Cranberry pecan mini cheese balls are an easy, crowd pleasing appetizer that you can make ahead of time with no actual cooking needed. Full of creamy cheese, sweet tart dried cranberries, crunchy pecans, and a little savory seasoning, they make a festive bite sized snack.

A good cheese ball is the solution to so many problems.

Last minute entertaining?

Cheese ball.

Appetizer that is beautiful, tasty, and impressive looking that doesn’t require you to cook?

Cheese ball.

And these cranberry pecan mini cheese balls are just the thing for any holiday occasion.

They’re made with a creamy, savory cheese mixture that’s rolled into individual portions and coated in a delicious combination of chopped cranberries and crunchy pecans.

The cranberries add a little sweetness and tang, while the pecans bring just the right amount of crunch to balance out all that creamy cheese.

You can make them ahead of time, keep them chilled until guests arrive, and serve them with crackers, pretzels, or fresh veggies for an appetizer everyone can grab and enjoy.

Ingredients

To make these you’ll need:

Cream cheese– 32 ounces of cream cheese softened to room temperature.
Pecans– Chopped and divided.
White cheddar cheese– Softened.
Green onions– Chopped.
Dried cranberries– Chopped and divided.
Spices– Garlic salt, onion powder, and pepper
Parsley– Chopped

How to Make

These cranberry pecan mini cheese balls are pretty easy to make.

To so it, beat the cream cheese, 1 cup of pecans, 2 cups of white cheddar cheese, 1/3 cup of green onions, 1 cup of cranberries, garlic salt, onion powder and pepper with a hand mixer until everything is well combined in a large bowl.

Scoop 2-3 tablespoons worth of the cheese mixture and roll into a ball.

Put the cheese ball on a cookie tray lined with parchment.

Repeat until you’ve used all the mixture.

Then cover the tray with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

After the cheese balls have been refrigerated for at least an hour, combine the remaining 1 cup of pecans, 1 cup of cranberries and 1/3 cup of chopped parsley.

Roll the cheese balls around on the plate one at a time to coat them, gently pressing the pecans and cranberries into the cheese balls.

Serve and enjoy!

Serving Suggestions

These cranberry pecan mini cheese balls pair well with:

crackers
pretzels
veggies
toasted piece of baguette
bagel chips
pita chips

Storing

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Tips and Tricks

You can make any size cheese balls you like. It’s really fun to make them smaller and serve them with a pretzel stick in each one for easy grabbing. Alternatively, you can make one large cheese ball- if preferred.
Let them soften for about ten minutes on the counter before serving so they are more spreadable.
Want to make them all the same size for prettiest presentation? Use a cookie scoop to portion them out.

Other Savory Holiday Cheese Balls

Cranberry pecan mini cheese balls are a delicious, elegant start to any holiday party or event.

Make them and enjoy!

Looking for other savory holiday cheese balls?

Try these:

If you’ve tried these CRANBERRY PECAN MINI CHEESE BALLS or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!

Cranberry Pecan Mini Cheese Balls

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Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10

Chill Time: 1

Total Time: 1 10

Servings:

Calories: 332kcal

Author: Meaghan - The Quicker Kitchen

Ingredients

2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese softened to room temp
2 cups pecans chopped and divided
2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 cups dried cranberries chopped and divided
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Line a large tray with parchment paper and set aside.
To a large bowl add the cream cheese, 1 cup of pecans, 2 cups of white cheddar cheese, 1/3 cup of green onions, 1 cup of cranberries, garlic salt, onion powder and pepper. Beat on a low speed with a hand mixer until everything is well combined.
2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, 2 cups pecans, 2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese, 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions, 2 cups dried cranberries, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp pepper
Scoop about 2-3 tbsp worth of the cheese mixture and roll into a ball, set it on the lined tray. You can make a bunch of tiny bite size balls or do the 2-3 tbsp worth of the mixture.
Once the mixture is gone and all the balls are rolled out and placed on the tray, cover the tray with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
On a large plate add the remaining 1 cup of pecans, 1 cup of cranberries and the chopped parsley.
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Take the refrigerated cheese balls and roll them around on the plate. Once they get everything stuck to them you can gently press the pecans and cranberries into the cheese so they don’t fall out, if needed.
Serve with crackers, pretzels or veggies! You can even stick pretzel sticks in the tops of the cheese balls for easy pick up!

Notes

You can make any size cheese balls you like. It's really fun to make them smaller and serve them with a pretzel stick in each one for easy grabbing. Alternatively, you can make one large cheese ball- if preferred.
Let them soften for about ten minutes on the counter before serving so they are more spreadable.
Want to make them all the same size for prettiest presentation? Use a cookie scoop to portion them out.