Caramel apple cheese ball is a quick and easy holiday or New Year’s appetizer. This cheese ball recipe is so fun and flavorful, your guests will be raving about it and you may need to make more than one! Simply mix cream cheese, sharp cheddar, green apple, nutmeg, and caramel, then serve with crackers.
Easy Cheese Ball Recipe
At first, a Caramel Apple Cheese Ball might seem over the top, but I can assure you this is the best cheese ball recipe and will impress your guests. Even better, it’s super easy and only takes about 10 minutes to prepare.
When hosting or attending parties, I find cheese appetizers are ideal. They can be prepared quickly and ahead of time, even the day before. Then simply place them out for guests to enjoy.
Tips for making the perfect cheese ball
- If you’re having trouble shaping the ball try using wet hands to avoid it sticking to you
- This cheese ball can be made in advance and left in the fridge covered in cling film
- If making in advance bring it out the fridge 10 minutes before serving
- If you don’t have walnuts you could use hazelnuts or cashews
- Freezing for longer storage not recommended as dairy will curd when defrosted
How to make a cheese ball
Ingredients – What You Need
- Cream Cheese – Make sure it’s at room temperature
- Sharp Cheddar – Sharp cheddar gives the best flavor
- Walnuts – Chopped, adds delicious flavor and texture. Toasting them before brings out a nice roasted flavor.
- Green Apple – Adds a fresh flavor and crunch plus goes so well with cheese
- Caramel Sauce – Sweet and delicious
- Nutmeg – A small amount goes a long way
- Crackers – For serving
Method
Cheese balls are especially easy to make. For this Caramel Apple Cheese Ball, stir together softened cream cheese and shredded sharp cheddar. Then stir in caramel, nutmeg and diced green apple.
Form into a ball by hand then roll in chopped, toasted walnuts to coat.
Do you need to bring the cream cheese to room temp?
This is a critical part of making a cheese ball recipe. Once softened, cream cheese will mix well with the other ingredients. It also makes rolling the cheese ball much easier.
Once formed, roll in nuts such as chopped pecans, then chill a bit to firm before serving.
How to serve a cheese ball
You can eat a cheese ball with a variety of foods, but crackers are most common. It’s best to let sit at room temp about 15 minutes to soften a bit and make spreading easier.
What are the best crackers to serve with? Serve with buttery, flaky crackers such as Ritz for a nice texture pairing. However, any crackers such as multi-grain, Triscuits, or gluten-free crackers work well too.
Besides crackers, try serving a cheese ball with the following foods:
- Crostini slices
- Fresh bread
- Pita chips
- Tortilla chips
- Veggies such as carrots, celery, cucumber, or bell pepper
How long will a cheese ball last?
You can make a cheese ball ahead of time and store 1 to 3 days in the fridge. If stored longer than that the flavor will be affected. Pro tip: seal well in plastic wrap for optimal flavor and freshness. Freezing is not recommended due to the texture change when defrosting.
Try this Caramel Apple Cheese Ball and you’ll realize just how fun and easy holiday appetizers can be. Looking for more ideas? Here’s a list of 10 more cheese ball recipes you might like.
Recipe at-a-glance:
Flavor profiles: Sharp cheese with just a bit of tang and sweetness.
Texture: Thick, creamy and perfectly spreadable.
More Cheese Ball Recipes You’ll Like
Leave a comment below and star rating if you made this recipe or want to share your thoughts.
Are you following me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter? Also, sign up for our newsletter to get all our recipes and cooking tips.
Caramel Apple Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- ¾ cup walnuts
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temp
- 1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ medium green apple, diced
- 1 tablespoon caramel sauce, plus extra for drizzle
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 package crackers
Instructions
- Toast walnuts in a pan over medium-high heat just until browning starts, stirring often; about 5 minutes. Remove and cool completely, then chop or crush walnut into small pieces.
- In a medium bowl, stir together softened cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Stir in apple, nutmeg and caramel until ingredients are evenly incorporated. Use hands to roll into a ball shape.
- Spread walnut pieces on a plate or flat surface, and roll cheese ball to evenly coat outside. Drizzle top with extra caramel sauce and serve with crackers.
Notes
- If you're having trouble shaping the ball try using wet hands to avoid it sticking to you
- This cheese ball can be made in advance and left in the fridge covered in cling film
- If making in advance bring it out the fridge 10 minutes before serving
- If you don't have walnuts you could use hazelnuts or cashews
- Freezing for longer storage not recommended as dairy will curd when defrosted
These cheese balls sound delicious! Also love the look of them – very pretty! Will be giving them a try!
Truly appreciate the way you made this delicious apple cheese ball. Everything is so nicely described that really helped. Looking forward for more such recipes in future too.
This will be perfect for serving at our holiday party. Loving all the flavors in this caramel apple cheese ball!
Love the sweet and savory flavor combination. These caramel apple cheese ball look so fancy and exotic. Saving the recipe for upcoming holiday parties.
This cheeseball looks so festive! I’m sure my kids and guests will love digging into this !
I’m sure they will as well! Thanks Farwin.
Seeing how this recipe for a cheese ball is put together just blew my mind!! Looks so good and way fresher than the supermarket ones. Pinning for Tday!
It is pretty amazing and glad you liked the recipe tips. Thanks so much Jen!
Yum Matt, this looks perfect for Christmas and i look forward to giving it a go!! I agree with what you said about friends and family, it really is a special time of year! Cheers
It totally is a special time of year. Thanks so much and happy holidays Adrianne!
Thank you for sharing! I can’t wait to try this.
I love cheeseballs! I’ve never tried a sweet one, but this apple and caramel one sounds delicious. And I agree, apples go very well with cheese.
Thanks Andrea! I totally recommend trying one with a bit of sweetness.
I have such a soft spot for Ritz crackers with cheese balls, so I was immediately intrigued. The more I read about this recipe, the more excited I got for it and I bet the texture of the apples in the cheese ball really takes it up a notch!
They make a wonderful combo Mackenzie. The apple crunch does help to make it stand out from other cheese balls. Thanks!
I love how easy this is and that you drizzled it with caramel. That sounds so good. My dad would love this so I’ll be trying it over the holidays!
The caramel drizzle is a fun touch. Glad to hear and thanks Karen!
I LOVE fusing sweet and savoury flavours together! This cheese ball looks so delicious!
That’s one of my favorite combos too! Thanks Taylor!
Absolutely love make ahead appetizers as they work great for gatherings. Love the cheesy apple flavored ball and can’t wait to dig into it.
Yes they totally are. Thanks Sandhya and enjoy!