This Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Ball is a perfect appetizer for parties and special occasions. This simple recipe is full of rich, savory flavor, perfect for spreading on crackers or veggies!
If you have never tried or made a Cheese Ball Recipe you are absolutely missing out! They are a very easy appetizer that is perfect to be prepared ahead of time.
This Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Ball Recipe has long been a favorite of mine. I’m completely addicted to sun-dried tomatoes and can’t get enough of them.
They are the perfect addition to this recipe and gives off this nice roasted flavor that blends well with the cheese, spices and the pecans.
Cheese Ball Recipes can be coated in a lot of different things and one of them is pecans and that happens to be my favorite, it gives a nice crunch with each and every bite!
This is one of our most requested appetizer recipes for the holidays and since it is so simple to put together we never say no! We usually make a couple because it goes fast!
If you are ever lost on what to make for game day, holidays or family gatherings I can assure you that this Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Ball Recipe will never disappoint.
Some of our other favorite appetizer recipes we have on our site include: Brown Sugar Bacon Little Smokies, Mississippi Sin Dip Pinwheels and French Onion Dip.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Easily available ingredients make this quick to put together.
- Making more than one is quick and highly encouraged for gatherings.
- This can be served with various different dippers!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):
Cream cheese
Sun-dried tomatoes
Warm water
Dried basil
Onion salt
Garlic salt
Pepper
Sharp cheddar cheese
Pecans
HOW TO MAKE A SUN-DRIED TOMATO CHEESE BALL RECIPE, STEP BY STEP:
- In the bowl of a stand mixture, cream the softened cream cheese until smooth.
- Place the sundried tomatoes and warm water in a small chopper, blender or food processor, and process until smooth.
- Add the sundried tomato mixture to the softened cream cheese, along with all the spices.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add in the shredded cheese and mix until it comes together.
- Place a large sheet of plastic wrap (about 12 inches long) on the countertop. Mound the cheese ball mixture in the middle of it.
- Pull up the plastic wrap around it and use your hands to form it into a ball.
- Chill for at least 1 hour.
- Pour the chopped toasted pecans into a shallow container and roll the chilled cheese ball in it until it is coated well.
- Serve with crackers, sliced & toasted baguettes, and/or veggie sticks.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE A CHEESE BALL TO SET?
Once wrapped in the plastic wrap it takes about 1 hour for the Cheese Ball Recipe to become firm enough to serve.
The best thing to do is actually remove the Cheese Ball from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving so it is soft enough to spread out.
CAN THIS BE MADE IN ADVANCE?
Yes! This is the perfect appetizer recipe to make in advance! We do this alot especially around the holidays so we don’t have to worry about it while making the other food.
We recommend making the Cheese Ball and keeping it wrapped in plastic wrap and then roll in the pecans just before serving. This will keep for up to 2 weeks, but we usually make ours a day or so ahead of time.
WHAT KIND OF CHEESE SHOULD I USE?
We like to use sharp cheddar for this recipe, it really makes the cheese flavor come out. But other cheeses can be used as well!
Some others that we have tried include other cheddars, colby jack and monterey jack. All of these work great with this Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Ball Recipe.
HOW TO STORE:
This can be stored in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap without nuts for up to 2 week and with nuts for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze this, to do this wrap the ball in plastic wrap without nuts and place in a freezer bag where it will keep for up to 1 month.
Let defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then roll in the chopped pecans right before serving.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Make sure that your cream cheese is softened, otherwise it can be hard to work with.
- Chop your pecans as large or as small as you’d like.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- If you want to use a different cheese others will work, I listed some of my favorites above.
- This can be served with a variety of things from crackers, to baguettes to vegetables.
If you want the perfect party appetizer that everyone loves and is super easy then you have to make this Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Ball Recipe.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this SUN-DRIED TOMATO CHEESE BALL RECIPE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Ball Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temp
- 3 Tablespoons sundried tomatoes
- 3 Tablespoons warm water
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon onion salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1 cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixture, cream the softened cream cheese until smooth.
- Place the sundried tomatoes and warm water in a small chopper, blender or food processor, and process until smooth.
- Add the sundried tomato mixture to the softened cream cheese, along with all the spices.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add in the shredded cheese and mix until it comes together.
- Place a large sheet of plastic wrap (about 12 inches long) on the countertop. Mound the cheese ball mixture in the middle of it.
- Pull up the plastic wrap around it and use your hands to form it into a ball.
- Chill for at least 1 hour.
- Pour the chopped toasted pecans into a shallow container and roll the chilled cheese ball in it until it is coated well.
- Serve with crackers, sliced & toasted baguettes, and/or veggie sticks.
Notes
- Make sure that your cream cheese is softened, otherwise it can be hard to work with.
- Chop your pecans as large or as small as you'd like.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- If you want to use a different cheese others will work, I listed some of my favorites above.
- This can be served with a variety of things from crackers, to baguettes to vegetables.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Cindy
This is the second time I have made this. I added dried cranberries and everyone loved it
Doug Ament
Everyone loved it our annual Christmas Morgan Horse meeting. I made 4 balls with different nuts. It was a hit when placed inside a cut hollowed-out french, dark rye, and Italian loaves of (homemade) bread. It must hae been a “HIT” as there were no leftovers to bring home.
Carol Dee
I don’t see the cream cheese listed in the ingredients.
Tornadough Alli
Thanks for pointing that out! I don’t know how it was missed but it has been updated!