Mini Cheese Balls 3 Ways

These Mini Cheese Balls are a light and easy appetizer recipe that everyone will love. This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. Melinda have been taking a little break over the holidays to spend time with friends and family but we wanted to share one more recipe before New Year’s Eve. Christmas was all about cookies and candies and dinners that were rich and heavy. For me New Year’s Eve is all about light and simple appetizers that are pretty and delicious.

These mini cheese balls are a quick and easy appetizer to make for the holidays and we have three slightly different ways to make them so you can make a few different types and have something that everyone will love.

The key ingredient in all three cheese balls, other than cheese of course, is Blue Diamond Almonds. I love these things and they are my go to light and healthy snack during the holidays. There are so many awesome flavors, I eat them instead of chips! For these cheese balls I used the Honey Roasted, and Lightly Salted flavors.  I started by making the base for all of the balls, a mixture of goat cheese, cream cheese, and just a little honey.

For my Honey Roasted Cheese Balls I chopped the Honey Roasted Almonds into small pieces. Rolled the cheese and honey mixture into a 1 inch ball and then rolled the ball in the Honey Roasted Almonds. Crunchy, and sweet, these are the perfect little bite. You can eat them on their own or spread them on a cracker.

Next up is my personal favorite, the Cranberry Almond Cheese Balls. For this one I mixed some of the chopped Honey Roasted Almonds into the cheese mixture, rolled it into a ball, and then rolled the ball in chopped dried cranberries. These are amazing. I love the crunch of the sweet almonds in the cheese and the slightly tart flavor of the cranberries and goat cheese together. Yum!

Last but not least we have a savory cheese ball. These Chive and Almond Cheese Balls are made with chopped Lightly Salted Almonds rolled into the cheese mixture. Then the balls are coated in finely diced chives. I especially like this one spread on a cracker.

Servings: 24

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 15 minutes mins

Mini Cheese Balls 3 Ways

These mini cheese balls are an easy appetizer recipe that everyone will love.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Ingredients

• 4 ounces Goat Cheese
• 4 ounces Cream Cheese
• 1 teaspoon Honey
• 4 ounces Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Almonds, chopped
• 2 ounces Blue Diamond Lightly Salted Almonds
• 1/4 cup Dried Cranberries, chopped
• 3 tablespoons Chives, chopped

Instructions

• Combine first three ingredients then split the mixture into thirds.

Honey Roasted Cheese Balls

• Using 1/3 of the cheese mixture roll into 1 inch balls.
• Use 2 oz of the Honey Roasted Almonds and roll each ball in chopped almonds.

Cranberry Almond Cheese Balls

• Using 1/3 of the cheese mixture add 2 oz. of chopped Honey Roasted Almonds to the mixture.
• Roll mixture into 1 inch balls.
• Roll balls in chopped dried cranberries

Chive and Almond Cheese Balls

• Using 1/3 of the cheese mixture add 2 oz of chopped Lightly Salted Almonds to the mixture.
• Roll mixture into 1 inch balls.
• Roll balls in chopped chives.

Nutrition

Calories: 74kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 32mg, Potassium: 56mg, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 130IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition Disclaimer: We are not certified nutritionists. Nutrition facts are an estimate and are provided as a courtesy. They are generated by an online API which recognizes ingredient names and amounts and makes calculations based on the serving size. Results may vary.

Author: Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell

Course: Appetizer

That’s it! Three distinctly different mini cheese ball flavors that make a beautiful, and delicious bite-size appetizer for the holidays. We hope you and your family have a Happy New Year. See you in 2016!