No-bake savory cups

Name: No-bake savory cups
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Taralli (Round breadsticks) 2.5 oz; Philadelphia cream cheese Light 1 ½ cup; Sun-dried tomatoes in oil 1.1 oz; Peeled almonds 0.7 oz; Grated cheese 0.7 oz; Garlic 1 clove; Basil to taste; Pistachios to taste; Basil to taste

Difficulty: Very easy
Prep time: 30 min
Serving: 6
Cost: Average

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PRESENTATION

No-Bake Savory Cups are a three-layer Italian appetizer built for summer buffets and aperitivo spreads: crumbled taralli form a crunchy base inside each transparent cup, a soft spreadable cheese cream goes in next, and the whole thing is finished with a rustic pesto of sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, and basil. The transparent cups do real work here — the layers stay visible through the sides, turning a straightforward assembly into something occasion-ready at a glance.

Because taralli are firm and pleasantly salty on their own, they hold their texture in the base rather than dissolving under the cheese, which keeps each bite distinct. The sun-dried tomato and almond pesto skips the traditional basil-and-pine-nut formula entirely, leaning into a deeper, more concentrated flavor that balances the cool cream beneath it — and since nothing goes near a stovetop or oven, the whole thing comes together on the counter, component by component.

INGREDIENTS

For 6 small cups (capacity 65 ml / about 2.2 fl oz): Taralli (Round breadsticks) 2.5 oz (70 g); Philadelphia cream cheese 1 ½ cup (350 g) - Light; Sun-dried tomatoes in oil 1.1 oz (30 g); Peeled almonds 0.7 oz (20 g); Grated cheese 0.7 oz (20 g); Garlic 1 clove; Basil to taste

To garnish: Pistachios to taste; Basil to taste

Preparation

How to prepare No-bake savory cups

To prepare the no-bake savory cups, first crumble the taralli with your hands 1 to coarsely break them up 2. Pour the crumbled taralli into 6 transparent cups with a capacity of 65 ml (about 2.2 fl oz) 3.

Set them aside and move on to the other ingredients: finely chop the garlic after removing the inner sprout 4, then chop the almonds 5 and the sun-dried tomatoes 6.

In a large bowl add the garlic and the almonds 7, then add the basil leaves torn by hand 8 and the grated cheese 9.

Also add the sun-dried tomatoes 10 and mix well 11 to combine the ingredients so as to obtain a coarse pesto 12.

Now take the cups again and fill them with the Philadelphia Light spreadable cheese 13. Level the surface with the back of a teaspoon 14 and distribute the sun-dried tomato pesto on top 15.