Easy Homemade "Everything" Cheese Ball Recipe with Nuts & Bacon (2024)

Made with three types of cheeses and a little bit of “everything” else, this holiday cheese ball recipe is a party guest favorite. This recipe makes two cheese balls, one to serve now and another to share.

During the holidays, it’s not unusual to be invited to back-to-back “bring-a-dish” events. But during this busy season, who has time to cook twice?

That’s what makes this easy cheese ball recipe such a lifesaver and timesaver. It makes two delicious party-sized cheese balls. Cook once, serve twice!

Add a box of cracker, a bottle of wine or a batch of my bourbon and vodka Holiday Punch, and you’re ready for a party! This Easy Cream Cheese Pepper Jelly appetizer is another holiday favorite, and you can’t go wrong with Tangy Hot Artichoke Dip with Feta.

With so many holiday obligations, why make things hard on yourself with complicated recipes and party plans? A simple recipe like this leaves time for the more important aspects of the holiday season… like sharing fun meals, memories and wine with special friends and family.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

My friend, Amy, shared this cheese ball recipe with me 20 years ago after she brought it for the annual “Goodie Day” celebration at our office.

Goodie Day was a big deal at the newspaper where we worked. I always took my fried wontons or baked brie.

Amy’s cheese ball with everything was always one of the most-requested recipes. And there were never any leftovers at the end of the day. It’s great anytime of year, but especially around the holidays.

• It’s simpleand quick to make
• It’s darn tasty
• It’s always popular
• It looks festive

You’ll find the printable recipe card, with exact measurements for all the ingrediens, at the end of this post. Scroll to the end for the recipe card or keep reading for tips on how to make it.

Want to see a brief overview of the process before diving into the recipe? Click here to watch my web story on how to make an “everything” cheese ball.

🥘 Ingredients for “Everything” Cheeseball

As the name implies, this cheese ball has a little bit of everything in it:

• cream cheese
• sour cream
• cheddar cheese
• Swiss cheese
• hot sauce
• sweet pickle relish
• onion
• bacon
• pecans
• parsley
• poppy seeds

🧀 How to Make a Cheese Ball

To make this cheese ball recipe, you’ll start off by mixing cream cheese, shredded cheeses, sour cream, hot sauce, relish, onion and half the bacon together.

Then use wax paper to roll the mixture into two balls. Place those in the refrigerator until firm.

Remove from the cheese balls refrigerator and coat them in a mixture of the remaining bacon crumbles, pecans, parsley and poppy seeds.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

During the holidays, I love to keep delicious appetizers like this cheese ball on hand to serve at those impromptu get-togethers with friends and family.

📖 Tips/Variations

• If you’re looking to save a few calories, you can use reduced fat or reduced calorie cream cheese and sour cream, as well as 2 percent cheese for this recipe.
• I wouldn’t recommend using fat free cream cheese or sour cream.
• For the bacon, you can fry up some bacon and chop it. Or just real bacon bits from the grocery store.
• Feel free to substitute fresh parsley for the dried flakes.
• Add dried garlic to give the cheeseball more of a kick, like an everything bagel.

Pin This! Homemade Cheese Ball Recipe

More Appetizers Recipes

Try these other family and reader favorite appetizer recipes.

• Pork Fried Wontons
• Spicy Fire Crackers
• Caramel Apple Baked Brie
• Easy French Onion Dip
• Homemade Tortilla Chips
• Slow Cooker BBQ Meatballs

📋 Printable Recipe Card