al the health benefits of collagen. As an older athlete, I use it for joint support and workout recovery, but also appreciate all the extra benefits it brings to hair, skin, nails . . . and even sleep.
Keep Low-carb Lemon Coconut Bites are as easy as mixing up a few easy ingredients, rolling into balls, and storing in the fridge to snack on whenever the urge for something sweet comes on (they are sugar free)! Just a tiny bit of turmeric is the secret ingredient that gives a natural yellow color!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links (don’t forget to use my Great Lakes Gelatin Discount Code). I may make a small commission from generated sales, but price to you remains the same. Thank you!
A two-bite treat that is friendly for keto and gluten-free diets — creamy, citrusy and easy-peasy to make! Incorporates collagen powder for extra protein and wellness benefits.
Mix together cream cheese and sour cream until blended. Next stir in almond flour, coconut flour, collagen powder, and 2 tbsp. shredded coconut (sprinkle remainder of coconut on a plate. Now, place “dough” in fridge to firm up for 25 minutes. Remove and make approximate 1 tbsp. balls by rolling between clean hands. Then roll in coconut to stick on top, repeat with remaining dough. Makes 10. Store leftovers in air-tight container in fridge for up to 1 week.
Recipe Notes
*You can substitute plain unflavored collagen and add 10 -20 drops liquid stevia and ¼ tsp. lemon extract to the recipe instead.
Whether it’s football season, basketball season or summer break sitting out by the pool, we all want some tasty, easy-to-make snacks and beverages to tide us through the fun.
I decided to pay tribute to Texas Tech University, mainly due to a new Red Raider in the family this Fall (my youngest son) and also taking into account my husband and I are both graduates of this fine institution in Lubbock, just south of the Panhandle. Hit ‘em, Wreck ‘em, Texas Tech!!
Here’s the kid going to Texas Tech, shhh let’s not tell him Mom posted his photo here!
In just five minutes, I can whip together a non-alcoholic drink (Red Raiderade – a Michelada mocktail) and snack dip that the whole gang loves thanks to a few of my new favorite products. Keep reading for all the delicious deets!
First, let’s start with the drink Zero-AFB “Red Raiderade” – think of a Michelada mocktail or Ojo Rojo that is alcohol free and you get the idea, but lighter, fewer calories and no hangover. These types of tomato beer drinks are so popular in Texas and so refreshing with a spicy bite! Instead of a Mexican beer though, I just substitute unsweetened sparkling water with lime or lemon flavor in my non-alcoholic Michelada version. This sparkling water, along fresh juice of a lime, Clamato juice and a splash of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce are all poured over ice in a tall pint glass – and I garnish the glass edges with Tajin!
Speaking of pint glasses, I’m feeling super school spirited with College Town Glassware from Well and Told. Get a pair of classic pint glasses printed with the map of your favorite college town – I picked Lubbock for Texas Tech University, but there are lots of choice from around the country.
Now, for snacks in a snap, you can’t go wrong with crackers and cream cheese spread – that easy-peasy classic preparation of opening a brick of cream cheese and pouring preserves over the top. However, instead of my typical Jalapeno jam, I found these fabulous “everything sauces” from Ricante – made in Costa Rica and now all over the U.S. (look for them in Whole Foods or on Amazon). There are four different choices in this line up of spicy tropical sauces (which are friendly for keto, gluten-free and Whole30 diets).
Use them for dipping, marinating, salad dressing and reducing/glazing with meats – I chose the Tropical Pineapple Habanero Infused Everything Sauce and just doused it right over the cream cheese and then dumped on extra diced pineapple and crumbled bacon. Pineapple Bacon Cream Cheese Dip will make you feel very tropical and no worries! It’s SO GOOD with veggies sticks or crackers.
And speaking of crackers, I don’t set out crappy crackers for my 5 minute party prep – lol! Only the best stuff for me, the family and lucky guests — I like to serve Top Seedz Crackers. Top Seeds Crackers are SO DELISH are were created by Rebecca, an avid traveler and sports competitor, who knows first-hand (as do I) that healthy eating influences with way we live and feel in our bodies. She insists on good, natural ingredients like roasted seeds that are naturally vitamin and mineral dense with other important nutrients to fuel an active lifestyle like fiber and protein. I just adore these roasted seed crackers, so crunchy, satisfying, and flavorful (several options)– they really tide me over!
So anyway, cheers to your favorite college, sports team, season of the year or WHATEVER – and drinking and snacking responsibly and with good health in mind! What are your favorite tips for quick entertaining and putting together 5 minute party prep?
Also I encourage you to stay up with the latest healthy eating inspo and entertaining ideas by visit these amazing companies on Instagram @WellToldDesign@RicanteHotSauce@TopSeedz
This post is sponsored by the aforementioned companies and also contains Amazon affiliate links.
