Something that my friends and I really enjoy doing together is meal planning. Every week, we ask what everyone is making their families for dinner. We either completely copy each other or draw inspiration from one another. The same goes for Holiday Food! My good friend, Caitlin, shared this cheese ball with us last year and I have been obsessed ever since. We had a really fun Mom’s Day out at Board and Brush in Nashville, and she brought it– I was hooked. I ended up making it the next week, and even as a Thanksgiving appetizer last year. I’m going to share this recipe with y’all today because it’s really easy to whip together, and the flavors pair perfectly together.
Caitlin has been making this recipe for like 10 years, way longer than I’ve known her. She can’t remember where she found it (so if you know the original author, please let me know!) But, my friends and I just call this Caitlin’s Cheese Ball. They’re just as obsessed with it as I am.
Some comments that I heard when making this and shooting this pictures “Is that CAITLIN’S CHEESE BALL?” “That’s THE cheese ball!” Haha. It’s just that good.
Ingredients
- 2 8oz Blocks Cream Cheese, softened at room temperature
- 5-6 Slices of thin cut deli ham (I use Boar’s Head Tavern Ham for this because it’s my favorite)
- 1 Bunch of Green Onions, Chopped Thin
- 1/2 Large Can *Crushed* Pineapple, Drained VERY well. Draining this well will make or break the cheese ball
- 1/3 C Powdered Sugar
- 1 Small bag of Crushed Pecans–or your nut of choice.
- (To turn this little guy into a turkey for Thanksgiving, I used Black Olives for his eyes and Peeled Snacks Chimichurri Baked Pea Snacks as his tail and neck).
(Like I always say, I do a lot of this by taste… Once you start adding the powdered sugar, just add a little at a time until it’s a flavor that you enjoy)
If you don’t want to commit to a cheese ball, this also makes an awesome dip!
Once you’ve thoroughly drained–I’m talking smooshed down with paper towels to get all of the water out–drained your pineapple and chopped your ham and onions, add all of your ingredients except the powdered sugar to a large bowl. You can totally mix this by hand, but I prefer to use my hand mixer because it makes everything so much easier. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until the desired flavor is reached.
Roll everything into a ball and wrap in parchment paper, throw in the refrigerator overnight. (You can also freeze this for about an hour or two–we just need it to set). Roll in pecans or nuts of choice and serve with your favorite crackers–we love using butter crackers and pea snacks!
I love this cheese ball and honestly I haven’t made another one since Caitlin shared this with me. So thank you, Cait! It’s such a nice mix of savory and sweet, which is my favorite combination.
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