Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball + Video
This easy Cranberry Pecan Cheeseball is made with only 5 ingredients: cream cheese, dried cranberries, green onions, white cheddar cheese, and pecans. It’s a festive and delicious appetizer for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve!
Looking for more holiday appetizers? Try my bacon wrapped smokies, seasonal cranberry salsa, super easy crockpot little smokies, hot cranberry brie bites, or cheesy queso dip.
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball
One of the best, and easiest holiday appetizers I can think of is a cheeseball. Why?
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- Simple: Cheese balls are generally easy to make and can be prepared in advance. This allows the host to focus on other aspects of entertaining without sacrificing the quality of the appetizer.
- Festive: The red and green colors from the cranberries and green onions give it a festive and holiday-like appearance.
- Addicting: The creaminess of the cream cheese, the chewiness of the dried cranberries, the crunchiness of the pecans, and the sharp taste of green onion and cheddar cheese provide a pleasing contrast in flavors and textures. Making each bite so interesting, it will have you wanting more and more!
Ingredients
This Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball has a good mix of sweet and savory notes and couldn’t be easier to make with only 5 ingredients!
INSIDE: Cream cheese, green onions, dried cranberries, and sharp white cheddar cheese are mixed together and rolled up into one tasty appetizer that you can shape into a ball or log.
OUTSIDE: The outside is decorated with pecans, alongside more green onions and dried cranberries. It gives it a gorgeous and festive presentation.
I brought this to a “friendsgiving” dinner and had several ladies comment on how beautiful and delicious it was.
How to Make a Cranberry Pecan Cheeseball
You can literally whip up this cranberry pecan cheeseball in about 10 minutes and take it with you to your holiday party. Or you can make it ahead of time. The flavors will marry even better the next day.
- MIX: Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the dried cranberries and green onions. Add the shredded white cheddar cheese and mix until incorporated.
- SHAPE: Scrape mixture out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Use the plastic wrap to shape the cream cheese mixture into a ball or log.
- COAT: Combine coating ingredients onto a large plate. Roll the ball into the coating ingredients until covered completely. Serve immediately with crackers or refrigerate several hours to overnight for more flavor. Store in the refrigerator.
NOTE: If you don’t have a stand mixer to beat the cream cheese with the other ingredients, then you will need to let the cream cheese soften enough to mix it by hand. Then let it firm back up in the fridge before shaping it into a ball or log with plastic wrap.
Alternatives
When I originally made this cranberry pecan cheese ball, I used chopped parsley instead of sliced green onions for one of the coating ingredients. I soon realized that I always had leftover green onions and felt like it was a waste to buy parsley when I could use the extra green onions for the outside, as well as the inside. However, it still tastes good with the parsley.
Chives can be used instead of green onions for a more mild onion flavor.
Walnuts can be used instead of pecans for the outside. Feel free to toast whichever nuts you decide to use before chopping them up to enhance the flavor.
Goat cheese can also be substituted for cream cheese. However, you may want to add a splash of milk to make it creamier like cream cheese, since goat cheese is more crumbly as-is.
Cheese Ball vs Cheese Log
Honestly, this recipe makes a lot, so it creates one LARGE cheese ball that could easily be made into two smaller cheeseballs. More often than not we just shape it into a cheese log.
My family will pretty much snack on this cranberry pecan cheeseball and crackers all day long until the big holiday meal is ready. And we always have this cheese ball on New Year’s Eve. It’s a staple for us! I hope you love this recipe as much as we do.
Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 16 oz brick cream cheese, cold (two 8oz packages)
- 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped (for better flavor and distribution)
- ½ cup green onions, sliced (about 3-4 green onions)
- 4 oz shredded white cheddar cheese, (approx. 1 cup)
Coating:
- ⅓ cup pecans, chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries, chopped
- ⅓ cup green onions, sliced (or chopped parsley)
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the dried cranberries and green onions. Add the shredded white cheddar cheese and mix until incorporated.
- Scrape mixture out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Use the plastic wrap to shape the cream cheese mixture into a ball or log.
- Combine coating ingredients onto a large plate. Roll the ball into the coating ingredients until covered completely. Serve immediately with crackers or refrigerate several hours to overnight for more flavor. Store in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
- Chopping the cranberries distributes them better and releases more flavor in the cheese ball. I highly recommend it.
- Toast the nuts for more flavor. Allow nuts to cool before chopping them up.
Nutrition
Did you make this?
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*Originally published 11/19/2017. Post updated with new photos and information November 2023.
My extended family loved this! Great recipe, easy to make, easy to customize. We love it as is but have also made it with different types of cheese and nuts in a pinch, and it always turns out great. Thank you, Amber.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to share your review!
I found this recipe when i was searching for something special for our street Christmas party. Came across this and it sounded amazing. It was SO easy to make (I did double up a little on the outside ingredients)
It was a real hit everyone loved it so much so that a few of the ladies asked for the recipe. You will love this if you make it for any occasion not just Christmas
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sandra! Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe!
Hi. How do I mix it if I don’t have a stand mixer? Alternative method?
You’re going to have to let the cream cheese get really soft so you can stir in the mix-ins by hand with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula. Then you’ll have to shape it in the plastic wrap and let it chill until it firms back up enough to unwrap and roll in the toppings.
Can I use dried parsley instead of fresh?
It’s what I have on hand
You could, but you would use less, maybe 1 Tablespoon. If you have leftover sliced green onion, I would use that instead, or just skip it.
Can you use yellow cheddar cheese instead of white cheddar cheese? Thank you.
Yes. Use sharp or medium cheddar. The white cheddar just looks nicer and as it blends in with the cream cheese.
Amber! Everybody LOVED IT!! I can’t believe how huge that thing was when it was all done! 😉 super tasty and even Brian said that he was surprised how tasty it was and he’s usually not a fan of cranberries! My MIL also said that she liked it b/c it wasn’t spicy (she has overactive taste buds). Definitely a win/win recipe that I’ll be adding for our holiday collection!! Thanks again!
Yeah it makes a lot! Haha. Glad it was a hit!
Made this for Thanksgiving. Very good. Thanks!
Hi Janet! I’m so glad! Thanks for coming back to let me know how it went!
I am in love with this Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball recipe. I will definitely try this very soon. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.
I am in love with this Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball recipe. I will definitely try this very soon. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.