Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (2024)

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By

Morgan Eisenberg

Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (1)

Morgan Eisenberg

Morgan Eisenberg is a creative blogger at Host the Toast. She has an absolute obsession over all things edible.

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Updated March 21, 2019

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Why It Works

  • Starting all three cheese balls with the same base makes it easy to offer variations with minimal work.
  • Flavorful cheeses and good pairings for coatings give these retro cheese balls a modern update.

There is one mid-century dish that does not deserve to be lumped in with the other molds and loaves. It, too, involves processing ingredients until smooth and then molding them into an unnatural shape. It's the cheese ball, and it's actually delicious. But how do we inject some allure into the kitsch? We take away the junk (I'm looking at you, waxy pre-shredded cheddar), we use more flavorful ingredients, and we give people options. Nothing says sultry like a tray full of cheesy choices, am I right?

Reinvent Retro This Holiday With A Trio Of Updated Cheese Balls

Recipe Details

Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe

Active60 mins

Total3 hrs

Serves16 servings

Ingredients

For the Base:

  • 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature (675g)

  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (30ml)

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt(2g)

  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper(1g)

  • 1/4 cup minced fresh chives (about .25 ounces; 7g)

For the Goat Cheese, Lemon, and Herb Cheese Balls:

For the Blue Cheese, Toasted Walnut, and Pomegranate Cheese Balls

  • 1/3 base mixture (about 1 1/4 cups)

  • 8 ounces crumbled blue cheese (225g)

  • 2/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (about 4 ounces; 115g)

  • 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (about 2 ounces; 55g)

For the Goat Cheese, Lemon, and Herb Cheese Balls:

  • 1/3 base mixture (about 1 1/4 cups)

  • 8 ouncescrumbled feta cheese (225g)

  • 10 small sun-dried tomatoes (about 2 ounces; 55g)

  • 1 cup toasted pine nuts (about 6 ounces; 170g)

Directions

  1. For the Base: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the chives and process again until just combined. Remove from the food processor and divide into thirds.

    Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (3)

  2. For the Goat Cheese, Lemon, and Herb Cheese Balls: Add 1/3 of base mixture to the bowl of a clean food processor. Add goat cheese and process until smooth and well-combined. Transfer mixture to a sealable container and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer mixture to the center of a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the cheese firmly in the plastic wrap and use your hands to mold into a sphere. Place the plastic-wrapped ball back in the refrigerator and chill until firm again, about 1 hour.

    Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (4)

  3. Combine herbs, lemon zest, and plenty of ground black pepper on a large plate. Remove the goat cheese ball from the plastic wrapping and roll it in the chopped herbs until fully coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

    Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (5)

  4. For the Blue Cheese, Toasted Walnut, and Pomegranate Cheese Balls: Add 1/3 of base mixture to the bowl of a clean food processor. Add blue cheese and process until smooth and well-combined. Transfer mixture to a sealable container and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer mixture to the center of a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the cheese firmly in the plastic wrap and use your hands to mold into a sphere. Place the plastic-wrapped ball back in the refrigerator and chill until firm again, about 1 hour.

    Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (6)

  5. Combine chopped walnuts and pomegranate seeds on a large plate. Remove the blue cheese ball from the plastic wrapping and roll it in the chopped nuts until fully coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

    Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (7)

  6. For the Feta Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Pine Nut Cheese Balls: Add 1/3 of base mixture to the bowl of a clean food processor. Add feta and sun-dried tomatoes and process until smooth and well-combined. Transfer mixture to a sealable container and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer mixture to the center of a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the cheese firmly in the plastic wrap and use your hands to mold into a sphere. Place the plastic-wrapped ball back in the refrigerator and chill until firm again, about 1 hour.

    Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (8)

  7. Spread toasted pine nuts on a large plate. Remove the feta cheese ball from the plastic wrapping and roll it in the chopped nuts until fully coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

    Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (9)

  8. Serve cheese balls with chips, pita, crostini, crackers, pretzels, or vegetables.

    Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (10)

Notes

You can make any individual cheese ball recipe by scaling the base recipe down to one third.

Special Equipment

Food processor

This Recipe Appears In

  • Reinvent Retro This Holiday With A Trio Of Updated Cheese Balls
  • Cheese Dips
  • Cheese
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
404Calories
37g Fat
9g Carbs
13g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories404
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 37g47%
Saturated Fat 16g82%
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 543mg24%
Total Carbohydrate 9g3%
Dietary Fiber 2g6%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 13g
Vitamin C 3mg17%
Calcium 222mg17%
Iron 2mg9%
Potassium 335mg7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Updated Cheese Ball Trio Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How many cheeseballs are in a cheese ball bucket? ›

Data says that there's usually around 1,100 cheese balls per barrel, which means you're getting each individual cheese ball for less than a cent apiece.

How do you thicken a cheese ball? ›

Your cheese ball is too runny: Once you have added all the extras, and it's all mixed in well, if the texture is more salad dressing-like than something you might spread on a bagel, you can tighten it up easily by adding unsalted butter, one tablespoon at a time, mixing before you add more.

Are UTZ cheese balls baked or fried? ›

From there, they are baked in an oven to remove any excess moisture. The tasty cheese flavor is a seasoning that starts with vegetable oil and an all-natural cheddar cheese powder, which are mixed together and sprayed over the cheese balls in a tumbling seasoning barrel until they are completely coated.

Why are UTZ cheese balls so good? ›

These are pretty standard, and nothing mind-blowing—just a solid execution of a classic puffed cheddar snack. They're cheesy, salty, crunchy, and everything you'd expect. A 1-oz. serving of Utz Cheese Balls contains 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, and 300 mg of sodium.

How many is in a pack of cheese balls? ›

Cheese Balls - 100 Pieces.

What is the diameter of a cheese ball? ›

Cheese balls are a mixture of soft cheeses shaped into a ball about 4 inches round, refrigerated, and covered with a mixture of nuts and other crunchy ingredients. Cheese balls are typically served with crackers or crudité.

What is a good cracker for a cheese ball? ›

What to Serve with Cheese Ball. That's an important question and I obviously have a strong opinion. Here are some options: Crackers – Ritz Crackers, Wheat Thins, Multi-Grain, Milton's.

What are Cheetos cheese balls made of? ›

Corn, Canola Oil Whey Powder (Milk), Wheat Flour, Cheese Powder (Milk), Salt, Flavour Enhancer (621), Mineral Salt (Potassium Chloride), Maltodextrin, Flavours Natural Colours (Paprika Extract, Turmeric), Food Acid (Lactic Acid).

Are cheese balls discontinued? ›

Recently, Planters announced that the formerly discontinued Cheez Balls are now a permanent addition to its product line-up. To celebrate, the company is giving away 350 canisters of Cheez Powder to customers tweeting about the foods they want to pair this new topping with.

Do UTZ cheese balls taste like Cheetos? ›

Most importantly, I think Cheese balls win the flavor battle. Despite having less sodium per serving that Cheetos Puffs (260mg vs 300mg per 1oz ), UTZ Cheese Balls taste saltier and cheesier. I think this is due to the use of actual cheese by UTZ rather than the cheese seasoning used in the Cheetos.

Why are Utz chips not sold in California? ›

WARNING: Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including acrylamide, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer.

What company invented cheese balls? ›

The brightly coloured snacks were created by animal food manufacturer Flakall Corporation in Beloit, Wisconsin in 1935. To make the feed, a grinder was used to flake corn. In order to clean the machinery, staff fed moist corn into the grinder.

What is a serving of cheese balls? ›

Cheese ball contains 64 calories per 15 g serving. This serving contains 5.7 g of fat, 2.7 g of protein and 0.8 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 0.3 g sugar and 0.2 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate. Cheese ball contains 2.2 g of saturated fat and 11 mg of cholesterol per serving.

How many cheese cubes per person? ›

A good rule of thumb is 1 ounce of each cheese for every guest and about five types of cheese. For a party in which cheese is the main event, plan on buying 3 pounds for eight people, 6 pounds for 16 people, or 9 pounds for 24 people. If cheese is one of many items being served, plan on buying 3 to 4 ounces per person.

How many pipcorn cheese balls in a serving? ›

Yes, you read that right: there are 114 cheese balls in every serving.

What is the expensive ball of cheese? ›

Pule cheese or magareći sir, is a Serbian cheese made from 60% Balkan donkey milk and 40% goat's milk. The cheese is produced in Zasavica Nature Reserve. Pule is reportedly the "world's most expensive cheese", fetching US$1300 per kilogram.

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