This Classic Cheeseball is a simple savoury favourite, with a creamy base and plenty of flavour in every bite. Cream cheese is combined with fruit chutney, herbs and seasonings to create a delicious cheeseball that is easy to prepare and perfect for sharing.
It’s a reliable recipe to have on hand when you need something for entertaining, especially as it can be prepared ahead of time and served when you’re ready.
The history of the classic cheeseball
For those that love to read this for all sorts of useless information you will be delighted to know Cheeseballs originated way back in the 1800’s! Given as a gift to an American President, rumour has it that it weighed in at 560KG!
They have had many revivals over the years, so I am now on a mission to bring this retro recipe to the forefront of your minds.
What is a cheeseball?
A cheeseball is a cream cheese based ball of goodness, can be packed with all sorts of flavours, dried fruits and nuts and often rolled in something so it looks prettier!
There are many varieties and you can expect me to share some more in the lead up to summer, cheese platters are a lovely easy way to entertain and with how quick and fun these are you are sure to impress. The next cab off the rank is my FAVOURITE!
Can I make a cheeseball without nuts?
What if I don’t like or cannot eat nuts?! No problem, you can use so many other options to coat, parsley, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, crispy bacon pieces, crushed corn chips or crisps, crushed crackers and more!
What do you need to make it?
All you will need for this recipe is:
- Cream cheese
- Cheese
- Chutney
- Curry powder
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Parsley
- Peanuts
Sounds like an interesting assortment of ingredients but I can assure you they all meld beautifully together to form a lovely addition to your cheeseboard.
How to make a classic cheeseball: Video
How to make a classic cheeseball step-by-step
The first step is to ensure the cream cheese is at room temperature or softened, this makes mixing it with the other ingredients much easier.
With a strong wooden spoon (or you could use your food mixer with a scraper attachment) soften and blend the cream cheese.
Then add the other ingredients, except the peanuts, they are just for coating. These ingredients can very easily be subbed out for others, if you prefer to omit the curry powder for example it will still be lovely or you can use something other than peanuts to coat it.
Once you have the ingredients fully combined, I like to add the chopped peanuts to a dessert bowl and prepare the piece of plastic wrap (gladwrap) for the next steps.
Using a rubber spatula begin to bring the ingredients together in a sort of ball shape, scraping down the sides of the bowl to grab every last bit of goodness.
Next, using damp hands lift up the cream cheese mixture and form it into a ball shape as best you can. Then pop it in the peanuts and roll gently to coat the ball completely, pressing the nuts in as you go and keep trying to mold it into that round shape. Yes it is messy but so worth it.
Once you are happy it is coated and somewhat roundish, pop it on the plastic wrap, and with clean hands cover it well. Pop this in the fridge for at least 2 hours until you are ready to serve it.
How far ahead can I make a cheeseball?
It is nice if it does come out of the fridge around 20 minutes before serving. Just to soften it a little and make sure the flavours can shine. This will keep for a few days in the fridge so you can prepare it ahead of time.
If you are not going to consume it that day, some people like to roll it in the nuts on the day of serving, but I am ok if they soften a little.
What can I serve with a classic cheeseball?
This recipe would go beautifully with my Curried Cheese Crackers, or as part of a homemade cheese platter with some fresh fruit. It’s such an easy addition when entertaining, and looks lovely served in the centre of a platter for everyone to help themselves. Add your favourite crackers alongside it and you will be the star of the show!
More cheeseball and cheese log recipes to try
While you are here check out my other delicious cheeseball variations to try next:
- Salmon Cheeseball
- Sweet Chilli Cheeseball
- Pineapple Macadamia Coconut Cheese Log
- Apricot Almond Cheese Log
- Dill Pickle Cheeseball
Classic Cheeseball recipe
Classic Cheeseball
This Classic Cheeseball combines cream cheese, fruit chutney, herbs and seasonings for an easy, flavourful recipe that is ideal for sharing and entertaining.
Ingredients
- 225 g Cream Cheese, block, softened
- ⅓ Cup Fruit Chutney (or chutney of your choice), 95 g
- 1 Cup Grated Cheese, 100 g
- 1 teaspoon Curry Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoons Parsley, finely diced
- ½ Cup Peanuts, 65 g, toasted and finely chopped
Instructions
- Allow the cream cheese to soften to room temperature for about an hour or you can speed up this process by placing a well sealed block in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese with a strong wooden spoon until soft and smooth.
- Add the chutney, grated cheese, curry powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and finely diced parsley. Mix thoroughly until fully combined with no lumps of plain cream cheese visible.
- Place the finely diced peanuts in a bowl and prepare a large piece of plastic wrap.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl to gather the mixture into a rough ball. With damp hands, shape it gently into a round ball.
- Roll the ball in the diced peanuts, pressing gently to coat evenly while maintaining the shape.
- Wrap the cheeseball tightly in the plastic wrap, shaping again to ensure it stays round.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set, this will keep for up to 2 days if the ingredients are fresh and well wrapped.
- For the best flavour, remove from the fridge 20 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
What if I don't like or cannot eat nuts?!
No problem, you can use so many other options to coat your cheeseball, parsley, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, crispy bacon pieces, crushed corn chips or crisps, crushed crackers, cornflakes and more!
Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 269Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 10gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 47mgSodium 320mgCarbohydrates 6gFiber 2gSugar 2gProtein 11g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
I really hope you love this Classic Cheeseball as much as we do. It is such a lovely recipe for sharing and entertaining, and one I’m sure you’ll come back to again and again. Be sure to let me know in the comments below when you make it and what variation I should make next.
If you give this recipe a go, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments. You can also leave a ⭐ rating in the recipe card above, it really helps others find and enjoy this recipe too.
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Happy baking,
Anna x
Penny says
Omg I made this along with the seeded crackers for my Dad’s 70th yesterday and people could not get enough and kept asking for the recipe. So so so delicious!!
Anna From Just A Mum says
Thanks for letting me know, i’m glad you liked them! Anna
Louisa Atsas says
Will be trying it out Christmas Day.
Pete says
Magic, I used my own green tomato pickle (yummy sweet and sour with a touch of curry) all other ingredients by the book ma’am. Thanx
Susanne says
Cannot wait to try
Laurene says
This sounds great, I will be making it this weekend
Carol says
Have been making this since 70’s so great to see the recipe back for the younger generation to try!
The best to go with pre dinner drinks always a hit 😋