Turkey Cheese Ball

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If you are looking for an easy Thanksgiving appetizer that your family and friends will love, look no further- this festive Turkey Cheese Ball will have everyone talking around the Thanksgiving table.

Why We Love This Thanksgiving Turkey Cheese Ball

• This is a tried and true cheese ball recipe, upleveled with fun decorations to make it look like a turkey.
• We used bell peppers to make the turkey head and the turkey tail feathers, which can also be pulled off and dipped into the cheeseball later.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces cream cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 (1 oz.) packet of ranch seasoning
• 2 tbsp. Chives
• 1 cup bacon, cooked, divided (we used premade bacon pieces)
• ½ cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2 candy eyes
• ¼ cup pretzel twists
• Also helpful- 1 large wooden skewer, and toothpicks.

How to Make a Turkey Cheese Ball

Reserve just a bit of cream cheese- 1 tbsp or so for the turkey face, if you don’t have more on hand. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it back into the refrigerator until you are ready to build the turkey..

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, fold together cream cheese, cheddar cheese, ranch seasoning, chives, ½ cup of chopped bacon, diced jalapeno, and worcestershire sauce. Use a spatula to fold all of the ingredients until everything is well combined.

Step 2: With clean hands, roll the cheese mixture into a ball and set it back into the bowl to create a flat surface for the cheeseball to rest on.

Step 3: Cover the cheese ball with plastic wrap, and chill for 6 hours, or overnight.

Step 4: To serve, combine the remaining bacon pieces and chopped pecans on a plate.

Step 5: Roll the cheese ball in the mixture, and pat the bacon and pecans into the sides and top.

Step 6: To create the turkey, cut the sides off of your red bell pepper, and cut one large slice for the turkey’s head. Slice the remaining bell pepper into strips. Slice the yellow bell pepper into strips as well.

Step 7: Take the large wooden skewer, and stick it through the bottom of the large red bell pepper piece, and into the cheeseball. Take a slice of yellow bell pepper and cut a triangle from the piece for the turkey’s beak.

Step 8: Take a small amount of cream cheese and smear some on the back of the yellow triangle to attach it to your turkey’s head, and repeat for the candy eyes, as well. For the feathers, use toothpicks to stick the bell pepper slices into the cheeseball, alternating colors.

Step 9: For a little extra decoration, press a few pretzel twists into the cheeseball in front of the pepper slices.

Serve immediately & enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• If your cream cheese isn’t softened, you can soften cream cheese by microwaving it for 10-15 seconds to make it easier to work with.
• Cheese balls really put my electric mixer through the ringer- I often find it easier to use a sturdy spoon or spatula to fold all of the ingredients together.

Can you make a turkey cheese ball ahead of time?

Yes, you can get all the way to the step of wrapping the cheeseball to chill, before you form the turkey, a day or two ahead of time. You’ll just want to stop at the chilling step, and wait to assemble everything just before serving.

What else could you roll the cheese ball in except pecans?

If you aren’t a fan of pecans, you could roll the entire cheese ball in bacon bits, or another type of nuts.

What’s a good cracker for a cheese ball?

We love Ritz crackers and Keebler club crackers for cheese balls. Of course, you can use any you prefer, those are just our favorites.

Are you planning to make a Turkey Cheese Ball for Thanksgiving? I can’t wait to make one this year- it is such a fun and festive appertizer!

More Cheese Ball Recipes

Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball

Reindeer Cheese Ball

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