Cheese Ball
Try this fantastic cheese ball for the perfect appetizer and charcuterie board essential. Whether for the holiday season or game day appetizers, you’ve got a sure winner. A creamy spread loaded with a delicious blend of cheeses and bacon, then rolled in crunchy nuts! It’s straightforward and fun to make (and to eat).
Every time the holidays come around, my family asks me if I’m going to make a cheese ball for Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Honestly, I don’t always wait for the holidays. Any excuse to throw this thing together will do nicely.
It takes less than 30 minutes for an addictive, flavorful, and versatile spread to ring in the New Year, picnics, you name it. Cheese makes everything better, right?
Which Cheeses Make the Best Ball
A blend of a soft cheese and a harder cheese that you can grate gives you creaminess plus bits to bite into for interesting texture and flavors. Cream cheese is traditional, but Brie and ricotta work. For the harder cheese, sharp cheddar is the usual, but Gruyere, Manchego, fontina, and Monterey Jack are all good choices. Have fun playing with flavors!
How to Make a Cheese Ball
- Fry the bacon until brown and crispy, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Combine half of the bacon, the pecans, and 2 tablespoons of parsley in a small bowl and set aside.
- Beat cream cheese, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, and remaining bacon and parsley on medium-high until well combined and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. (Photos 1-2)
- Shape the mixture into a ball and roll it in the prepared bacon-pecan mixture. (Photos 3-4)
Tips and Notes
- Make sure your cheese ball isn’t going to be at room temperature for more than two hours. If guests are late, put it back in the fridge until they get there.
- Soften the cream cheese at room temperature before mixing. Then chill the finished mixture for easier rolling.
Instructions for Making Ahead
Make the cheese ball without rolling it in the nuts, wrap it in plastic wrap, then in foil. Store the coating separately in an airtight container. It will last for a month or two in the freezer or a week or two in the fridge, as long as you use fresh ingredients. Coat it in the bacon-nut mixture right before serving so it doesn’t get soggy.
How to Serve a Cheese Ball
A personalized charcuterie board is perfect. Add chips (tortilla, pita, taro, etc.), vegetable sticks, and bagels (make your own bagel chips).
More Easy Charcuterie Board Ideas
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”GFxRtKjn” upload-date=”2020-12-30T08:00:00.000Z” name=”Cheese Ball” description=”This CHEESE BALL is a perfect appetizer to serve especially this holiday season. A creamy dip loaded with various types of cheeses, bacon, and rolled in crunchy nuts and bacon bits! It may look complicated, but it’s so easy and fun to make.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
This blog post was originally published in December 2020 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Cheese Ball Recipe
Ingredients
- 3-4 strips bacon
- 1 cup (120g) pecans, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon (4g) chopped fresh parsley
- 2 green onions, chopped and divided
- 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (112g) freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese,
- ¼ cup (56g) mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon (5g) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon (4g) onion powder
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) dried oregano
- 1-2 cranks freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon (5g) hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon (5g) Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then fry the chopped bacon until brown and crispy, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- In a small bowl, combine half of the bacon, the pecans, the parsley, and half of the green onions, and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, remaining bacon and green onion, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, black pepper, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce on a medium-high speed until well combined and creamy, 1-2 minutes.
- Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. Shape the mixture into a ball and roll it in the prepared bacon-pecan mixture.
- Serve with crackers, crudites, veggie sticks, or chips.
Tips & Notes:
- Almost any nut works if you don’t have pecans—almonds, walnuts, etc.
- Divide the cheese mixture into smaller balls when serving a few people. That way, you can keep the spares in the fridge and refill the platter as needed without worrying about it being at room temperature too long.
- Feel free to replace the mayonnaise with sour cream or yogurt.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional data is a guesstimate and varies depending on the ingredients used.
This was absolutely delicious! I didn’t have mayonnaise so subbed sour cream, and I left out the bacon for a vegetarian guest. Still wonderful, easy to make, and highly addictive! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Thank you for sharing those substitutions, Nina. And I’m happy it still turned out great for you.
Can I substitute the mayonnaise with anything, like yoghurt?
Yes you can.