Home » Appetizers » Festive Blue Cheese Balls

Festive Blue Cheese Balls

Name: Festive Blue Cheese Balls
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature; 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature; 1 teaspoon lemon zest; 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice; A dash of Worcestershire sauce; A dash of hot sauce; A pinch of kosher salt; 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese, I used Maytag; 1 tablespoon red currant jelly; Chopped pistachios and dried cranberries to garnish

posted by Liz Berg on December 30, 2015 (updated 11/19/23)

Jump to Recipe

These Festive Blue Cheese Balls received rave reviews from my friends. Rolled in either dried cranberries or pistachios, they are a welcome addition to a cheese tray or appetizer platter!

Mini Cheeseballs are tasty and perfect for holiday entertaining. Add them to an appetizer spread or a cheeseboard and watch them disappear.

Festive Blue Cheese Balls in a white ceramic egg crate.

Table of Contents hide

5 Festive Blue Cheese Balls

Why You Must Make

A cheeseball surrounded by crackers is a staple at cocktail parties. Rolled in pecans, they usually have a cream cheese base and are filled with a variety of ingredients.
For a twist, I’ve made these bite-sized and rolled them in dried cranberries and chopped pistachios!
The red and green make these perfect for the holidays!

Both coatings add another texture to complement the creamy interior with a subtle pungency from the blue cheese. I served these to a group of my girlfriends over the lunch hour. Needless to say, they were a huge hit! I think these cheese balls may be one of my favorite holiday appetizers!

Ingredient Notes

Kitchen Staples – Kosher Salt, Worcestershire Sauce, Hot Sauce
Cream Cheese – at room temperature for easier blending
Butter – at room temperature for easier blending
Lemon Zest – Freshly zested. Don’t use the dried zest found in the spice aisle.
Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed.
Blue Cheese – Crumbled. I used Maytag, but any favorite variety will work
Red Currant Jelly – I used Wilkin & Sons Ltd. (Tiptree) brand
Chopped Pistachios and Dried Cranberries (Craisins) – To garnish

Festive Blue Cheese Balls in a white ceramic dish on a red napkin.

Recipe Tips

This easy cheese balls recipe is easily adaptable—use cheddar instead of blue cheese and roll in walnuts, or try feta or goat cheese!
Another option is to make a large cheese ball or even a log. A blue cheese ball is perfect for entertaining any time of the year.
Make these mini blue cheese balls small enough so you can enjoy them in 2 bites.
Insert pretzel sticks into each ball for easy access.
Serve this recipe for blue cheese balls with crackers of your choice.
My friends seemed to prefer those rolled in cranberries—the sweetness played well off the blue cheese. But I love the look when offering two different coatings.
Plus they’re all decked out for the holidays in red and green, but you definitely can use other nuts, dried fruit, bacon, or crushed crackers! Just make sure the coatings are chopped or crushed into small pieces for easy eating.