Spicy Jalapeño Cheese Ball — Just spicy enough that the more you have, the more you want!! A fast, easy, and foolproof hit!!
Table of Contents
Spicy Cheese Ball Recipe
This is Super Bowl food all the way. Or game day food, easy party food, or cheese-spread-as-your-dinner food. If you can make meals out of appetizers and dips like I can, especially of the cheesy variety, you’re going to love this cream cheese ball recipe.
Simply combine cheddar cheese, cream cheese, garlic, red bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, and stir. In less than 5 minutes, you’re done. The best kind of recipe and it’s naturally gluten-free.
The tiny bits of peppers add nice color, great texture and big, bold flavor to the cheese ball.
Jalapeño Cheese Ball Ingredients
To make this easy cheese ball with jalapeño, all you’ll need is:
- Cream cheese
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Red bell pepper
- Jalapeño pepper
- Garlic
- Fisher Chopped Walnuts
- Fisher Natural Sliced Almonds
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
Tip
I used 1/2 cup each of Fisher Chopped Walnuts and Fisher Natural Sliced Almonds. There’s no added salt, sugar, preservatives, or anything you don’t want in Fisher Nuts which is why they’re such a great choice for cooking. I especially loved the buttery crunch of the walnuts contrasted against the smooth, creamy cheese. So good.
How to Make a Jalapeño Cheese Ball
Cream cheese balls are one of the easiest appetizers you can make! Here’s an overview of how this hot cheese ball is prepared:
- Mix together all of the ingredients except the nuts.
- Pat the mixture into a ball. Carefully transfer the cheese ball to a piece of plastic wrap and wrap it up.
- Chill the cheese ball in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving it.
- When ready to serve, roll it in the nut mixture.
Tips for Making the Best Cheese Ball
Make sure the cream cheese is very well softened before beginning this recipe, or it will be unnecessarily difficult to combine the ingredients.
I de-seeded the jalapeño because not everyone likes things quite as spicy and hurts-so-good as I do, but if your friends and family can handle the heat, keep some or all of the seeds in.
You can optionally incorporate chives, green or red onion, corn, or bacon bits in the outer coating if you wanted to really go all out.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! This jalapeño cheese ball will last up to 1 week in the fridge and can be made two or three days before you plan on serving it. Wait to roll it in nuts until you’re ready to serve.
Yes, you can freeze the cheese ball before coating it in nuts. Wrap it in a few layers of plastic wrap and a layer or two of foil, then freeze for up to three months. To thaw, place in the fridge overnight.
Of course! If you have jarred jalapeño slices on hand, use those instead of a fresh pepper. I recommend patting the jalapeño slices with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture before adding to the cheese ball mixture.
Definitely! To make more of a jalapeño popper cheese ball, add up to 1/3 cup of cooked and crumbled bacon to the cream cheese mixture.
Use cream cheese that’s sold in a brick, NOT whipped cream cheese. I used lite cream cheese in an effort to reduce some of the decadence.
What to Serve with a Jalapeño Cheese Ball
Cream cheese balls pair well with anything carb-y. Some of my favorite things to dip into a cheese ball are:
- Pita chips
- Crackers
- Tortilla chips
- Baguette slices
- Veggie sticks
- Pretzels
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Spicy Jalapeño Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- two 8-ounce packages brick-style cream cheese, very well softened (lite is okay)
- 8- ounces grated sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup finely diced red bell pepper with seeds and stem removed, about 1/2 of a medium/large pepper
- ⅓ cup finely diced jalapeño pepper with seeds and stem removed, about 1 medium/large pepper; if you want spread extra-spicy keep some or all of the seeds
- 2 finely minced cloves of peeled garlic
- optional 1/3 cup of chives, green or red onion, corn, or bacon bits
- ½ cup Fisher Chopped Walnuts, or as necessary to fully cover cheese ball
- ½ cup Fisher Natural Sliced Almonds, or as necessary to fully cover cheese ball
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add all ingredients except nuts, and stir to combine or use a handheld electric mixer and beat on low speed to combine. Make sure cream cheese is very well softened before beginning or it will be unnecessarily difficult to combine the ingredients.
- Using a spatula (or your hands), pat mixture into a ball inside bowl; it’s okay if it’s not perfectly round.
- Turn ball out onto a large piece of plasticwrap and wrap it up. Gently pat it into a nice smooth ball, and place ball inside a ziptop bag to prevent fridge smells.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight, to chill and firm up.
- Prior to serving, combine the walnuts and almonds in a medium bowl and gently roll the ball in nuts until it’s completely covered.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cheese Ball Recipes:
Pineapple Cheese Ball – An EASY holiday appetizer recipe that’s a party favorite! Made with tangy cream cheese, juicy pineapple, green bell peppers, green onions, and plenty of nuts for lovely crunch and texture!
Christmas Cheese Ball Wreath — A delectable cheese ball mixture rolled in festive and colorful toppings and arranged into a wreath! A show-stopping presentation of wonderful cheese bites for your holiday parties and entertaining tables! EASY to make and can be made IN ADVANCE! No one can resist the allure of cheese!
Dill Pickle Cheese Ball — Calling all dill pickle fans, this super EASY appetizer recipe is creamy, cheesy and chock full of dill pickles, dill pickle relish, and plenty of fresh dill! When you’re looking for a fan FAVORITE recipe to serve at your next holiday party or event, backyard barbecue, picnic, or potluck, put this quick and simple recipe on the list!
Post is brought to you by Fisher. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own. #thinkfisher
Oh, it looks so tasty!
Yum! I love cheese balls and yours looks phenomenal! I love the mixture of cream cheese and cheddar cheese and adding red peppers sounds so delicious. Can’t wait to try!
I’m SO an appetizers-for-dinner type of girl, and I’d have no problem polishing off half of this gorgeous cheese ball in one sitting. I’d only be able to make in for the Super Bowl when everyone else was distracted by the game and didn’t notice how much of it I hogged! ;)
Good commercials = everyone else is ‘busy’ and I can go hog the dips all to myself :) So with you on those happy distractions!
I love cheese balls, and this one looks SO delicious with all the little extra additions! I can’t wait to try this one out at my next get-together!
Fabulous flavors! My family would go crazy for this!
Thanks, Lori! Hope you guys have a great Superbowl weekend!
I love me a good cheese ball. This one is fantastic, and I love the nuts you put on the outside!
Thanks Dorothy! I mean how can you go wrong with cheese!
Let the dippage begin! This is so going to happen for Super Bowl 2015!
If you try it, LMK!
Cheese balls are the best! I’ve always made all kinds of herb cheese balls, but never thought about making a spicier one with jalapeno. Great idea. :)
Okay, so even funnier than our cheeseball talk the other day, is I almost made a savory cheeeball with jalapenos for my Fisher Nut post too :) Great minds I tell ya! The only reason I didn’t was because I had already made that sweet cheese ball!! This looks absolutely delicious!
And our other friend made a cheese ball and told me she was posting it tonight but is maybe moving it back a few days. Guess all the Fisher bloggers had cheese balls on the brain :) That is tooooo funny! And I would have loved your sweet cheese ball :)
I can totally make a meal out of appetizers, and those are sometimes the best meals! This cheese ball looks delicious, Averie! I love the jalapeno and red pepper combo. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and appetizers as meals are my fave kind of meal :)
I need more cheese spread as my dinner type of days! Looks Delicious!
You’re totally going to judge my food blogger prowess here, but…I have NEVER made a cheese ball!
I know.
But now you’ve done all the hard work and developing for me. SO…this! Love that spicy addition.
Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and I had never made one either! Not sure why but they are so easy…like it took me 5 mins and this baby was done! Loved that :)
It looks yummy! I’ll definitely try to make it. Thanks for sharing.
Easy and delicious–perfect for any party and so well timed. We’ll probably head over to one of our neighbors for the super bowl and it’s always nice to have a quick recipe. I have made various dips but not an actual cheese ball.
I had never made one either! Not sure why but they are so easy! I have a million cheesy dips and now I have the big cheese ball so I’m all set :)
I’ve never made a cheese ball but this recipe may just change that…I love the combination of nuts. We are getting ready for 30 inches of snow (yes 30) so this would be a perfect snack as we hunker in for a few days of movie watching.
I had never made one either! Not sure why but they are so easy and took me 5 mins! This would be perfect snowed-in weather! Sitting around eating cheese (and drinking something too hopefully) while being snowed in actually sounds nice :)
Just gorgeous! Great minds think alike. We should seriously do a cheese ball swap :)
Let’s get Heidi in on it too. LOL :) And this week with pre-Superbowl, there will be like a million cheese ball posts all of a sudden. Can’t wait to see yours!