There are a lot of cheese ball recipes out there but these Quick and Delicious Cheese Ball Recipes are my favorite ones.
When I was growing up I always remember the cheese balls.
But they were never homemade like the cookies. They came from Hickory Farms. And all the ones premade have so many things we don’t need like tons of sodium.
Well I started making my own and they are quick easy and delicious.
When my granddaughter was little we’d make this. And serve with a veggie tray and a few crackers.
I call this GaGa’s traditional
Cheese Ball
8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice (I used 1/2 a lemon)
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (be sure to use vegetarian if you’re feeding vegetarians)
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
2 scallions, minced
1/6cup asparagus chopped fine optional
3 Tablespoons Of chopped chives
1/3 cup pecans, chopped fine.
veggies or crackers for serving
Prepare all ingredients, This is easiest to make if you let your cream cheese come to room temperature before you start. It’ll make the mixing easier, but you should be able to mix it no matter what.
Combine your cheeses in a medium bowl.
Make sure to mince the veggies finely so there aren’t any huge chunks.
Toss those into the mix.
Next, add all the spices! Remember that Worcestershire sauce isn’t vegetarian.
It has anchovies in it!
So if you have vegetarian guests you can use the veggie version which tastes almost identical in my opinion.
Stir this all together really well.
Rolling the ball
If you’re lazy, you could just use the dip like this and spread it onto crackers right out of the bowl, but if you like a good presentation then chop a couple handfuls of pecans and roll the cheese ball out in the pecans so it forms a tight round ball.
I think it tastes best if you let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two to set up but it’s definitely not essential. And it’s still delicious
If you eat it right away.
Makes 1 cheeseball.
Mexican Cheese Ball
Servings: 12
Ingredients
2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (4-oz) can of Old El Paso diced green chiles, drained
1 (1-oz) package Old El Paso taco seasoning
1/4 cup sliced green onions (about 2 green onions)
1 small half handful cilantro chopped optional
1 teaspoon lime juice or lemon if you don’t like lime
1 cup crushed tortilla chips (about 3 cups whole)
Tortillas chips and sliced red and green bell pepper for serving
Instructions
In a bowl or a food processor, add the cream cheese, shredded cheese, diced green chilies, taco seasoning, green onions, and lime juice.
Mix well until ingredients are completely combined.
Line a bowl with plastic wrap. Spoon the mixture on top of the plastic wrap and wrap completely forming a ball.
Chill in the fridge (or the freezer for faster chilling) for at least an hour until ball is firm.
In a food processor, crush chips until fine. Or place in a plastic bag and crush them if you don’t have a food processor
Unroll ball from plastic wrap and roll in the crushed chips.
Cut slices with a knife and serve with chips and bell peppers.
Recipe Notes
This can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer.
How to make a Show Stopper antipasto cheese ball christmas tree or wreath
1. To mould the tree out of your cream cheese dip, you’ll need to place a piece of plastic wrap down on your bench top first, then scoop out the prepared dip onto the plastic wrap.
2. Place another piece of plastic wrap over it to cover it and mould it with your hands until it forms a tree. Depending on the width of your plastic wrap, you may need a second piece to completely cover it so you don’t get dip all over your hands.
3. The cream cheese is more stable in a wider tree shape rather than a tall, thin tree. The taller tree folds over and collapses.
4. If you find your cream cheese has softened too much and won’t hold its shape, refrigerate it until it thickens again.
After you’ve moulded it, use a cake spatula or knife to smooth it out.
Then cover it completely wth antipasto ingredients! I used mixed olives and sun dried tomatoes for mine, and used a yellow bell pepper to cut out a star for the top!
THEN, for added flavour, brush over the olives with some sun dried tomato oil from the jar!
YUM!
Ingredients
For The Dip:
•4 cups cream cheese, softened
•1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
•1/2 cup red bell peppers diced
•1/3 cup dill pickles, finely diced
•1/4 cup chives, chopped
•1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
•1 tablespoon onion powder
•2 teaspoons garlic powder
•Salt, to taste (if desired) I never use salt
For The Decorations:
1 1/2 – 2 cups pitted mixed olives (I use a variety of black, green and Kalamata olives) — dried with paper towel
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (dried with paper towel)
Rosemary leaves/sprigs to decorate
Ritz, water crackers or pretzels for serving
Salami ,pepperoni,prosciutto sliced very thin for serving.
Instructions
1. In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the dip and mix until the ingredients are well combined.
2. Place a piece of non-stick plastic wrap on a clean bench top or work surface. Scoop the cream cheese mixture out onto the plastic wrap and completely cover with another piece of wrap (you may need two pieces to cover it).
3. Use your hands to mould the cream cheese into a tree shape. Then, carefully pick up the tree with one hand and peel off the plastic wrap on the bottom of the tree with your other hand. Place the tree straight onto a serving plate.
4. Use a cake spatula to smooth the edges. Decorate with olives, sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary leaves/sprigs, lightly pressing each element into the cream cheese to ensure they stay on. Brush with some sun dried tomato oil from the jar (optional but adds even more flavour)!
5. Top with a star cut out of a yellow or orange bell pepper or a thick slice of cheese.
6. Serve with crackers of your choice, salami and prosciutto slices rolled up!
ENJOY!
Recipe Notes
1. The cream cheese is more stable in a wider tree shape rather than a tall, thin tree. The taller tree folds over and collapses.
2. If you find your cream cheese has softened too much and won’t hold its shape, refrigerate it until it thickens again (about 20 minutes).
3. Pat dry each olive and sun dried tomato on a sheet of paper towel before decorating your tree to make sure they stay on, or they may slide off if covered in oil from the jar.
Sweet Cheese Balls
Sweet and Savory Pineapple Cheese Ball
Ingredients
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, well drained
• 3 cups finely chopped pecans, divided
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• Assorted crackers
Directions
1 In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in pineapple, 1-1/2 cups pecans, green pepper, onion and seasoned salt. Shape into two balls. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
2 Place remaining pecans in a small shallow bowl; roll cheese balls in pecans to coat evenly. Serve with crackers. You can also serve with ham
Yield: 2 cheese balls (2 cups each).
S’more Cheese Ball
Marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers combine to make one delicious sweet cheese ball. It is everything you love about s’mores wrapped up into on tasty dessert appetizer!
Ingredients
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• ½ cup marshmallow crème
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
OUTER COATING
• ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ mini chocolate chips
• ¼ cup marshmallow bits
Instructions
1 In medium bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, mini marshmallows, marshmallow creme and 1 cup mini chocolate chips. Beat until well combined.
2 Form soft ball and place in a container for 10 minutes in the freezer.
3 While cheese ball is setting, combine graham crackers, chocolate chips and marshmallow bits on a large plate and mix.
4 Remove cheese ball and roll in graham cracker mixture.
5 Refrigerate for it least ½ hour and server with graham crackers.
Vegan CheeseBall
Sharp Cheddar Vegan Cheeseball
INGREDIENTS
• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked in purified water for 4-6 hours
• 2 packed tablespoons dry pack sun dried tomatoes, snipped into small pieces with kitchen scissors then soaked in the purified water with the cashews
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional)
• 1 heaped tablespoon mellow white miso (use chickpea miso if you are sensitive to soy)
• 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• dash cayenne
• 1/2 cup organic unrefined coconut oil
PREPARATION
1 Pour the soaking water off the cashews and sun-dried tomatoes and then rinse them with fresh purified water.
2 Drain well. Place the cashews and the tomatoes in a food processor or high powered blender and pulse until they start to form a paste, scraping down the sides as necessary.
3 Add all of the seasonings and pulse until thoroughly combined. Add the coconut oil. Blend or process until the mixture is completely smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally. This process takes up to 10 minutes in a food processor and a few minutes in a power blender. Scrape the soft cheese into a container.
4 Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or until the cheese is quite firm.
5 Scrape the cheese out of the container and place onto a clean surface. With your hands, form the cheese into a ball. See note below for topping/variation ideas.
The organic unrefined coconut oil does leave a very slight coconut flavor in the finished product. If you prefer, you can use refined coconut oil for no coconut aftertaste.
The cheese ball can be served as is or rolled in any variety of chopped nuts and or herbs. I used sliced almonds, but walnut pieces or pecan pieces with some fresh minced parsley, thyme or sage would be amazing.
The cheese ball gets softer as it reaches room temperature, so it’s best if it’s kept chilled until immediately before use.
Joint Purpose 
Loved your yummy recipe
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Thank You
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