December 14, 2020
Bacon Walnut Cheese Ball
Bacon Walnut Cheese Ball features a cheese ball made with sharp cheddar cheese, fresh green onion, crispy bacon and bacon toasted walnuts. Served with garlic crostini for an indulgent, creamy and rich dip!
I have the most indulgent delicious holiday appetizer you're ever going to have! Woah, that's a strong statement. But it's true! My husband said this is the best dip ever so I'm going to claim it as that. This bacon walnut cheese ball is so delicious that it will quickly become everyone's favorite appetizer at any party you go to.
This year is different than other years. We are not going to holiday parties. We are not seeing extended family. It is sad! But we are seeing our immediate families such as my parents and Troy's parents. I am determined to make the food extra delicious this year so that we can focus on that. I wanted something indulgent and something that is a huge crowd pleaser and created this.
What's in a bacon walnut cheese ball?
-The best quality bacon you can find-Neufchatel cream cheese which is a little lighter and lower in fat than regular cream cheese
-Hand shredded extra sharp cheddar- take the extra 1-2 minutes and shred it yourself.
-Green onions- I loaded this cheese ball with green onions for fresh flavors.
-Plain Greek yogurt- to lighten up the cheese ball a tiny bit and to make the cream cheese more spreadable, I added plain Greek yogurt
-Toasted chopped walnuts- since it is the holidays after all, I cooked the walnuts in a tiny bit of bacon grease and OMG, is it ever delicious.
-Ranch seasoning- to make the cream cheese very flavorful, I added a ranch dressing packet and it made it great!
We first ate a cheese ball last Thanksgiving that Troy's cousin and his wife made and we fell in love. I made this cheese ball a little off of memory and added some of my own touches to it. I served this cheese ball with simple garlic crostini. You just take a loaf of French bread, cut it into 1/2 inch slices and top with butter and garlic powder. Toast for a few minutes in the oven until partially crispy.
I brought this to Troy's dad's house and we really enjoyed it. I knew my parents would love it as well so I brought them some. It is also delicious with raw veggies such as carrots, cucumbers and radishes.
I served this cheese ball on my GORGEOUS Mikasa Holiday Traditions dinnerware. I got this set last year and it means the world to me. It is so beautiful and gets my family and I so excited for Christmas when we use it. It is really quite affordable for a dinner set like it and best of all, is dishwasher safe.
Bacon Walnut Cheese Ball
Bacon Walnut Cheese Ball
INGREDIENTS
- 8 pieces of bacon
- 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 2-8 ounce blocks Neufchatel cream cheese
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1-ounce packet ranch seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Once cooled, crumble into tiny pieces. Discard most of grease from the bacon but do not wipe out the bottom of the skillet.
- Toast the walnuts in the skillet with the rest of the bacon grease for about 2 minutes watching carefully so the walnuts do not burn.
- Heat cream cheese in a large microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds to soften cream cheese a bit. Mix together cream cheese, Greek yogurt, ranch seasoning and cheddar cheese. Add in half of the green onion and half of the bacon.
- Mix together the walnuts, bacon and green onion.
- On a plate, form together a ball of cheese with the cream cheese mixture.. It will be soft so use a spatula to form a ball shape.
- Carefully sprinkle walnut, bacon and green onion mixture on the cheese ball until it is completely covered. Serve with toasted garlic breads.
Check out other holiday appetizer ideas
The Ultimate Holiday Cheese Board
Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread
Crispy Baked Hot Honey Chicken
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This post is sponsored by Mikasa. All opinions are my own.
This looks delicious (and the plate that it is on is so festive). Thanks for sharing the recipe.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jackie! It is definitely a perfect holiday recipe : )
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