Cheese Truffles Recipe (Mini Cheese Balls)
Cheese Truffles are loaded with delicious flavors and toppings. Serve with crackers or pretzels for an easy appetizer and fun party food! Scooped in small bites, these mini cheese balls are rolled in fine herbs, toasted nuts, cheese cracker crumbs, seasoning mixes, or assorted grated cheeses. We all want appetizer ideas that look super impressive, can be prepped ahead, are very tasty, and everyone keeps reaching for during the party. These check every box.
Servings: 24
Calories: 83kcal
Equipment
- Spring Loaded Cookie Scoops (3 Sizes) use the 1" scoop
Ingredients
Cheese Truffles Ingredients
- 2 - 8 ounce boxes cream cheese
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese
- ½ cup crispy crumbled bacon or bacon bits
- ¼ cup green onions or chives
- 1 packet ranch seasoning mix
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup sour cream
- Serve with crackers, pretzels, or pita chips.
Cheese Truffles Toppings
- assorted grated cheeses
- crumbled crispy bacon, green onions, and grated cheddar cheese
- crushed regular or candied pecans
- chopped herbs: rosemary, thyme, and parsley
- crushed pretzels
- crushed parmesan whisps cheese crips
- crushed cheddar cheese crackers
Instructions
- Pull the 2 packages of cream cheese out on the kitchen counter at least 30 minutes so they are easier to mix.
- Make the crumbled bacon (it's worth the time!) but good bacon bits work great too and save time. Cook bacon the way you like to and crumble, you will need 1 cup for this recipe.
- 1 pound of sliced bacon makes about 1 ½ cups of crispy crumbled bacon so you will have some extra.
- To cook in a large skillet or cast iron pan, slice a package of bacon slices into ½ pieces, and saute over medium heat, stir the chopped bacon pieces with a wooden spoon until crispy. Takes about 12 minutes. Drain the crumbled bacon on a paper towel on a baking sheet.
- Grate the cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese on a box grater or food processer. Pregrated cheeses are fine too!
- In a large bowl, add the two cream cheese blocks, grated sharp cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, crumbled crispy bacon, green onions, ranch seasoning mix, garlic powder, and sour cream. Mix cream cheese mixture with a hand mixer or stir with a large spatula until well combined.
- Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Use a small 1" springloaded scoop and make individual cheese truffle balls. Or measure out 1 tablespoon of cream cheese truffles into balls, and roll them round in your hands.
- Crush your toppings in a small food processor, in a plastic zip top bag with a rolling pin, or chop on a board with a chef's knife. Place each topping in bowl.
- Toppings I used are; assorted grated cheeses, crushed pecans or Candy Pecans, chopped herbs, crushed pretzels, crispy bacon/green onions/cheddar cheese, crushed cheddar cheese crackers, and crushed parmesan whisps cheese crips.
- Roll one truffle at time in the mixture, and press the toppings onto each truffle. Place on a platter. Wrap well with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve.
- Serve on a platter with assorted crackers, pretzels, or pita chips.
Video
Notes
Flavors & Variations
Use some ingredients you prefer or have on hand. Here are a few ways to mix things up...
Bacon
Real bacon is the best, if you buy a 1-pound package of sliced bacon, it will cook down to 1 ½ cups of cooked crumbled bacon. You will need 1 cup for this recipe.Seasonings
Instead of the Ranch seasoning packet, add a teaspoon of a seasoning salt blend, some Worcestershire sauce, or Everything Bagel seasoning.Veggies, Dried Fruits, & Herbs
In place of green onions, add fresh parsley, dill, or some chopped basil and rosemary. Or add some chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes or confetti of chopped colorful bell peppers. Dried cranberries or cherries would be so pretty for the holidays!Meats
Add in chopped salami, slice some ham or pepperoni into thin small ribbons and mix it into the cheese ball.Nuts & Seeds
Roll in crushed toasted or Candied Pecans, macadamia nuts, walnuts, sesame seeds, or toasted pine nuts.Cheeses
Good grated cheese will make your cheese ball really tasty, add in Monterey jack cheese, parmesan cheese, feta, pecorino romano, white cheddar cheese, or Colby jack cheese.Goat Cheese Truffles
For all you goat cheese fans, swap in goat cheese in place of the cream cheese, and make goat cheese balls rolled in different toppings!Nutrition
Calories: 83kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 229mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 0.04g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 131IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 0.1mg