Cream cheese is loaded with shredded cheddar, blue cheese, bacon, and seasonings, then rolled in pecans and more bacon! A classic holiday appetizer.
It’s a tradition at our house to serve a variety of appetizers on Christmas Eve, and a cheeseball is an absolute must! And this Bacon Pecan Cheese Ball is a delicious candidate for a little holiday indulgence.
Our favorite cheeseball of all time is a Green Onion Cheeseball–totally simple and totally delicious. This cheeseball is definitely in the running though. It’s loaded with 3 kinds of cheese, bacon, pecans, pimentos and seasoning.
Then it’s rolled in more bacon and pecans, plus fresh parsley and poppy seeds. What’s not to love about cream cheese, bacon, and cheddar? There’s bacon on the inside, and more on the outside!
And you can certainly leave out the nuts for those with allergies, or make two smaller cheese balls, one with nuts and one without.
Or, if you’re hosting a lot of guests for the holidays, double the recipe and make two cheese balls! I promise you won’t regret it!
Like most cream cheese spreads, this can be made several days–and even up to a week–ahead of time. That’s always a bonus during the holidays.
If I make this appetizer more than a few days ahead, I wait until just before serving to roll it in the final coating of nuts, bacon and poppy seeds. This can be served with any of your favorite crackers or baguette slices.
Be sure to bring the cheese ball to room temperature before serving. Not only will it spread more easily (who likes broken crackers?) but it will taste better too.
Once you start eating this, it’s hard to stop. But if you’re going to over-indulge, I can’t think of a better reason that a bacon filled cheeseball. This stuff is addictive. Consider yourself warned!
If you’re looking for a cheese ball recipe that’s bold and different, you’ll definitely want to give this Bacon Pecan Cheese Ball a try!
Be sure to save this Bacon Pecan Cheeseball recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Bacon Pecan Cheeseball
- Cream cheese
- Milk
- Cheddar cheese
- Blue cheese
- Spices: garlic powder, salt and pepper
- Produce: green onions, fresh parsley
- Jarred pimento
- Pecans
- Bacon
- Poppy seeds
- Crackers, for serving
Bacon Pecan Cheeseball
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup green onions minced
- 1 4 oz. jar diced pimento, drained
- 1/2 cup pecans finely chopped, divided
- 10 slices bacon cooked, crumbled and divided
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- Crackers for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, mix cream cheese, milk, cheddar, blue cheese, salt and pepper until well combined. Add green onions, pimento, half of the chopped pecans, and half of the crumbled bacon and mix well.
- Transfer mixture to a large piece of plastic wrap. Form into a ball and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or until mixture is firm enough to handle.
- Combine the remaining bacon, remaining pecans, parsley and poppy seeds in a shallow dish or pie plate. Roll the cheeseball in the bacon/nut mixture until evenly coated.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with a variety of crackers.
11 comments
Kate
Can it be made in the evening before and kept in fridge overnight? Due to the lack of time i would like to prepare it timely but i am afrade it could loss its taste
Danelle
Yes, you can make it ahead, even 2-3 days ahead.
Kelly
A season of miracles; even when it comes to foodies. I’ve been searching for this recipe for years. I had this recipe from when I was a teenage. It was in a small Betty Crocker grocery store promotional giveaway cookbook. Each holiday, I would prepare this cheese ball and receive tons of compliments from family and friends. Hence, one holiday while purchasing the ingredients, I left it on the grocery counter. When I went back in to get it, GONE. That was over twenty years ago. I’ve never have been able to find the same recipe ’til now. Thank you for sharing. What a nice edition this recipe will make to our holiday table.
Danelle
So glad you found the recipe Kelly!
Joanne
This looks delicious Danelle! This would be good on New Year’s Eve, too.