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You are here: Home / / Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball (Video!)

Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball (Video!)

by Jen 27 Comments

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 Super easy, make ahead (AKA stress free!) Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball takes just minutes to whip up and is always a total show stopping appetizer!


This  supercharged Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball recipe is not only loaded with bacon and cheese but COATED in bacon, cheese, green onions and pecans for can’t-stop-eating-partaaaaaaaaaaaaay-deliciousness!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hidden Valley® & Glad®. The opinions and text are all mine.

BACON RANCH CHEESE BALL RECIPE VIDEO

 

 

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!

To me, every good party needs an amazing cheese ball or log.  They are the the ideal cracker spread because it’s basically loaded cheese bursting with flavorful ingredients (just when you didn’t think cheese could get any better) and looks absolutely beautiful.  So far I’ve made Bruschetta Cheese Ball, Cranberry Pistachio Cheese Log and Garlic Herb Cheese Log.  They have all been runaway hits so I decided the holidays need a cheese ball every year.  I need a cheese ball every year.  So if you answer yes to the following questions, I’ve found you the perfect cheese ball recipe!

Do you love bacon?

Do you love ranch?

Do you love cheese?

Me too!  And so does everyone at your next party and they will love YOU for uniting them with their three loves once more with this Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball!

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!

How to Make Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball comes together very quickly.  First, add cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, pepper Jack cheese, sharp cheddar, bacon, green onions and 1 package Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix to a large bowl  – and mix to combine – hello flaaaaaavor!

If you aren’t familiar with Hidden Valley seasoning and dip mixes, they are awesome!  They add bold ranch flavor to anything you heart desires from popcorn to veggies to any dip or appetizer.  I love that you can infuse anything with delicious ranch flavor without having to add any caloric ranch dressing!

I buy everything Hidden Valley at my local super Walmart which makes shopping easy with everything I need all in one place!  Hidden Valley Original Ranch Seasoning Mix is located in the dressing aisle, next to the dry mixes.

 This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!

Next, we drop the mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap, cover tightly, and shape into a ball. Don’t worry about the shape being perfect – you can refine it later when you coat the cheese ball.

For the plastic wrap, I use Glad® Press’n Seal.  This has always been my (and my husband’s!) favorite plastic wrap.  Unlike many plastic wraps, the Glad Press’n Seal actually sticks and seals tightly on a variety of surfaces including paper, plastic, metal and wood –  without having to use layers and layers of wrap.  It’s also BPA-free safe to use in the microwave!

 

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!

Next, we place our Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to harden up a bit.  The amount of time really depends on how soft your cream cheese was to start with.  Once the cheese ball is firm enough to roll in the Coating, you can either roll it right away if you are serving it within a few hours OR you can leave it in the refrigerator until the next day and then Coat it – totally up to you and your schedule.

 

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!

When ready to coat your Bacon Ranch Cheeseball, we roll it in our already made and refrigerated mixture of crispy bacon, sharp cheese, green onions and chopped pecans…

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining! This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!

…to create the ultimate layered flavor and textural bliss – nutty, crunchy on the outside, tangy and creamy on the inside and absolutely delicious all over.

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!

Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball – quite possibly the world’s best party food.

LOOKING FOR MORE PARTY RECIPES?

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  • Buffalo Chicken Dip Ring
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  • Artichoke Dip Bites

 

 

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!

Want to try this Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball?

Pin it to your APPETIZER, PARTY or HOLIDAY Board to SAVE for later!

Find me on Pinterest for more great recipes!  I am always pinning :)!

©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com

Print Recipe
Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball
Super easy, make ahead (AKA stress free!) Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball takes just minutes to whip up and is always a total show stopping appetizer! It’s not only loaded with bacon and cheese but COATED in bacon, cheese, green onions and pecans for can’t-stop-eating-partaaaaaaaaaaaaay-deliciousness!
This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
Rate this recipe!
Course Appetizer
Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
  • 2 8 oz. bricks cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 (1 oz.) pkg Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Pepper Jack cheese
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons finely grated sharp cheddar cheese divided
  • 6 slices bacon,cooked and diced divided
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions divided
  • 2/3 cup chopped pecans
Serve With
  • crackers, celery, carrots, etc.
Course Appetizer
Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
  • 2 8 oz. bricks cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 (1 oz.) pkg Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Pepper Jack cheese
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons finely grated sharp cheddar cheese divided
  • 6 slices bacon,cooked and diced divided
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions divided
  • 2/3 cup chopped pecans
Serve With
  • crackers, celery, carrots, etc.
This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is a hit every time I make it and is always the first appetizer gone! Its super easy and make ahead for stress free entertaining!
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Cheese Ball
  1. Add cream cheese, sour cream, ranch seasoning, garlic powder, pepper jack cheese, 1 CUP cheddar cheese, half of the bacon and 2 tablespoons green onions to a large bowl and mix until well combined.
  2. Drop mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap, cover tightly, and shape into a ball. Chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to firm up (up to 24 hours if serving the next day) before rolling in coating.
Coating
  1. Meanwhile, add remaining 2 tablespoon cheddar cheese, bacon and green onions to a medium bowl. Refrigerate.
  2. When ready to coat cheeseball, whisk in pecans until evenly combined.
Assemble
  1. Spread Coating in an even layer on cutting board/parchment lined counter. Remove cheese ball from refrigerator and roll in Coating mixture, pressing to adhere, until evenly coated. At this point you can refrigerate until ready to serve.
  2. Serve with crackers, celery, carrots, etc.
Recipe Notes

If you have leftover cheese ball, try adding it to scrambled eggs - soooo goood!

©Carlsbad Cravings Original

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hidden Valley® & Glad®. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball (Video!)

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Follow Carlsbad Cravings (Jen)’s board Carlsbad Cravings Recipes on Pinterest.

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Filed Under: Appetizer and Party Food Cravings, Easter Recipe Cravings, Game Day Cravings, Holiday Magic Cravings, Thanksgiving Cravings

Comments

  1. Squiggles says

    at

    Can this be made ahead and frozen?

    It is exactly what I was looking to serve with my Christmas day lunch. But with all the things happening that day, I would like to make it ahead of time and freeze.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      Yes! It is perfect to make ahead and freeze! Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Suz says

    at

    This was an excellent cheeseball! It was a big hit at our Christmas and others plan to make it themselves.
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      You are so welcome Suz, I’m so happy it was a hit! Merry Christmas!

      Reply
    • Lisa says

      at

      I will make this again and again. Made it for Christmas everybody loved it it

      Reply
      • Jen says

        at

        I love hearing that, thanks Lisa!

        Reply
  3. Wilkins says

    at

    I made this recipe last week as the recommendation of a friend who saw the recipe on your site. It was absolutely delicious – didn’t change a thing!

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      Awesome, I’m so happy it was a hit! Thank you!!

      Reply
  4. Monica says

    at

    This was AMAZING! I made it for Christmas and we kept munching away on it for the whole next week! Thank you so much for all of your yummy recipes. I just printed off 10 new ones to add to my Carlsbad Cravings Collection! 🙂

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      YAY! I’m so happy you all loved the Cheese Ball so much and I’m honored you are enjoying my recipes! I hope you love the new ones you’re trying just as much!

      Reply
  5. Steph says

    at

    Hello!

    I live in Canada and our local grocery store has the option of plain Monterey Jack Cheese, Habanero Monterey Jack Cheese or Monterey Jack Jalapeno cheese – which might you suggest for this recipe instead of PepperJack?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      Hi Steph, I would go with the Monterrey Jack Jalapeno. Enjoy!

      Reply
      • Stephanie says

        at

        Great thank you for the recommendation! Also, it looks like we don’t have the hidden valley ranch package either 🙁 what substitutes would you recommend?

        Reply
        • Jen says

          at

          If you google “homemade ranch seasoning packet” then there are some good options. You will want 2 tablespoons of the homemade mix. Enjoy!

          Reply
        • Melanie says

          at

          Stephanie, Club House makes a ranch dressing & dip package that you can get up here instead of Hidden Valley.

          Reply
  6. Doris Whiten says

    at

    Love the cheese ball recipes!

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      Thank you, me too! It doesn’t get much better!

      Reply
  7. Julie says

    at

    We have some family members with nut allergies. What could we substitute for the pecans?

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      Hi Julie, you can omit them and increase the remaining coating ingredients or you can replace them with buttery, toasted panko (my preference) like I did in this recipe: https://carlsbadcravings.com/bruschetta-cheese-ball/

      Reply
  8. Jo says

    at

    What are the puffy cracker things on the plate with the cheese ball?

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      Hi Jo, I don’t remember the brand, but they are some sort of puffed cracker.

      Reply
  9. Dianne says

    at

    The recipes look so awesome & tasty

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      Thank you! I think you will love it!

      Reply
  10. Tammy says

    at

    We love cheeseballs! But don’t particularly care for Nuts. I was thinking, if you crush pretzels it would hold the form and work?

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      Hi Tammy, I think pretzels would normally be a good idea except I that they might make the cheese ball too salty because the ranch mix is a bit salty. If you use pretzels, I would consider reducing the ranch seasoning mix or better yet, if you can find unsalted pretzels then those would be great.

      Reply
  11. Donna Sue says

    at

    AWESOME! You have some amazing recipes – so glad I found you. Thanks again, now I am making a cake and an appetizer for the Super Bowl Party.

    Reply
    • Jen says

      at

      I’m so glad you found my page too, welcome! Happy Game Day with lots of great food!

      Reply

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Cystic fibrosis survivor, lung & kidney transplant recipient, LOVER of life and FOOD!   I’m Jen … read more

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