I first made this recipe after Chris and I moved out of town years ago when he was going to school, and we couodnt go home to Thanksgiving. It is his family recipe and everyone loves it.
I like to have the recipe to make a smaller cheese ball, and to make two halves one that’s dairy free and one that’s regular cheese.
My recipe uses pimento cheese, but at only 2 Tbsp per the 8oz of cream cheese it’s a hint of pimento and not full on pimento flavor. It’s subtle but enough that you can still taste it. We then roll the cheese ball in crushed pecans and chill.
It’s so good that even my toddlers love it, while my teen doesn’t care for it as much as she did when little.
you can make this vegan my leaving out the worcestershire sauce and change the cheese to vegan or dairy free.
Prep: 10 min
Chill Time: 3hours hrs
Total: 3hours hrs 10 min
Servings: 8 to 10
Ingredients
Small cheese ball
- 8oz softened cream cheese
- 2Tbsp pimento cheese
- 6 to 8oz shredded cheddar cheese or dairy free cheese
- 1tsp worcestershire sauce, or a little more depending on how you want the taste
- 1 green onion
- 1/2tsp dried chives (optional)
- 1/4tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 1/4tsp dried parsley (optional)
- 1/4tsp salt (optional)
- 1/2c chopped pecans
Large Cheese Ball
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 8 ounces freshly shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 green onions finely sliced
- 1 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried chives (optional)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt (optional)
- 1/3c chopped pecans
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the cheddar cheese, green onions, worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Beat until well combined.
Place a large piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Spoon the mixture into the center of the plastic wrap. Bring up the edges of the plastic wrap to cover the cheese and form it into a ball. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Before serving, place the pecans in a shallow bowl. Unwrap the cheese ball and gently roll it in the pecans to cover.
Serve with crackers.
Notes
If you need this recipe to be vegetarian, simply leave out the worcestershire sauce and add a bit more salt or replace the worcestershire sauce with soy sauce.
I like to use a nice sharp cheddar in this cheese ball recipe, but you can use a milder cheddar if that’s what you prefer or have on hand.
I also halve the recipe so I can make one with dairy free cheese and one with regular cheese for the rest of the family.
