In this simple recipe, vegan breakfast sausage is replaced with TVP, oats, and a variety of herbs and spices. A log of dough can be formed, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to a week before being baked.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 20 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 cheese balls |
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pepperoni sausage
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Place pepperoni slices in a food processor or blender, and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.
- In a bowl, stir together cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, butter, and sour cream. Mix well with a mixer. Add chopped pepperoni, and mix well. Form into small balls, place on a serving platter, and refrigerate.
Reviews
Made as written and this was pretty good. Next time I’d do less pepperoni and more Worcestershire
This recipe was really easy to follow and to make. I didn’t add the butter as I couldn’t see the reason behind the additional fat, but I did add a sprinkle of garlic and onion powder. I also used a bit more pepperoni as I just used what I had left from a previous recipe so I didn’t measure it out. I did run the pepperoni through my food processor, removed part of it and then added the remaining ingredients. After letting it sit over night, I used a melon scooper and made small bite sized balls that I rolled in the pepperoni that I had taken out of the food processor prior to adding the other ingredients. I then placed them on a tray with toothpicks in them and kept them chilled until the last minute, as I didn’t want them to become soft. I served them with Ritz style crackers and bite size pretzels. My guests enjoyed this very much with people liking them either way, there was no preference to pretzel or cracker. Being so easy to make, allowing me to make it ahead of time, I would definitely make this recipe again.
A great little appetizer that has very nice presentation. I used a small cookie scoop and made lots of little balls rather than just 12 as the recipe states. Each one was perfect to place on a Ritz cracker. I put a toothpick in each one to make picking up easier.
for years i’ve been making a pepperoni cheese ball. Just Cream cheese softened, add pepperoni that has been thru the food processor. mix together and chill. Take extra pepperoni that has been through the food processor sprinkle on was paper. Ball cheese mixture and roll through grated pepperoni. No extra ingredients!!!! Everyone loves this and they will ask for the recipe and i tell them it’s really complicated and hard to make!!!
Awesome at my tailgate party
This was good! It tastes a lot like another pepperoni dip I make from this site that uses cream of mushroom soup and is heated up. My DH made this for his poker buddies and just served it in a bowl but I’m definitely going to try forming these into bite-sized balls. I think the mild creaminess is a good accent to the spiciness of the pepperoni!
What a good recipe- I would have never thought to use pepperoni in a dip! I used veggie pepperoni (since I’m a vegetarian) and added plenty of onion and garlic powder. I also rolled mine into a log instead of balls.
I changed it as well. I used a food processor and mixed the pepperoni, cream cheese, Worcestershire, 2 Tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp oregano, and 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese. I thought it was good, served it with chips. Next time I would add a little red pepper flakes, for spice. Let sit for a few hours, or overnight to blend flavors.
I have this recipe except I add chopped walnuts to it. Once the ball has formed in the fridge we roll the ball in walnuts. Without the walnuts the cheeseball would take pretty bland.
Thought the pepperoni flavor was too strong. Just didn’t care for them.
I like cheese ball, but I’m not a fan of nuts or onions. This recipe is the BEST. and all my co-workers loved it. It really is a great variation of a classic!
I’m very easy to please, but I was disappointed in this recipe. I liked the idea of using pepperoni, but the consistency didn’t lend itself to making individual balls. That would have been a huge waste of time. It’s possible to make it into one large ball or log, but again, it’s lacking something in the consistency so this recipe, as is, would be best used as a bowl dip. I think I would eliminate most or all of the sour cream and butter and maybe try putting some dry Ranch mix or something similar in. EDIT: To be fair, after this was left in the refrigerator overnight, the consistency and taste were much, much better. You could probably roll it into individual balls, but spreading it on crackers is just fine.
I made this with Neufchâtel Cheese, and, like the previous reviewer, formed it into a log-shape. The leftovers were good on some toasted Viennese bread. Thanks!
I liked this recepie. It was something different from the usual cheese balls. However, I formed it into one cheese log rather than small cheese balls.
The taste was kinda bland pepperoni is meant to be spicy, but the the sour cream spoils it, so i had to add some curry powder that added some zing.