Festive Holiday Cheese Ball

This Festive Holiday Cheese Ball is the perfect appetizer for holiday entertaining!  It’s easy to make with simple ingredients and can be served with your favourite crackers or veggies!

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Holiday appetizers are just the best, aren’t they? I love a good appetizer any time of the year but appetizers made for the holidays are truly something special. This Festive Holiday Cheese Ball is one of my favourite savoury Christmas appetizers and I’m excited to be sharing it with you today!

I’m not that big into the whole red-and-green-Christmas theme for home decorating but when it comes to Christmas treats I’m all for it. The diced red and green pepper in the coating of this Festive Holiday Cheese Ball is so festive and cute and it gives a really great Christmas touch!

This holiday cheese ball is best served with your favourite crackers, breadsticks, or even homemade crostini made from toasted baguettes. But whatever you serve it with (veggies are an option too!!), it’s sure to impress your family and friends this holiday season. Especially when you tell them you made it ahead of time and just pulled it out the fridge when it was time to serve!!

How to make a Cheese Ball

Here are some tips to make the best cheese ball every single time:

1. Use full fat cream cheese. Low fat cream cheese contains a high water content and therefore doesn’t solidify properly, even in the fridge. To help the cheese ball keep its shape, use full fat cream cheese.
2. Don’t forget the seasonings. Nothing is worse than a bland cheese ball – make sure to use lots of delicious flavours including dried fruit, herbs and spices.
3. Use freshly grated cheese. Pre-grated cheese sold in bags at the grocery store contains fillers to prevent the cheese from clumping up in the bag. This can make your cheese ball difficult to shape, so using freshly grated cheese is best.
4. Refrigerate before serving. Wrap the cheese ball in plastic wrap (tightly) and refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight before serving. This will help the cheese ball keep its shape when you serve it to your guests.
5. Don’t forget the crust. Roll the cheese ball in chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit, crumbled bacon, or crushed tortilla chips or pretzels to create the perfect crust!

Looking for more delicious holiday appetizers? You’ll love this Apricot Pecan Baked Brie and these Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms.

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I hope you love this cheese ball recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite holiday appetizer? I’d love to know!

Kitchen products I love:

Looking for more recipes for holiday entertaining? You’ll LOVE these:

• Easy Juicy Roast Turkey

• Easy Homemade Roast Turkey Gravy

• Easy Crock Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• Easy Vegan Green Bean Casserole

• Roasted Garlic Butter Carrots

• Apple Walnut Spinach Salad

• Roasted Beet Salad with Greens

• Maple Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes 

• Winter Berry Cocktail (Alcohol Free Version Included)

• Rosemary Dill Roasted Potatoes

Print

Festive Holiday Cheese Ball

This Festive Holiday Cheese Ball is the perfect appetizer for holiday entertaining!  It's easy to make & can be served with crackers or veggies!

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American, Christmas, Holiday, North American, Thanksgiving

Keyword Festive Holiday Cheese Ball

Prep Time 15 minutes

Chilling Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 322 kcal

Author Chrissie

Ingredients

• 16 ounces full fat cream cheese (about 500 grams)
• 1/4 cup full fat sour cream
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (we like 1 cup each white and orange cheddar)
• 1 red bell pepper finely diced
• 1 green bell pepper finely diced
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• sea salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• a dash of Sriracha or your favourite hot sauce
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (for the outside of the cheese ball, OR use the same measurement of chopped pretzels instead of nuts for a nut-free version)
• breadsticks, crackers, pretzels, or veggies for serving

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream and shredded cheese with a rubber spatula or with a hand mixer (if desired).

2. Add half the diced peppers (reserving half of each colour for coating the cheese ball later), and add the pepper, salt (to taste), and garlic and onion powders, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.

3. Stir well to combine and using your spoon or spatula, roll the mixture into a rough ball shape.

4. Place a large piece of plastic wrap on your work surface and add the cheese ball onto the plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, roll the cheese ball into a smooth ball shape wrapping it tightly in the plastic.

5. Chill the cheese ball in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight (overnight is best).

6. Before serving, remove the cheese ball from the plastic wrap and roll it in the chopped pecans and the remaining diced red and green peppers until the cheese ball is covered evenly with the chopped pecans.

7. Serve immediately on a platter with your favourite crackers, pretzels, baguette slices, or veggies.

Recipe Notes

This cheese ball keeps in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap for about 1 week or in the freezer for about 1 month (defrost in the fridge before serving).

Be sure to roll the cheese ball in the chopped pecans and bell peppers immediately before serving to maintain an ideal texture for serving.

Nutrition Facts

Festive Holiday Cheese Ball

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 322 Calories from Fat 270

% Daily Value*

Fat 30g46%

Saturated Fat 15g94%

Cholesterol 77mg26%

Sodium 303mg13%

Potassium 185mg5%

Carbohydrates 5g2%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A 1313IU26%

Vitamin C 25mg30%

Calcium 222mg22%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.