Every year, I look forward to this straightforward, customary cheese ball. Since before I was born, it has been served during Christmas Eve gatherings for family. Even while it just requires a few simple, inexpensive ingredients and can be prepared all year long, I save this one particular snack exclusively for the holidays to preserve its exclusivity. To enhance the savory flavor of the cheese ball, I like to serve it with Ritz crackers.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 25 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 (2.5 ounce) package thinly sliced smoked beef, chopped
- 1 (2.25 ounce) can pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
- 1 small Vidalia or other sweet onion, minced
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Mix the cream cheese, beef, olives, onion, and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl until evenly blended. Keeping the mixture in the bowl, scrape it into a semi-ball shape. Cover, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
- Place a large sheet of waxed paper on a flat surface. Sprinkle with walnuts. Roll the cheese ball in the walnuts until completely covered. Transfer the cheese ball to a serving plate, or rewrap with waxed paper and refrigerate until needed.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 180 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 35 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 293 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Easy recipe for a tasty appetizer. All flavors worked well and it was a big hit for the holidays!
It takes all my willpower not to dive head first into this cheese ball. I have visions of eating it with both hands, throw the crackers to the wind.
It turned out great. I used black olives cuz my family prefers them over green. Also used sharp cheddar cheese.
Made it at Christmas , it was a big hit! No changes needed.
Really delicious!
I made this recipe because it was similar to a cheese ball my mom always made growing up. I used two philadelphia cream cheese instead of the 1 1/2 the recipe called for. I used a food processor to chop everything up and then used it to blend everything together. My cheese ball came out very loose; wouldn’t even mold into a ball after it sat in the refrigerator all night. So, don’t use the processor on the cream cheese! I saw another person used green onions which I think I may try to use next.
Have eaten many times over the years and alway find it very good, no change
Followed directions as written and I loved it! Will make again.
Maybe
Absolutely easy and tasty. Will make it again.
Totally loved this one! It was a huge hit with my family on Christmas Eve. I thought about experimenting with crushed pineapple with it (leaving out the olives).
it was awesome, i made it a few days early and the cheese really soaked up the flavors it was amazing ive never seen food go so fast.
Don’t use whipped cream cheese! My bad. But it was still delicious.
I made it as directed… and then, thanks to Denis, it became tolerable… and then I added MORE Worcestershire… and then some liquid smoke… (rolling my eyes…) What I ended up with was NOT this recipe, and again, thanks to Denis, it can be rated a tolerable two star. If my hostess throws this into the lake my feelings won’t be hurt.
My mom made this for the holidays all the time growing up and today I’m making it for New Year’s Eve. She didn’t use walnuts and layered sliced green olives all around it — but I am chopping up the olives and rolling it in walnuts which is easier, just as pretty and adds a nice crunch 🙂 She served it with Ritz crackers and Chicken in a Biscuit crackers so I’ll probably do the same, maybe a whole grain cracker also. It’s definitely delicious and presents well on a nice cheese platter or plate.
I love this cheeseball, make it often for parties, etc. Frequently I will add about 1/2 can of crushed pineapple to it. The combination of the sweetness of the pineapple and the saltiness of the olives play off each other well.
I found the green olives to make the cheese ball too salty for our taste. One tip from another reviewer was to add shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese.. this worked out great! I’m making the cheese ball a second time, omitting the green olives and using diced green onions in its place. Also, adding a bit more Worcestershire sauce and added a dash of garlic powder. I think the second time around will be a winner!
looking for recipe for cheese ball with red sauce poured over it
I made this for my family last year at Christmas time. The first comment out of my daughter’s mouth was, “make this again next year”. There wasn’t a bit of leftovers. Delicious and easy to make.
I served this for a christmas buffet and everyone loved it. I plan to make it again for another party.
For the smoked beef look for Buddig Beef in the lunch meat section of the grocery. It comes in a bag, not a glass jar. It is the traditional product for this recipe.