These festive cranberry pecan cheese balls are the perfect bite-sized appetizer for any gathering party, especially during the holiday season. They’re quick and easy to make, and naturally gluten-free!
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If you’re looking for a quick bite-sized appetizer idea everyone loves, look no further. Easy to make within minutes, these cheese bites are prepared with a simple mixture of fresh goat cheese, cranberries and pecans.
Creamy and somewhat crunchy on the outside, with sweet and savory flavors, these cheese bites make a wonderful addition to your holiday party. Serve them with a pretzel stick used as a skewer, or as is, with some seeded crackers.
Why you’ll love these cheese balls
- A quick and easy appetizer idea
- Very festive and perfect for any winter party
- Easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time
- Creamy and crunchy, sweet and savory
What goes into cranberry pecan cheese balls?
I recommend you start with the ingredients below, and then feel free to customize your cheese balls by adding fresh herbs and seasonings of choice!
- Cream cheese
- Fresh goat cheese
- Dried cranberries
- Pecans, chopped
How to make cranberry pecan cheese balls?
Here are the main steps to keep in mind when making cranberry pecan cheese balls (head over to the recipe card for detailed instructions):
- Beat the softened cream cheese and goat cheese with cranberries, salt and pepper.
- Then scoop out small portions of the cheese mixture and carefully shape into balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let set in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Coat with chopped pecans, add a pretzel stick to each ball for easy pickup, and serve!
Pro tip for rolling
To prevent your hands from being sticky when rolling the cheese mixture into balls, use latex gloves. It works every time!
Possible variations for these cranberry pecan cheese balls
- Play around with cheese. You can do 100% cream cheese, or like I did a mix of cream cheese and goat cheese, or maybe cream cheese and blue cheese!
- Add some fresh herbs. Use chopped chives, basil, fresh mint, or other herbs for additional freshness to your cheese balls. If doing so, ensure you serve them within a few hours to ensure the herbs remain fresh.
- Replace pecans with other nuts. Think walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, or even a mixture of several nuts.
- Replace the nuts with seeds. You can coat these cheese balls with black and/or white sesame, with an everything bagel seasoning, or some pumpkin seeds.
What to serve with these cranberry pecan cheese bites?
The easiest is to serve these cheese balls as is, and maybe with some multiseed crackers. You can also use a simple skewer, or make them 100% edible by inserting a pretzel stick in the center. If doing so, add the pretzel just before serving to prevent from being soggy.
Storing and make-ahead instructions
You can easily prepare the small cheese balls in advance from A to Z and store in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap up to 2 days in advance. If you want to keep them longer, skip the nuts (they will loose their crunchy bite with time), and roll the balls into the chopped pecans just before serving. You can store leftovers for about 2 days in an airtight container placed in the refrigerator.
More festive appetizer ideas:
- Goat Cheese Pyramid Appetizer
- Green Pea Ricotta Dip with Mint
- Christmas Tree Appetizer
- Tarte Soleil Appetizer
- Cranberry Brie Tart with Pecans
Cranberry Pecan Cheese Balls
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Chilling Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizers
- Diet: Gluten Free
These festive cranberry pecan cheese balls are the perfect bite-sized appetizer for any gathering party, especially during the holiday season. They’re quick and easy to make, and naturally gluten-free!
Email me this recipe
We’ll send it straight to your inbox, along with weekly food inspiration!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (225g) cream cheese, softened
- 3 ounces (90g) fresh goat cheese
- ¾ cup (115g) dried cranberries, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 ¼ cups (155g) pecans, finely chopped
- Pretzel sticks (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, fresh goat cheese*, dried cranberries, salt and pepper, until well combined and smooth.
- Scoop out a small amounts of the cheese mixture and roll it into a small balls, then place onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Continue rolling into balls until all of the mixture has been used. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up.
- Gently roll each ball in the chopped pecans, and place on a serving platter. Just before serving, add a pretzel stick to each ball for easy pickup, or just serve as is, with crackers if desired.**
Notes
* You can also replace goat cheese with blue cheese, or make half and half if you want.
** You can make the cheese balls ahead of time, but don’t insert the pretzels until just before serving or they will become soggy.
Recipe by Del’s cooking twist | Photography by Athina Canevet Studio
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Cranberry Pecan Cheese Balls, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
Hélène S.
Elles sont vraiment jolies visuellement ces bouchées et c’est original ! Je note si jamais j’ai une petite soirée entre amis de ce genre (on avait fait pareil à nouvel an une fois avec des amis, dommage que je ne sois pas tombée sur ta recette à ce moment-là !)
Delphine Fortin
Oui ces petites boules sont en effet parfaites pour un apéro entre amis.
Petite cuillère et Charentaises
Cela fait un très bel apéritif festif ! J’espère que tu as passé de belles fêtes de Noël 🙂
Bises et belle journée,
Gabrielle
Delphine Fortin
Merci Gabrielle! Et en plus c’est tout simple à faire 🙂 Bon réveillon du nouvel an à toi!
Cooking Julia
J’avais repéré hier tes petites bouchées apéritives qui me faisaient bien envie. A prévoir pour un futur apéritif !
Merci pour ta visite sur mon blog qui me fait super plaisir 🙂
Maeva (Cook A Life! by Maeva)
Hum, ça me tente bien, et c’est joli en plus, je t’en prendrai 2 ou 3 mais sans les noix ^_^
Delphine Fortin
Ah oui c’est vrai, les noix et toi c’est pas trop ca ! Dans ce cas là, tu peux t’amuser à recouvrir ces petites bouchées de bretzels grossièrement hâchés à la place. Il y a toujours une solution 🙂
Rosenoisettes
Hello !
Ces petites bouchées sont vraiment toutes belles et appétissantes !
Je ne mange pas de fromage mais ça me donne envie d’en faire avec du faux-mage 🙂
Bises
Delphine Fortin
Oui je suis sûre que tu peux parfaitement adapter cette recette en version entièrement vegan. N’hésite pas à nous partager ta version si tu te lances dans la recette 🙂