Mini Cheese Ball Bites are the perfect appetizer for your holiday party! This cute little finger food appetizer is made just like the big version, but rolled in tons of options like dried fruit, nuts, bacon, and more! Then topped off with a pretzel stick so they are easy to grab and pop in your mouth!
Cheese Ball Bite Appetizers
Mini cheese ball bites have officially replaced my go-to cheese ball appetizer. Making them miniature has totally changed the game! These are a huge hit whenever I bring them to a party. The best part is that they can be made in a variety of flavors, so there’s something for everyone.
The single-serve bite-size form is so fun and makes it easy for people to eat them while standing or walking around. Unlike a traditional cheese ball, which can be a bit cumbersome to serve! They are great with crackers, pretzels, or even veggies!
Why We Love This Cheese Ball Bites Recipe
- Quick and easy to make – great make-ahead recipe.
- Great appetizer for a get together or gathering.
- Perfect appetizer for Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve or even a tailgate!
- Finger food!
- Can be made in a variety of flavors.
- Homemade, and cheaper and way better than store-bought versions.
Ingredients / Shopping List
- Cream cheese
- White cheddar cheese
- Salted sweet cream butter
- Horseradish sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Green onions
- Dried cranberries
- Sliced almonds
- Pecans
- Bacon (cooked)
- Pretzel sticks
Substitutions and Additions
- CHEESE: You can substitute any freshly shredded cheese in the cheese ball.
- SPICY: Want to add some heat to your cheese balls? Try adding a teaspoon of hot sauce to the cheese mixture before chilling. You could also split the mixture in two and add the spiciness to half.
- TOPPINGS: You could use any type of toppings to roll your cheese balls in. Another option would be to leave the cheese balls plain, or roll them in shredded cheese if you just want the cheese flavors!
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
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How to Make Mini Cheese Ball Bites
Your mini cheese balls will come together quickly and easily. The prep work only takes about 15 minutes! Then, just wait for them to chill and add your toppings. That’s what I like to call an easy party appetizer!
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together.
- Add the cheddar cheese, horseradish, and worcestershire. Mix until well combined.
- Cover the bowl tightly and chill for 1 hour.
- Scoop out the cheese mixture into 1 tablespoon pieces and roll into a ball.
- Roll the cheese balls in the different toppings, completely coating each one.
- Place the finished cheese balls on a prepared baking sheet.
- Just before serving, place a pretzel into the center of each cheese ball.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Remove the pretzel sticks before storing. They will get soggy if left in the cheese balls.
- To Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing your mini cheese balls. The consistency of the mix does not thaw well. These are best fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any type of pretzel or small, hard breadstick for serving. These are also delicious with crackers, pita chips, or bagel crisps. I’ve even tried them with veggies like carrots and celery before and it was delicious.
Using cream cheese as the base is a must because it’s so soft and easy to manipulate into balls. As for the shredded cheese, you could use any flavor you’d like. You could even separate your mixture and add different cheese to some. It would be delicious to try these with a sharper cheese like Swiss or a spicy cheese like Pepper Jack!
Yes, I actually prefer to make these cheese ball bites the night before and letting them sit in the refrigerator overnight to chill. I like to serve them best cold, so I get them all ready to go and then stick the pretzel stick in them right before I am ready to serve.
Other Easy Appetizer Recipes
- Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread
- Blooming Quesadilla Ring
- Rotel Dip {Only 3 Ingredients!}
- Baked Brie Appetizer
- Pull-Apart Pigs in a Blanket
- Jalapeño Popper Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Mini Cheese Ball Bites
Ingredients
Cheese Balls
- 16 ounce cream cheese softened
- 1 cup white sharp cheddar cheese freshly shredded
- 2 tbsp salted sweet cream butter softened
- 1 tbsp horseradish sauce
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
Toppings
- ½ cup green onion finely chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries chopped
- ½ cup sliced almonds chopped
- ½ cup pecans finely chopped
- 5 slices bacon cooked, finely chopped
- 30 pretzel sticks
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer, or a medium size mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high, beat the cream cheese and butter for 1 minute.
- Add the cheddar cheese, horseradish sauce and the worcestershire sauce. Continue mixing on medium speed until well combined.
- Tightly cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out the cheese mixture. Roll it into a ball and set it on the prepared baking sheet.
- Once all of the cheese mixture has been scooped and balled, roll the cheese balls in the different toppings until the cheese balls are completely coated. Return the coated cheese balls to the baking sheet.
- Just before serving, stick the pretzel sticks into the center of the cheese ball.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Remove the pretzel sticks before storing. They will get soggy if left in the cheese balls.
- To Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing your mini cheese balls. The consistency of the mix does not thaw well. These are best fresh.
I live in Australia & haven’t heard of sweet cream butter.. what could an alternative be please.. love the recipe.. thks for sharing
This is standard butter in Australia
Thank you for replying – always have butter on hand.. will def ‘avago’
yummmm! Great recipe and presentation. I made them easily following your recipe. Thanks! 💕
Can you substitute horseradish for something else & what ? I’m not a fan at all of horseradish
If you didn’t make it, so difficult to figure out how to make them I could try and make them. What a cluster of stupid stuff that I don’t need to see when I’m just trying to find the recipe. I’ll move on to something different.
There is this super cool thing you can buy at the store or on amazon… it is called a cookbook. If you don’t like all of the stupid stuff, like tips and steps to make the recipe, I would “move on” to something like that.
I can’t wait to try them. I love that you have given tips and “stupid Stuff” Apparently some people just want to spew negativity. Oh and must be lazy as a well. Thank you for the recipe .
Thank you Melaine <3
I made a half recipe to try different toppings and my husband loved all of them! I even got a few. I used a variety of what I had in stock, roasted pecans and coconut might be my favorite. I also used bacon bits, green onion tops chopped fine, walnuts, and crushed pineapple. I didn’t put the pretzel sticks in (thinking about saving leftovers) so I used one our collection of shot glasses to put them in the middle of the serving plat e. Worked great so I think I’ll stick with that idea. Thank you for so Mich help and so many ideas.
JessieJ
I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but it looks great.
Great easy tailgate appertizer for all of holiday parties.
How do you roll them? When I made the cream cheese mixture, it was very mushy even after chilling for an hour. They taste great, but I wasn’t able to get the presentation like you did.
I’m not that social so I never have enough guests to make a cheese ball. These mini bites are perfect! I just bought cream cheese and I always have sharp cheddar. Not sure about toppings or pretzel sticks – I have walnuts, a coconut that I could shred and celery. That might have to do.
I found you and this recipe through Skip to my Lou. Hurray!
What a cute presentation!