This vegetarian celery snack recipe is crunchy, fresh, and stuffed with a healthy filling of mascarpone cheese, herbs, garlic, and lemon! If you’re wondering what to eat with celery sticks, you have to try this winning combo that’s also low-carb and gluten-free. Make it for a party appetizer or just to munch on at home.
Ants on a log are delicious and all, but how about some more adventurous fillings for celery?! If you’re game to try a new kind of celery snack, I have the recipe for you. (See also my Buffalo Chickpea Stuffed Celery Sticks).
The filling for this stuffed celery is made with a base of mascarpone cheese (instead of cream cheese). For flavor, I mixed in herbs, lemon zest and juice, and garlic. All these fresh ingredients combined with the refreshing crunch of celery really makes for a satisfying snack or appetizer.
Another great aspect of this recipe is the short prep time. You don’t have to turn on your oven, and if you really want to save time, you can prep the filling in advance and pipe it into some celery sticks when you’re ready. But don’t let the short ingredient list and prep time fool you. Mascarpone stuffed celery totally feels fancy and elegant!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Celery: Use the freshest celery you can for maximum crunch! This recipe won’t be as good with limp celery.
- Mascarpone cheese: This creamy cheese is available at most grocery stores. If necessary, you can substitute crème fraîche, cream cheese mixed with a little heavy cream, or whipped ricotta cheese.
- Fresh dill and parsley: These two herbs work especially well for a celery snack filling, but you could substitute other fresh herbs such as thyme, basil, mint, or tarragon.
- Lemon zest and juice: Orange or lime zest and juice would also work, but lemon gives the best flavor.
- Garlic: I use fresh garlic but you could use about ½ teaspoon of garlic powder instead.
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
The full recipe card, with the ingredient quantities and instructions for making this celery snack, is at the bottom of the post. Use the following photos to help guide you in the kitchen.
Cut celery into wide sticks that can be stuffed. See my tutorial for more tips on How to Cut Celery.
Prepare the chopped fresh herbs and lemon zest.
In a measuring cup, combine the mascarpone cheese, fresh herbs, lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined.
Stuff the celery sticks with the filling. You can use a knife or spoon, but for best results, pipe the filling into the sticks. I use a plastic bag to make a makeshift piper. Spoon the filling into the bag, seal tightly, and push the filling down towards one corner of the bag. Cut a small hole in the corner to pipe the cheese mixture through into the celery sticks!
Storage
Serve your celery snack right away. You can also prep this recipe up to 24 hours in advance. Store in an airtight container. Seal tightly and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. If you have leftovers, they should last for a couple more days stored in the same way in the fridge.
Serving
If desired, you can serve the stuffed sticks with a drizzle of honey. They would also taste delicious with dried fruit sprinkled on top, such as raisins or dried cranberries.
More Celery Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Celery Snack with Herbed Mascarpone
Ingredients
- 4 large ribs celery - more if needed
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Trim and wash the celery. Cut each rib into 3 wide pieces. You should have 12 celery pieces to stuff. If you have short or narrow ribs of celery, you may need to cut up more to use up all the filling.
- Make the filling. In a measuring cup or bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese, lemon zest and juice, garlic, chopped fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. You should have about 8 tablespoons of filling, which equates to 24 teaspoons and 2 teaspoons of filling per each of your 12 celery stiicks.
- Stuff the celery. You can use a spoon or knife to put the filling into each celery stick, but for best results, pipe the filling. I use a plastic Ziploc bag for a makeshift piping bag. Spoon the cheese filling into the bag, seal tightly, and push the filling towards one corner of the bag. Use kitchen scissors to cut a small hole at that corner. Pipe about 2 teaspoons of filling into each celery stick.
- Assemble the stuffed celery onto a serving tray. Enjoy!
- Leave a rating or review by tapping the stars on this recipe card (above) or in the comments section (at the end of the post)!
Notes
- Serve the stuffed celery right away or make it up to 24 hours in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. After serving, if you still have leftovers, you can put them back in the fridge and they should last for a couple more days.
- Feel free to mix up the herbs you use or add other ingredients. A drizzle of honey or a piece of dried fruit on each stick would be delicious!
Nutrition
Enjoy! – Lizzie
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