Blue cheese stuffed celery is a blast from the past. This recipe is from my mother-in-law who has been making it at holiday gatherings for as long as I can remember.
Once again, these are easy appetizers or great protein packed snacks for on-the-go. Ready in a few minutes with very little effort but bursting with flavor.
Ingredients For Blue Cheese Stuffed Celery
It’s just 4 ingredients and 15 minutes of time. The celery stuffed sticks last for up to a week in the refrigerated, covered of course.
Fresh celery. I like to buy the celery with leaves still attached. It looks pretty and the leaves taste great. You can also chop them up for garnish.
Blue cheese. There are LOTS of varieties of blue cheese. Some good mild blue cheeses to try would be Danish Blue, Gorgonzola or my favorite Point Reyes. A little stronger would be Stilton and the strongest blue cheese would be Maytag or Roquefort. All of these types of blue cheese (except maybe Point Reyes) are readily available at most stores.
Pecans. I used pecans because it’s what I had in my freezer (yes, you should store your opened bags of nuts in the freezer to keep them from getting rancid). But walnuts or even almonds would be a nice substitution.
You’ll have some people that don’t care for nuts, so I leave the nuts off some of the blue cheese dip stuffed celery sticks.
Sour cream. You can substitute with plain Greek yogurt. The yogurt has a little different taste but is good. Regular yogurt is too thin.
Dijon mustard. This is the mustard I prefer. My mother-in-law (where I got the recipe) uses whatever mustard she has on hand. From regular yellow mustard to country grain brown mustard.
How To Make Blue Cheese Stuffed Celery
Just mix the blue cheese, sour cream and mustard, fill the celery logs and top with chopped walnuts or pecans. Adult “Ants On A Log”!
The blue cheese will mix better at room temperature. Crumble the cheese, then mix in the other ingredients with a fork. It will take a little elbow grease to get the blue cheese dip smooth and creamy.
After washing the celery, I prefer to cut it on an angle (just for looks) into about 3” logs. When you get to the end with the leaves it’s nice to leave them on. Not just for looks but the leaves are tasty too, very tender.
Others like to keep the celery stick full length. It really depends on your audience and how you are serving the blue cheese dip stuffed celery. Meaning as an appetizer tray for a party then I would go for the smaller celery logs. If you have teenagers or men they often prefer the full length celery stick and eat it like Bugs Bunny does a carrot.
Sometimes the crevice for the celery is so tiny it’s hard to get the blue cheese dip into the stick. See picture above. If so cut the celery stick lengthwise in half and mound the blue cheese dip on top of it.
Another great way to serve the blue cheese dip stuffed celery is in 1” bite size pieces. This makes for great finger food. The bite size pieces are easier to eat as a protein packed on-the-go snack.
What Can I Use The Blue Cheese Dip For?
My favorite is blue cheese dip stuffed celery. You can also top crackers or toasted crostini for an elegant appetizer. Drizzle a little honey over the blue cheese dip for a sweet surprise.
Or slice some cucumbers, sprinkle with some kosher salt and then top with blue cheese dip and nuts or other toppings. You can also use sliced apple or pear slices as your vehicle for the blue cheese dip.
Instead of the nuts and / or in addition to the nuts you can add diced pears, apples, cucumber, figs, grapes or craisins into the blue cheese dip or as a topping.
How To Make Blue Cheese Stuffed Celery As An On-The-Go Snack
A plastic or glass container is better than a baggie which can get messy because of the cheese.
Or make an edible container using French bread as a bowl. Cut the French bread in about 5” lengths, cut in half horizontally, dig out some of the soft inner bread (discard). Put a tablespoon or two of blue cheese dip in the well. Place celery and carrot sticks in the blue cheese dip, with the ends sticking out of the bread. This makes it less messy to eat and easy to eat on-the-go.
How To Store Blue Cheese Stuffed Celery
Storing the blue cheese dip in its own container and then using another container for the celery or other vegetables like carrots keeps everything tidy. Especially if you have crackers which will get soggy if you spread the blue cheese dip on them before packaging. Besides, it’s more fun to dip your food!
Blue cheese dip stuffed celery will keep in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. The blue cheese dip can be stored in the celery logs or in its own container. If using the bread bowl idea, then it’s better to do that last minute or the bread will get soggy.
Adult Ants On A Log Blue Cheese Stuffed Celery
Blue cheese stuffed celery is a great on-the-go protein snack. Only 4 ingredients and 15 minutes and stores for up to a week.
Ingredients
- 10 stalks celery
- 5 ounces blue cheese, room temperature see notes for types of blue cheese
- 5 tablespoons sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or yellow mustard
- 10 medium pecans, optional chopped
- 1 pinch paprika for color
Instructions
-
Wash and dry the celery. You can keep the celery leaves attached to the stalks or even chop the leaves for garnish.
Leave the celery sticks in full length or cut into 3″ appetizer lengths or 1″ bite size lengths. Cut on an angle for “looks”.
-
Crumble the blue cheese (room temperature is easier to crumble). With a fork add and mix in the sour cream and Dijon mustard. Mix until smooth.
-
If using nuts, chop into small pieces.
-
Fill the celery sticks with the blue cheese dip. A knife will help get the dip into the thin crevices of the celery.
-
Sprinkle with paprika for color.
Recipe Notes
Types of blue cheese: On the mild end you have Danish blue and Gorgonzola, then Stilton and then the stronger blue cheeses are Maytag and Roquefort.
How to cut the celery: Some people like the full length celery sticks and eat it like Bugs Bunny. For an appetizer tray the 3″ length is nice. And for kids or adults like me that don’t want to be gnawing on a long stick, cut into small finger food 1″ pieces. I like it this way when I take them to work, a little more civilized!
1″ pieces are best if taking these blue cheese celery sticks on-the-go.
This reminds me of what my grandmother used to make.
These remind me of what my grandmother used to make.
It’s a classic!
I love the on the go idea and the bite size serving. Going on my holiday “bring an appetizer” go to bring! Thanks!
We have them every Christmas gathering. Enjoy!