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5 from 1 vote

Assorted Mini Cheese Balls

These assorted mini cheese balls look super pretty and are a cinch to make. Serve with crackers and mini toasts and have a fancy snack night at home or serve it on a platter to impress the guests at a party.
Prep Time15 minutes
Refrigeration Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Cheese Board, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 257kcal
Author: Kiran

Ingredients

For the mini cheese balls

  • 150 grams cream cheese softened (see note 1)
  • 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese grated (see note 2)
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Onion and Garlic (see note 3 for more options)

  • 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Italian Herbs and Chili

  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried Italian herbs
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes

Crushed Almonds

  • 2 ½ teaspoons crushed almonds

To Serve

  • Mini toasts, crackers, pita bread, raw vegetables etc.

Instructions

  • In a medium ball, beat softened cream cheese till fluffy (about 1 minute) using an electric hand whisk. Add grated cheddar in the cream cheese.
  • Add seasonings and mix until combined with a spoon. Adjust seasonings if required.
  • Keep in fridge for 20 minutes.
  • Spray your hands with a non-stick baking spray, or lightly grease with oil. This will prevent the cream cheese for sticking to hands. Using a teaspoon or a cookie scoop, form balls of the mixture and then roll in your hands. Keep the prepared balls on wax paper, and keep in fridge for about 10 minutes.
  • Place the coating mixtures into 3 small bowls. Place the dried onion flakes, and garlic powder together, and mix. Place the Italian herbs, red chili flakes and red chili powder together, and mix. Place the crushed almonds in the third bowl. Roll the cheese balls in the different coatings. This recipe will make about 9 cream cheese balls, so there will be 3 cheese balls of each coating.
  • Cover the cheese balls with clingfilm lightly, and keep in an airtight container in the fridge. Keep the cheese balls in fridge until ready to serve. Take them out 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Note 1 – Cream Cheese Options
Use a good quality block cream cheese for this recipe. Make sure it is softened, else it will be too difficult to work with.
Blocks and triangles of cream cheese can also be used (such as Kiri and President brand) but the salt content may need to be adjusted. They are also on the softer side, so can be used directly without needing to be kept outside.
Cream cheese spread cannot be used for this recipe.
Note 2 – Cheddar Cheese Options
It’s best to grate your own cheddar cheese for this recipe, instead of using pre-grated cheddar cheese. The pre-grated variety can have a powdery coating, and can also be difficult to mix through. In case cheddar cheese isn’t available, it can be skipped.
Note 3 – Other coating options included
- Paprika – both normal paprika or smoked paprika can be used
- Finely chopped/crushed walnuts or other nuts like almonds, pistachios, pecans or peanuts.
- Dried Italian Herbs such as parsley, basil, oregano, rosemar etc.
- Fresh Italian herbs such as thyme, oregano, rosemary etc. These need to be chopped finely.
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Shredded coconut or coconut flakes. The coconut can be toasted for a nuttier flavor and added color as well.
If the cream cheese mixture is too soft to roll into balls, keep in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to firm it up.

Nutrition

Calories: 257kcal
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