Cheese Ball Recipe

Easy Cheese Ball Recipe made with cream cheese, green onions, and sharp cheddar cheese. This classic appetizer is always a hit for the holidays!

Homemade Cheese Ball

This appetizer that I am sharing today is one of my most treasured recipes that always shows up at the holidays in my house!

A cheese ball is a delicious addition to any holiday party, and a tradition that I grew up with, like many others did.

This is my go to recipe for an easy and tasty cheese ball that only uses simple ingredients and comes together in just a few minutes.

⭐️Review⭐️

“This is my simple “go to” appetizer to bring to parties. In fact, it’s always requested by those who’ve had it. Sometimes I divide it and roll one in herbs and one in nuts. It feeds a LOT of happy people.” -Kim

No matter your skill level, you can make this recipe and impress your family and friends!

This delicious appetizer is so flavorful and has that perfect contrast of crunch in the pecans. Fresh green onions, cream cheese, and a few simple spices add just the right amount of flavor for every bite.

You can find the full ingredients and instructions at the bottom of this post, but here is what you’ll need to make this recipe.

Ingredients Needed

• Cream cheese
• Sour cream
• Sharp cheddar cheese: freshly grated
• Green onions
• Chopped pecans
• Garlic powder
• Salt & pepper

How to make a Cheese Ball

Step 1: First, allow your cream cheese to soften for a few minutes. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, this may take around 30 minutes or so.

Step 2: Once softened, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, fresh chopped green onions, salt, and pepper until combined with a hand mixer.

Step 3: Grate 8 oz of sharp cheddar cheese and beat that in.

Kitchen tips

I always recommend that you take the extra few minutes to grate your cheese fresh. It really makes all the difference in flavor!

Step 4: Cover and chill the filling mixture in the fridge for around an hour or so to firm it up. This will help make it easier to form the cheese ball.

Make It Ahead

If you want to make this ahead, you can leave the batter overnight in the fridge, then just finish rolling and shaping it right before serving.

Step 5: Once you are ready to make the cheese ball, use greased hands and a spatula to form the mixture into a ball shape.

Recipe Tip

I first shaped the ball roughly with a spatula then sprayed my hands with olive oil spray to finish shaping it and that worked perfectly. Oiling your hands will help keep the cheese ball batter from sticking too much.

Step 6: Next, roll the cheese ball in the pecan pieces until it is coated on all sides. You need about a cup of chopped up pecans.

Step 7: Place the chopped pecans in a bowl and roll the cheese ball until it is totally covered in chopped nuts on all sides.

Your cheese ball is now ready to serve!

Tips For Success

Grate the cheese yourself: Don’t skip grating the cheese yourself! The extra flavor and texture are just right for this recipe. I used sharp cheddar cheese, but medium cheddar would work just as well.

Buy pecan pieces: To save time, buy your pecans in pieces so you don’t have to spend time chopping them up.

Use a butter knife to serve this cheese ball.

Refrigerate until ready to serve: do not leave this out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.

What crackers to serve with cheese ball

Personally, ritz crackers are my favorite cracker to serve with a cheese ball, but pretty much any cracker is going to be delicious!

• Triscuits
• Pita Chips
• Wheat Thins
• Pretzel Chips
• Club Crackers

Storing

Leftover cheese ball can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days. I doubt they will last that long though. In our house any leftovers are quickly devoured!

More Appetizer Recipes

• Pumpkin Cheese Ball
• Pimento Cheese Ball
• Creamy Spinach Dip
• Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
• Pimento Cheese Dip
• Homemade Veggie Dip
• Pimento Cheese Spread
• Sour Cream Potato Chip Dip
• Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip

Try this classic appetizer for the holidays!

Notes

Start with one cup of pecan pieces for rolling, then add more if necessary. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Nutrition

• Calories: 219kcal
• Carbohydrates: 3g
• Protein: 6g
• Fat: 21g
• Saturated Fat: 10g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 7g
• Cholesterol: 47mg
• Sodium: 221mg
• Potassium: 92mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 2g
• Vitamin A: 587IU
• Vitamin C: 0.4mg
• Calcium: 141mg
• Iron: 0.3mg