Mini cheese ball bites are the ultimate easy appetizer to serve at parties! They are filling, savory and delicious… not to mention so easy to customize.
Made with cream cheese, seasonings, nuts, bacon and often dried fruit, these delectable little bites are a surefire crowd pleaser! Serve them with pretzel sticks and watch them disappear from your spread of hors d’oeuvres.
Cheeseballs are the easiest way to the hearts of many holiday partygoers. While they are considered a classic appetizer and have been around for years, I think it’s so much fun to give them a fresh new spin.
Perfect for the holidays, these serve beautifully for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve! You can customize to your tastes and it’s easy to present a variety of these mini cheeseball bites.
Fun to make, fun to present, and even more fun to eat… I think you’re going to love these mini cheeseballs! It’s an adorable appetizer you can feel great about serving.
You can make these with ALL of your favorite Cheese Ball recipes! Yes, I love cheeseballs so much I have an incredible line-up of easy recipes… all shared in a complete FREE guide for you.
Just for fun, I’m going to walk you through the ingredients and steps for two different types of mini cheese ball bites today: Everything Bagel Cheese Ball Bites and Cranberry Cheese Ball Bites.
You’ve seen the cranberry cheeseball before in this darling Santa’s Hat Cheese Ball Recipe! It’s so much fun and such a cute presentation.
When I made a custom Everything Bagel Seasoning for you to mix up at home, I knew it would eventually end up in a cheese ball recipe. And here it is!
Why You’ll Love These Mini Cheese Ball Bites
- Quick and Easy to Make
- Perfect as an individual hors d’oeuvre
- Easy to customize
- Cute presentation
- Work perfect with Jarcuterie
Two bricks of cream cheese = 24 of these mini cheese balls.
Love appetizers as much as we do? Don’t miss my complete hors d’oeuvres round-up, as well as the 30+ Thanksgiving Appetizers!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Everything Bagel Cheese Ball
- Cream Cheese – Full fat is best, but if you prefer to cut back you can use low fat cream cheese too.
- Everything Bagel Seasoning – Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onion flakes, black pepper and salt.
- Pretzel Sticks – these make the perfect individual serving technique.
Cranberry Cheese Ball
- Cream Cheese – Softened. Learn how to soften cream cheese quickly.
- White Cheddar Cheese – freshly shredded.
- Garlic – fresh minced is great, but you can also use the store bought minced garlic in the produce section. I’ll never tell!
- Worcestershire Sauce – for rich flavoring
- Dried Cranberries – for texture and sweet and sour flavor.
- Pretzel Sticks – perfect for serving these mini cheese balls.
Variations
- Try with a different type of shredded cheese
- Try with chopped nuts like almonds or pecans, instead of cranberries
- Add chopped bacon instead of everything bagel Seasoning or instead of cranberries.
- Roll in your favorite Seasoning Blend
How to Make Mini Cheese Ball Bites
- In a medium bowl, mix ingredients (except toppings).
- To form the mini cheese balls, roll into a ball approximately the size of a tablespoon.
- Place cheese balls on a baking sheet (I like to line with parchment paper). Refrigerate to set up for an hour or two.
- Next, you’ll roll in herbs or toppings.
- Just before serving, place your individual pretzel stick in each ball.
Tips
- Cranberry Cheese Ball – You may need to chill this cheese ball mixture to make it easy to work with so it stays on the pretzel stick. Then allow to slightly soften to add cranberries
- Make Ahead – Yes, you can make this incredible holiday appetizer ahead! Simple wrap tightly and add toppings and pretzel sticks just before serving.
- These mini cheese ball bites are so flexible. They are so easy to customize – so get creative and have fun with them!
Scaling up, down or substituting? You’ll love this printable Measurement Conversion Chart!
Shortcuts
- I love to have Everything Bagel Seasoning on hand all the time and it’s so easy to mix it fresh and store in your pantry! It makes it so easy to add to appetizers, entrees, and breakfasts.
- Learn how to soften cream cheese quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
All the things! Nuts, herbs, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, panko, crushed crackers, dried fruit, diced green onions, bacon and more.
These mini cheese balls use pretzel sticks, but they are also great to serve alongside sliced apples and pears and sturdy sliced veggies and meats (especially great for a low carb option).
Serving Suggestions
- Each individual mini cheese ball is served with a pretzel stick. However, it’s fun to mix it up with more options alongside them!
- Try serving with these easy crostini or sliced mini bagels.
- You can also serve these cheese balls next to slices of veggies like carrots, celery, sliced peppers and more.
- Try serving them next to hard sliced meats like salami and sausages.
- Cheese balls serve beautifully alongside fruit platters.
How to Store
- At Room Temperature – You can leave these mini cheese ball bites out for up to two hours while serving.
- Refrigerate – Make these cheese balls up to one day in advance and store tightly wrapped (prior to adding toppings and pretzels sticks). Store for up to one week in the refrigerator.
Dietary Considerations
- Gluten Free (when served with gluten free pretzels)
- Nut Free
- Vegetarian
More Appetizer Recipes
Mini Cheese Ball Bites
Ingredients
Cranberry Cheese Ball Bites
- 16 ounces cream cheese two bricks, softened
- 16 ounces white cheddar cheese freshly shredded
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 6 ounces dried cranberries
- 24 pretzel sticks
Everything Bagel Cheese Ball Bites
- 16 ounces cream cheese Two Bricks, softened
- 3 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning
- 24 pretzel sticks
Instructions
Mini Cranberry Cheese Ball Bites
- Mix softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar, garlic and worchestire.
- Form mixture into tablespoon sized balls with your hands.
- Place cheese balls on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper to help prevent sticking) and refrigerate for 1-2 hours to set up.
- Just before serving, roll the balls in dried cranberries. Place a pretzel stick in each individual cheese ball. Serve immediately.
Everything but the Bagel Mini Cheese Ball Bites
- Roll room temperature cream cheese into small balls.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to set back up.
- Just before serving, roll in Everything but the Bagel seasoning, and add pretzel stick.
Julie’s Tips
How to Store
- At Room Temperature – You can leave these mini cheese ball bites out for up to two hours while serving.
- Refrigerate – Make these cheese balls up to one day in advance and store tightly wrapped (prior to adding toppings and pretzels sticks). Store for up to one week in the refrigerator.
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
Julie’s recipes are the BEST …I use them for my high school family studies classes.. looove every recipe
You are so sweet! Thank you for making my day!