You can’t go wrong with this easy cheese ball recipe. A cheese ball is the ultimate appetizer for a “holiday” or “party,” in my opinion. This easy cheese appetizer is covered with sun-dried tomatoes and loaded with three types of cheese, olives, roasted peppers, green onions, and chopped salami. Get the party started with this easy and delicious appetizer. It never disappoints a crowd.
We could all use a bit more joy around the holidays. One look at this cheese ball and one bite will put you on the road to having a good time.
Making cheese balls is quite simple. They can be prepared in advance, which I always like. Or you can throw them together at the last minute.
This cheese ball is a low-carb, gluten-free recipe. If you love cheese, then you’ll want to serve this delicious Christmas cheese ball at your next holiday gathering. It’s colorfully festive and easy to enjoy with assorted crackers. This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite food bloggers Nagy, from Recipetin Eats. As soon as I saw this recipe I knew it was worth trying. And with a few simple tweaks I created my own version.
To learn how to prepare this delicious cheese ball, keep scrolling down—but not before you see more delicious recipe options for the holidays.
Ingredients You'll Need:
Cheese Mixture:
Cream Cheese: I use Philadelphia cream cheese blocks. The cream cheese must be totally softened to room temperature, or it won’t mix well. If you are not a fan of cream cheese, you can substitute it with Mascarpone. This has a silky, creamy texture. If you want to give your mascarpone a tangy flavor similar to cream cheese, I advise adding a pinch of salt and a spritz of fresh lemon juice.
Sour cream: It helps the mixture become softer and easier to spread or scoop. You can substitute for yogurt or mayonnaise.
Black pepper, rosemary, thyme, basil, and oregano: you can substitute 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning) which contains all of the mentioned.
Garlic powder: Flavor and more flavor!
Red pepper flakes: I added a good amount of this as I like to feel a kick of heat in my dish.
Cheese: I use a combination of my favorite cheeses. Begin with sharp yellow cheddar cheese, followed by smoked gouda. All of this cheese adds so much flavor and texture to this dish.
Salami finely chopped: Salami adds a lot of flavor to this recipe, but you can instead substitute cooked bacon bits or omit the meat entirely for a vegetarian option. I advise including more olives; you may even include capers. Let your creativity and personal preferences guide you.
Green olives and green onion finely chopped: Together with the red roasted peppers, these two ingredients give the dish a festive appearance and a ton of taste.
Toppings:
Sun-dried tomatoes with oil.
Basil, thyme, or rosemary sprigs for decoration
Crackers of your preference. Just make sure the crackers are not salty.
HOW TO MAKE A CHEESE BALL
Once you have your ingredients in front of you, it’s time to work on the preparation. Fortunately, this recipe only takes 10 minutes to prepare and is fuss-free.
The first step is to combine the cream cheese, sour cream, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, black pepper ( or 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning), garlic powder, red pepper flakes, cheddar, smoked gouda, salami, green olives, and green onion. I also decided to add some Red Sweety Drops. These are small tear-shaped peppers that originated from Peru. They taste sweet and tangy with a whisper of heat. These are optional.
Then, spray a circular or another desired-shaped container and cover it with cling wrap.
Next, add the cheese mixture into the container and press down to remove air pockets while leveling the top using a spoon or spatula. Cover with an overhanging piece of cling wrap and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or up to a week.
After the 4 hours, turn out onto a dish and remove the plastic wrap. Top with sun-dried tomato with some of the oils. Garnish with basil, rosemary, or thyme sprigs. I also added a few of those red sweety drops. Grab your favorite crackers and Enjoy!
Below you will find a convenient printable recipe card. If you make this recipe, let us know how you like it!
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EASY CHEESE BALL RECIPE
Ingredients
- 2 (8 oz) cream cheese (I use Philadelphia cream cheese blocks). softened
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon rosemary
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers drained and , finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh basil finely chopped
- ½ cup sharp yellow cheddar cheese freshly grated
- ⅓ cup smoked gouda freshly grated
- ½ cup hard salami or Genoa salami finely chopped
Toppings:
Instructions
- The first step is to combine the cream cheese, sour cream, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, black pepper or ( 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning), garlic powder, red pepper flakes, cheddar, smoked gouda, salami, roasted red peppers, green olives, and green onion. I also decided to add some Red Sweety Drops.
- Then, spray a circular or another desired-shaped container and cover it with cling wrap.
- Next, add the cheese mixture to the container and press down to remove air pockets while leveling the top using a spoon or spatula. Cover with an overhanging piece of cling wrap and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, remove the plastic wrap and turn it out onto a dish. Top with sun-dried tomatoes and some of the oils. Garnish with basil, rosemary, or thyme sprigs. I also added a few of those red sweety drops.
- enjoy!
Nutrition
Tell me what you think about this recipe, and don’t forget to contact me if you have any questions. It’s always a pleasure to hear from YOU!
Until the next one…
