I feel like the official sign of the holiday season is when cream cheese goes on sale at the grocery store. So many recipes growing up started with cream cheese - this cheeseball being my favourite. I have such a natural sweet tooth so I love how this recipe has the sweetness from the pineapple balanced with the tang and spice of the other ingredients. If you have pineapple-adverse people in your life, do not fret! It doesn't taste *like pineapple* - since you use crushed pineapple, it evenly distributes into the mixture to add subtle sweetness throughout vs straight-up pineapple flavour. The green onion adds savouriness, the red pepper adds some bite, and the Worcestershire sauce adds the tang. Tabasco is the final piece to bring this together with a lingering heat that makes you want to come back for more.
After much testing, I’ve determined that this does in fact freeze! If it’s just you and your household this holiday season, stock your freezer with mini-cheeseballs for a special night in treat.
About the ingredients
Canned crushed pineapple
You want to make sure you are draining the pineapple super well before mixing into the cheeseball, otherwise you’ll have more of a spread instead of a firm cheese ball*. To drain, you can use a fine-mesh strainer and press on the pineapple with a spoon to push out the extra liquid, or you can put it in cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the liquid.
*Honestly, making a spread instead of forming into a cheeseball is a delicious, easier alternative. Sometimes I just put the “cheeseball” mixture in a bowl and call it a “spread”.
Cream cheese
I buy the blocks of cream cheese to ensure the cheese ball can firm up. The spreadable cream cheese also works but you will have trouble keeping its shape. Again, the worst-case scenario is you make a “cheese ball spread” that you top with nuts, which honestly is a pretty delicious worst-case scenario.
Cheese
Make sure you choose a cheddar cheese with some oomph to it, like old cheddar. You want your cheese to add flavour and bite to balance the pineapple.
Nuts for the coating
I use whatever tree nuts (read: anything but peanuts) on hand to coat the outside. If you feel like adding an extra layer of flavour, you can toast your nuts before chopping them. I prefer to toast nuts in the oven (350F for 5-8 mins - when they smell toasty they are done!) to avoid burning. Anytime I toast nuts on the stove I inevitably forget about them and burn them.
How to store:
In the fridge:
The cheeseball will be good in the fridge for 3-5 days. I prefer to wait to do the coating so it doesn’t get soggy, so I store it in the fridge tightly wrapped in saran wrap until just before serving. You could do the coating an hour before serving, place it on your serving plate, and loosely cover it with saran wrap to save you from having a mess when guests arrive!
To freeze:
This cheeseball freezes well which is truly a dream! You can make the cheeseballs well ahead of time and then just take them out of the freezer the morning of. Because of the pineapple, there might be a little bit of liquid in the saran wrap when it defrosts. That’s ok! Once you toss it in the nuts this extra liquid will get absorbed. Plus, if you properly drain and squeeze out the liquid from the pineapple, you shouldn’t have too many issues.
To defrost on the counter: it will take about 2 hours at room temperature to defrost. You can then store it in the fridge until ready to serve!
Sweet and Spicy Cheeseball
Yields 2-4 cheeseballs, depending on size
3 hours needed for prep to serving, only 20 mins of active work
Ingredients:
2 packs cream cheese, room temperature
1.5 cups old cheddar cheese, shredded and lightly packed
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 green onions, small dice, to yield ¼ cup
½ red pepper, small dice, to yield ½ cup
½ cup canned crushed pineapple, well drained
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp tabasco, or other vinegar based hot sauce (1 tsp is lightly spiced, 2 tsp has some kick - anywhere in between is medium spice!)
½ cup chopped nuts of your choice (pecans, almonds, walnuts) per cheeseball - up to 1 ½ cups needed
Salt and pepper
Method:
At least an hour before you start making your cheeseball, take your cream cheese out of the fridge! You want it to be truly room temperature, otherwise it will be difficult to properly mix it together.
In a large bowl, combine your ingredients. Mix until well combined. I use a sturdy spatula to stir and mix together, but some people like to use an electric hand mixer. I find this breaks up the cheese a lot so I prefer to do it by hand.
Once combined, divide into portions to make your cheeseballs. This year, I am making smaller versions since we are gathering in small groups but here are basic measurements:
¾ cup for small cheese ball - good for a gathering of 4 people, yields 3-4 cheeseballs
1 cup for medium cheese ball - good for a gathering of 6-8 people, yields 2-3 cheese balls
1.5 cups for large cheese ball - good for a gathering of 8+ people, yields 2ish cheeseballs
I wrap the cheese ball tightly in saran wrap and let them set in the fridge for a minimum 1 hour before serving. If I’m saving for a future event, I freeze and then let it thaw on the counter the day of (more on this in the above article).
Before serving, combine finely chopped nuts with a pinch of salt and good crack of pepper in a bowl. Toss the cheese ball in the coating and serve!