The Best Smoked Cheese Ball

I made this recipe last Christmas to share with friends at a local winery. It was such a hit that I wanted to share it here with you.

David was skeptical of the ingredients, especially when I told him it had roasted garlic. I’m not sure why that bothered him, but he soon forgot after taking his first bite of this cheese ball. This new recipe won him over!

This cheese ball is a great appetizer to make ahead of time. Just set it out on the table with some crackers. It’s also a way to keep your guests happy so you can concentrate on finishing up their holiday meal. 

Why This Recipe Is the Best

Let’s be clear: this is not a smoked cream cheese ball. This is a smoked cheese ball! Our recipe is the best smoked cheese ball because of the flavors’ complexity. 

Two Kinds of Cheese:

Our cheese ball begins with cream cheese and smoked extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Combining the sharp, tangy bite of cheddar cheese with the soft texture of cream cheese is the perfect cheese pairing. 

Cold Smoked Cheddar Cheese:

There are a lot of recipes for smoked cheese balls that call for smoked cream cheese, but we use smoked cheddar cheese instead. The smoked cheddar sets this cheese ball apart from others that use smoked cream cheese, which usually has to be seasoned in some way to give it more flavor.

David cold-smokes extra-sharp cheddar cheese with hickory using a pellet tube on the smoker two weeks in advance for this recipe. The hickory gives the cheese a buttery, sweet, nutty taste and the cheddar a distinct smokiness. The smoke combines wonderfully with the bite of the extra-sharp cheddar.

Follow our guide on how to smoke cheese on the grill or smoker HERE.

Complexity of Ingredients and Contrasting Textures:

Inside the smooth ribbons of cheese, you will get umami from Worcestershire sauce, richness from evaporated milk, and savory ingredients such as roasted garlic and grated onion. The bite finishes with a light, smoky heat, and brightness from jalapeno peppers. 

Ingredients & Substitutions

The recipe card at the end of this post lists the full ingredient list with measurements.

Garlic: You’ll need one whole roasted garlic clove. Roasting the garlic lends a sweet creaminess to the cheese ball. You can substitute with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.

Cream Cheese: gives the cheese ball a creamy texture and helps to bind everything together. You’ll need about 12 ounces of cream cheese. 

Smoked Cheddar Cheese: we use extra-sharp smoked cheddar cheese, which gives the cheeseball a sharp, smoky tanginess that offsets the richness of the cream cheese. You can use store-bought smoked cheddar if you do not have a way to smoke the cheese yourself. 

Onion: grated raw onions provide a savory sweetness. Grating the onion keeps the cheeseball from getting chunky bites of onion. You could also substitute with diced green onions or chives.

Umami: Worcestershire sauce provides tremendous depth of flavor. You can substitute it with soy sauce if you have none on hand.

Jalapeno: finely minced raw jalapenos provide a pop of zesty brightness, which contrasts the savory, smoky cheese, onion, and garlic. The seeds and veins have been removed, so no spicy heat is added to the cheese ball.

Pork Rub: we use our all-purpose pork rub. You can find the recipe HERE or substitute it with your favorite blend of spices.

Heat: cayenne pepper provides a little warmth to this massive cheese ball. You can add more to make it spicier or leave it out altogether. Use a little; it adds dimension to the flavor.

Milk: Evaporated milk provides richness and helps loosen the cheese ball mixture so that it combines to form a creamier cheese ball. You can substitute it with whole milk or heavy cream.

Nuts: Finely chopped nuts give the rich, creamy cheese ball a much-needed crunchy texture. You can substitute with chopped walnuts or almonds.

How to Make Smoked Cheese Ball

1. Roast the garlic:

• Slice the garlic head across the top of the garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Wrap and roast in the oven until the garlic is soft and golden brown.

2. Combine:

• Use an electric mixer to combine all ingredients except milk and pecans in a large mixing bowl.
• Stir in milk a little at a time to help smooth out the cheese mixture.

3. Roll and Coat in Nuts:

• Shape the cheese ball into one large ball or several equal cheese balls. Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm the cheeses back up, then roll in the chopped pecans until well-coated. (see tips for a faster option)

4. Serve:

• Serve with crackers, crusty bread, pretzels, or veggies.

Tips for Making Smoked Cheese Ball

• Bring the cheeses up to room temperature before combining the ingredients.
• It’s best to hand-chop the pecans. I have found that a food processor or electric chopper can easily make the nuts too fine and dusty.
• Mince the jalapenos as fine as possible to avoid obnoxious pieces within the cheese ball.
• Use plastic wrap to help shape the cheese mixture into a ball.
• To save time, wrap the cheese ball in plastic wrap and place the cheese ball in the freezer for 20 minutes before rolling in the nuts.
• Freezer paper or parchment paper works very well for coating the cheese ball with pecans. The flexibility of the paper makes it easy to keep the pecans centered on the workspace.
• If making too far ahead, the nuts can soften. You may want to hold off on the nuts until closer to the time you want to serve it. Personally, I do not mind the nuts being a little softer. It’s all up to you.
• If you can’t find smoked cheddar cheese, you could always throw in a ¼ cup chopped bacon bits or smoked paprika instead.

Storage & Freezing

Store the cheeseball wrapped in plastic wrap or an airtight container for no more than 5 days. The pecans become softer by the day.

We do not recommend freezing as it makes the cheese ball soggy, especially the nuts.

What to Serve With Cheese Ball

We recommend plain dippers so that the flavors of the cracker or bread do not compete with the flavors of the cheese ball.

Serve this cheese ball with sturdy butter crackers, such as Ritz or Town House Dippers, crusty bread, flatbread, pita, pretzels, or veggies.

Recipe FAQs

The Gift of Food

This recipe makes a fairly large cheese ball. Divide this cheeseball up into several small cheese balls to gift to family, friends, and neighbors to enjoy this holiday season!

Making this cheese ball? We’d love to hear your feedback. Leave us a comment and a star rating below. We really appreciate it!

See ya on the mountain!