Looking for a quick, easy, and delicious appetizer for the holiday season? Look no further. This Rudolph Christmas Cheese Ball checks all the boxes. It’s adorable too! Serve it with crackers, pretzels, and fresh-cut veggies. It’s sure to be a hit at your next holiday gathering.
Find the full recipe at the end of this post.
So Many Reasons to Love This Recipe
- Make Ahead: During this busy time of the year, any recipes that can be made ahead of time to ease holiday chaos and stress, especially when it comes to entertaining, is a win in my book. This Rudolph Christmas cheese ball recipe can be made days ahead of time, even up to a week. Keep it in the refrigerator until it’s time to be served. Although I recommend not adding the nuts until it’s closer to the time you plan on serving it. The nuts tend to soften in the refrigerator.
- Customizable Flavors: The cheeses used in this recipe are cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and goat cheese. However, Gruyère, Blue cheese, Manchego, or Smoked Gouda can also be used in place of cheddar cheese. Not a fan of goat cheese? No problem. More cream cheese can be substituted for goat cheese. You can also substitute different nuts on the outside of the cheese ball. Consider using almonds, pistachios, or walnuts. Dried cranberries and toasted sesame seeds are also delicious!
- Quick and Easy: Whether you make this festive cheese ball before or just before serving it, it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients to Make A Rudolph Christmas Cheese Ball
Cheeses – What’s a cheese ball without cheese!? Just a ball, I suppose. This cheese ball recipe combines mild creamy cheeses, cream cheese, and goat cheese with the nutty and sharp flavor of cheddar cheese. They create a beautiful balance of cheese flavor in this cheese ball.
Although store-bought shredded cheese can be very convenient, the preservatives added to it to prevent the cheese from clumping inside the bag also prevent the cheese from melting and mixing into other ingredients smoothly. Therefore, I highly recommend shredding the cheese by hand. The end result will be worth it, I promise.
Green onions – Green onions enhance the flavor and add color and freshness to this cheese ball.
Seasonings – The hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce add an incredible depth of flavor. I promise it’s not spicy.
Chopped pecans – Chopped almonds, pistachios, dried cranberries, and toasted sesame seeds can also be used on the outside of the cheese ball.
Pretzels, black olive, and grape tomato – Although they don’t add much flavor to this festive cheese ball, they make it lots of fun for the holiday season!
Bring it out at least thirty minutes before you plan on serving. This forethought will make it spreadable and allow the complexity of its flavor to come through.
How to Make A Rudolph Christmas Cheese Ball
Take the butter, Cheddar cheese, goat cheese, and cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften for 30 minutes before making your cheese-ball mixture.
In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients except for the pecans and parsley and stir it well. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer on low can also be used.
The cheese mixture will be loose and sticky. (You will probably be wondering how you’re ever going to form the mess into a ball. Don’t worry. The answer is, you plop the mixture onto a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes or until firm enough to work with.) Then take it out of the refrigerator and form it into a ball.
Roll the cheese ball in the chopped pecans, followed by parsley, if you are using it. I don’t usually add the parsley for my Rudolph version, but it makes for a beautiful presentation if you’re just making a ball.
Then, add the pretzel antlers, olive eyes, and half the grape tomato nose (you can use toothpicks to secure them if you want). Let the ball sit out for at least a half hour to soften before serving. Serve with good plain crackers or small toasts. It can also be served with more pretzels, cut-up fresh veggies, or anything else you enjoy eating cheese with.
I hope you and yours enjoy this fun, festive, and delicious holiday appetizer this season.
If you are looking for more easy and delicious appetizers that a perfect for the holidays or any time of the year, you may enjoy these recipes too:
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Rudolph Christmas Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 1 cup cup shredded sharp, flavorful cheese, in any combination that might include Cheddar, Gruyère, or Blue cheese
- 4 ounces fresh goat cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions (both white and green parts work here)
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup salted roasted pecans, chopped
- Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
- Black olives, with the ends cut off
- Grape tomato, cut in half
- 2 pretzel twists, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Take the butter, Cheddar cheese, goat cheese, and cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften 30 minutes before making your cheese-ball mixture.
- In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients except for the pecans and parsley and stir it well. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment or an electic hand mixer on low can also be used. The cheese mixture will be loose and sticky. (You will probably be wondering how you’re ever going to form the mess into a ball. Don’t worry. The answer is, you plop the mixture onto a piece of waxed paper and place it in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes or until firm enough to work with.) Then you will take it out of the refrigerator and form it into a ball.
- Roll the cheese ball in the pecans, followed by parsley, if you are using it. Add the pretzel antlers, olive eyes, and half the grape tomato nose (you can use toothpicks to secure them if you want). Let the ball sit out for at least a half hour to soften before serving. Serve with good plain crackers or small toasts.*
Notes
*If you are making the cheese ball ahead of time, I suggest waiting to add the chopped pecans on the outside until serving it. That way the nuts stay crunchy. Adding the pecans beforehand and then refrigerating the cheese ball until serving tends to make the nuts soft.
*Serve the cheeseball with a spreading knife. If you dip your cracker straight into the ball, chances are the cracker will break!
*You can also serve pretzels and fresh veggies cut up with the cheese ball.
*Storing - The cheese ball can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days and up to a week depending on the freshness of the ingredients. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month. Freeze it without the nuts wrapped well in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer safe zip-lock baggie. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and add nuts once completely thawed.
