This Festive Cheese Ball recipe is so simple to make and is a tasty appetizer for parties and the football munchies. A great way to impress company with the smooth taste of cheese dancing with briny olives. The crispness of the bacon, freshness of the chives and buttery pecans will make your mouth sing.
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Cheese ball recipes have been done about 1 million times. I believe it is a right of passage as a food blogger. Despite the numerous recipes out there, I wanted to incorporate some of my favorite flavors. What happened when I made this Festive Cheese Ball for my family? It was gone in a matter of minutes. If you are on olive lover than I believe your taste buds will be singing for joy with this recipes.
As a child one of my favorite appetizers was celery stuffed with olive cream cheese. Of course I probably ate the cream cheese first and then suffered through the celery. I loved how well the brininess of olives worked so well with the cream cheese. As an adult I have fallen in love with the mild onion, but oh so fresh flavor of chives. If chives are not readily available then green onions would be a comparable substation for this recipe. Pecans… hmmm…pecans. If you absolutely can’t stand pecans then walnuts taste great too. And finally, who doesn’t love bacon? It has gotten a ton of bad press here lately but when you buy directly from a farmer who you know and trust to raise their animals on pasture, then you know you are eating quality meat that has some amazing health benefits. For another favored recipe using pastured raised meat and more detailed information, check out my Roman Pesto Pasta.
Form cheese ball and chill for 2 hours.
Fry and measure bacon. Chop and measure pecans.
Mix well.
Roll in bacon/pecan mixture.
This Festive Cheese Ball recipe is just a bit bigger than the cheese balls you buy at the store. If you are having a large crowd, doubling the recipe will keep all olive loving taste buds happy.
Enjoy!!
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup diced chives
- 1/4 cup chopped olives *approximately 2 oz
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp worcestershire
- 1/3 cup chopped bacon *approximately 5-6 slices
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- favorite crackers
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl mix cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chives, olives, lemon juice and worcestershire until well incorporated.With a rubber spatula, form into ball and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Fry and chop bacon, chop pecans and mix together. Roll cheese ball in bacon/pecan mixture, using hand to pat sides, filling in any holes.
- Refrigerate if not serving immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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