This jalapeno popper cheese ball is creamy and cheesy with the best flavors and textures from crumbled bacon, green onions and pecans. A crowd-pleasing appetizer!
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Chill time: 1 hourhour
Total Time: 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Servings: 16
Ingredients
16ouncescream cheese, softened
¼cupsour cream
2Tablespoonsranch dressing dry mix
1cupshredded cheddar cheese, more if desired
¼cupgreen onions, sliced
2Jalapenos , seeds/stems removed and finely chopped
6strips cooked bacon, finely chopped
⅓cuppecans, chopped
For serving: Favorite snack crackers or vegetables
Instructions
Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and ranch seasoning in a large bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
Combine the cheddar cheese, onions, jalapenos and bacon in a shallow bowl. Then pour half the mixture into the cream cheese bowl and stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate the remaining mixture in the bowl to use as a topping when rolling the cheese ball.
Place cream cheese mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap. Cover and form into ball. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Remove ball from plastic wrap and add pecans to the reserved topping mixture in the shallow bowl. Roll cheese ball in pecan mixture until well-coated. Press into the ball if needed.
Place on a platter with crackers and serve.
Notes
If you don’t want to use nuts, you can use chopped bacon or crushed crackers instead (similar to my bacon ranch cheese ball).
If you'd like more cheese, you can mix in 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese with the cream cheese.
Make-ahead: Follow steps 1 & 2, then let chill in fridge overnight. Before serving, roll in reserved topping mixed with pecans until well-coated.
Storage: Will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks if covered or stored in an airtight container.