I mean realistically if you’re not serving a cream cheese ball the size of your face at your next gathering, is it even worth having!? A simple cheese board is totally a thing of the past. Face-sized cheese balls are the way forward. This is life now. 🙂
Caramelized Onions
The heart and soul of this cheese ball is the caramelized onions. Cheese and onion? Great. But cheese and caramelized onions?! Now we’re talking. I’ve got a more in depth post dedicated to Making Perfect Caramelized Onions, but in reality as long as you stick to the golden rule you can’t go wrong. The golden rule being low and slow of course. I guess that’s two rules. You get my drift… By frying onions on a low heat over a long period of time you tickle out their natural sugars to the surface. In turn, those sugars then caramelize, turning the onions soft, sweet and golden. You can caramelize onions in just oil or butter, but I also like to add another couple of goodies:
Balsamic Vinegar – this helps balance out the sweetness and gives the onions a deep, gorgeous flavour. Brown Sugar – this enhances the caramelization process and helps turn the onions extra sweet and sticky.
How long does it take to caramelize onions?
The lower the heat and the longer the better. You can get pretty decent caramelized onions in around 40mins if you’ve got a small batch, but honestly you’re looking for at least an hour for them to truly caramelize. It’s a labour of love, but totally worth it.
Cream Cheese Ball
Alright, caramelized onions done and dusted, let’s talk cream cheese ball. Beside the obvious cream cheese and caramelized onions, the only other ingredient you need for the filling is cheddar cheese. I recommend a nice sharp cheddar, just to add a good punch of flavour and balance out the sweetness of the onion. Once you’ve combined those fillings, use cling film to mould into a giant ball and pop in the fridge to set. This is important so it keeps it’s shape.
What can I roll my cheese ball in?
Rule number 1 of cream cheese ball club – you must add a coating. A lot of recipes use pecans (or other nuts), some use bacon, but here we are going to use crispy fried onions. You know, just to keep in line with the cheese and onion theme. You can use store bought or make your own (notes on that in the recipe card).
As you can see making a cheese ball recipe is pretty straight forward. Here’s just a few tips to make sure it’s perfect!
Tips for the best Cream Cheese Ball
Try and stay away from wet ingredients, it’ll turn your cheese ball sloppy and keep in from forming into a ball shape. Give it a stint in the fridge before you serve to help firm up. Pick a casing ingredient with a contrasting texture i.e nuts/crisps and add them after the stint in the fridge. Rolling the cheese ball in your outer layer just before serving will ensure the outside doesn’t go soft.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes, in fact it’s encouraged. However like I just mentioned, be sure to keep the crispy onions off until serving.
How long is a cream cheese cheese ball good for?
I usually keep mine for 2-3 days, but you can store longer at your discretion. Just make sure it’s tightly covered.
How to serve a Cream Cheese Ball
Best way to serve a cream cheese ball in to plonk it on a chopping board and surround it with your favourite dunkers (technical term). I usually go for crackers, carrots and celery, but use whatever you fancy! And there we have it! All my top tips for a darn good cheese ball have officially leaked from my brain. For more similar recipes check out these beauties too:
Cream Cheese Pasta Caramelized Onion Hummus Fried Cheese Balls Baked Jalapeño Popper Dip
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this cream cheese and onion ball shall we?!
How to make a Cheese Ball (Full Recipe & Video)
If you plan on making this onion and Cream Cheese Ball then be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a burning question? Give me a shout in the comments below and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!
