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Who doesn’t love to dig into a big cheese ball? This Roasted Garlic Pecan Cheese Ball is perfect for entertaining because it comes together in no time, is a focal piece on a cheese board, and is super affordable. I made this one with roasted garlic and rolled it in pecans. Yum! And just in time for the upcoming holidays. Whether you’re entertaining yourself or attending someone else’s event, it’s a great option to bring with you for a host or hostess gift. I recently brought this to a dinner event and served it with some salami, grapes, almonds, and a variety of crackers.
One of the star ingredients in this recipe is the roasted garlic, which I like to make first, since it takes about an hour to prepare. The first thing you want to do is preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Next, trim about a half inch off the top of the garlic bulb to expose the cloves and place it on a piece of foil. Drizzle it with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and season with salt and pepper. You can also add some other herbs and spices at this point if you would like to. Once it’s seasoned the way you like, wrap the garlic into a foil ball and bake it in the oven for 1 hour. After it’s done roasting, take it out of the oven, squeeze out the garlic cloves, and store it with some EVOO in the fridge. It’s not unusual for me to have this roasted garlic leftover in my fridge, so I was able to quickly grab it this time around for the Roasted Garlic Pecan Cheese Ball.
In addition to the roasted garlic, you’ll need cream cheese at room temperature, sour cream, shredded Italian cheese, grated parmesan cheese, Italian seasonings, pecans to roll the ball in, and black pepper. Because cream cheese can be pretty firm, it’s best to work with it at room temperature to make it softer and easier to mix. Gather all of your ingredients (except for the pecans) and add them into a mixing bowl. Once everything is thoroughly mixed together, place the bowl in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Next, take the mixture out of the fridge and form it into a ball and place inside saran wrap. The next step is to place it in the freezer so it can get firm. I like to put the saran-wrapped cheese ball in a small round bowl for this step, as it can help support the round shape while it’s firming up. It doesn’t have to be a perfect circle, but it looks best when it’s a nice round shape.
While the cheese ball is getting firm in the freezer, you’ll want to finely chop the pecans. This can be done with a food processor if you have one, but I opt for just smashing them with a rolling pin while inside the package. Once I take them out of the bag, I just use a knife to chop any of the larger pieces I may have missed with the rolling pin. Finally, roll your garlic cheese ball in the chopped pecans, and it’s ready to serve with your favorite choice of nuts, meats, and fruit!
Recipe Card:
Roasted Garlic Pecan Cheese Ball
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, brought to room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup shredded Italian cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 cloves roasted garlic* (see tip below)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Method:
Mix all of the ingredients except for the pecans in a small bowl and chill for 30 minutes.
Spoon the contents onto saran wrap and form a ball shape. Place the ball back into a small bowl and chill for 1 hour, or place it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Chop the pecans finely and roll the ball in the pecans.
Serve with your favorite cheese board accompaniments.
Enjoy
Tip:
Off the top of a garlic bulb, trim off 1/2 inch and place it on a piece of foil. Drizzle it with EVOO and salt and pepper. Feel free to add other herbs and spices. Wrap it into a foil ball and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Squeeze out the garlic cloves and store with EVOO in the fridge.