Christmas Tree Cheese Ball
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Gather around the fire to celebrate the season with a beautiful Christmas tree cheese ball! When hosting a large party, I recommend doubling this recipe. After all, when it comes to holiday appetizers, two cheese balls are better than one!
CHEESE BALL RECIPE
Find everything you need for this yummy cheese ball recipe at Walmart. RO*TEL is known for delivering bold, adventurous flavor. It’s an easy way to add a little kick to your favorite holiday recipes.
These are the ingredients you’ll need for the basic cheese ball formation:
- Cream cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- RO*TEL® Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
- Bacon, cooked and crispy
- Sea salt
- Cracked black pepper
- Optional: green onions
INGREDIENTS FOR GARNISHING CHEESE BALL
Here’s what you’ll need to decorate a Christmas tree cheese ball:
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh rosemary
- Sliced almonds
- Pomegranate seeds
- Grape tomatoes
- Yellow bell pepper
HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS TREE CHEESE BALL
It’s super easy to make a festive Christmas tree cheese ball.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add cream cheese, cheddar cheese, RO*TEL® Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, and crumbled pieces of bacon.
- If desired, add sliced green onion.
- With a wooden spoon, mix everything together until fully incorporated.
HOLIDAY APPETIZERS
Always taste your holiday appetizers before serving. This gives you the opportunity to adjust spices, or add an extra sprinkling of one or more ingredients, if needed.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer the cheese ball mixture to a pastry board or plate.
- With clean hands, gather, press and mold the cheese ball into the shape of a standing Christmas tree.
EASY CHEESE BALL RECIPE
Now comes the fun part: decorating your Christmas tree cheese ball! Press chopped parsley around the entire cheese ball.
HOW TO DECORATE A CHRISTMAS TREE CHEESE BALL
Recommended decorations for your Christmas tree cheese ball:
- Green branches: sprigs of fresh rosemary
- Bare branches: sliced almonds
- Christmas tree lights: pomegranate ariels
- Bulb decorations: grape tomatoes
- Star topper: yellow bell-pepper cutout
WHAT TO SERVE WITH A CHEESE BALL
After decorating your cheese ball, it can be enjoyed immediately. However, if you desire a harder consistency refrigerate it for 1-2 hours before serving. Here’s what to serve with your Christmas tree cheese ball:
- Variety of crackers
- Pretzel sticks
- Apple and pear slices
- Radishes and carrot sticks
- Crostini
- Pita Chips
- Selection of cured meats
TIPS FOR HOSTING A HOLIDAY APPETIZER PARTY
Hosting a holiday appetizer and cocktail party has a lot of benefits. Unlike a holiday dinner, more guests can fit into a smaller space, and no extra tables, dinnerware or tablescapes are needed. Here are some helpful party tips:
- Choose a selection of appetizers that can be prepared in advance.
- For a beautiful spread, use a variety of colors and textures.
- Make things easy. Serve deli-bought appetizers alongside homemade ones.
- Ask guests to bring their favorite appetizer and a drink to share.
- Use a variety of serving dishes: round, square, holiday themed.
- Give your appetizer table eye-catching dimension! Create levels with tiered trays and cake stands. Use the tops of two wide sturdy candlesticks as the base for a rectangular platter.
- A beautiful floral centerpiece has a magical way of setting a festive tone!
MORE HOLIDAY APPETIZERS
Do you love this cheese ball recipe? Are you looking for more holiday appetizers?
- Make CHEESY RO*TEL BEAN DIP.
- Serve RO*TEL GUACAMOLE.
Christmas Tree Cheese Ball
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 14 Servings 1x
Description
When it comes to festive holiday appetizers, this Christmas tree cheese ball is a party favorite! For big gatherings, double this cheese ball recipe to make two trees.
Ingredients
- 2 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese, slightly softened
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup RO*TEL® Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, well drained
- 2/3 cup crispy cooked bacon, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: sliced green onion
- 1 bunch fresh parsley or cilantro (about 1–1/4 cups)
- Sprigs of fresh rosemary (about 1 ounce)
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- 6–12 grape tomatoes, halved *
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut out 1 or 2 stars
- Assorted crackers
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add cream cheese, shredded cheddar, RO*TEL, bacon bits, and onion (if desired). Mix well until all ingredients are fully blended. With a spoon or spatula, transfer mixture to a board or plate.
- With your hands, mold cheese ball into a tall Christmas tree.
- Cover all sides with chopped parsley. Garnish cheese ball with small sprigs of rosemary and sliced almonds. Decorate with grape tomatoes and pomegranate ariels. Top Christmas tree cheese ball with one or two bell-pepper stars.
- With a wide spatula, transfer cheese ball to a platter or cake stand. Surround the tree with crackers. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate until serving time.
- Share this holiday cheese ball recipe with family and friends!
Notes
*You can use both halves of 6 grape tomatoes, or just the bottom half of 12.
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: No-Cook Recipe
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Cheese Ball Recipe, Christmas Tree Cheese Ball
CHEESE BALL RECIPE > JOIN THE CONVERSATION
What are your favorite holiday appetizers? What do you think about this festive, Christmas tree cheese ball? Join the conversation in the comments below!
I found this recipe just now after discovering your blog via Tailwind, and it looks Awesome!! Like a volcano about to explode. Now I just wondering if I should wait till this Christmas or make it next week.
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I would love to try one of them for Christmas. That Cheese tree looks so tasty to eat! That’s the perfect Holiday appetizer.
Yum! Looks absolutely delicious! Great holiday recipe.
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Wow – what an amazing holiday appetizer! I can’t wait to make it!
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This is SERIOUSLY the cutest thing. So pretty and clever, and I’ll bet it tastes so delicious.
Wow! This is adorable and delicious!! The perfect holiday treat!!
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This is such an adorable idea! I love Ro-Tel in just about anything!
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This is so cute! I love the idea and your picture is adorable too.
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What an awesome cheeseball I can’t wait to make it for my open house1
What a cute idea for entertaining during the holidays! I like how this came out, I would have fun making this cheese ball for guests. I think my older daughter would have fun decorating this with me.
This is brilliant! At first, I thought “What the heck is the green stuff”? It’s all edible!! Amazing. I can’t wait to try this recipe for the holidays.
This is absolutely brilliant! And give me all the cheese – is it wrong that I want this tree all to myself?
You did a really impressive job styling this festive cheese ball! I was going to make it, but got lost along the way and ate all of the cheese! But seriously – looks beautiful.
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Oh my gosh! That Cheese tree looks almost too pretty to eat! That’s the perfect Holiday appitizer
This is so cute!!! My MIL made a pumpkin cheese ball for thanksgiving, we may just need to try this one!
We are hosting a Christmas Eve Party and this is SO PERFECT! And it looks like fun too. Bookmarking this for sure. Im going to do a test run first :)
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We don’t purchase one or two cans of Ro-Tel tomatoes. We buy cases. We use it in just about everything. Now, your idea to make an appetizer Christmas tree is terrific. What a great way to welcome guests!! I bet that tree is nibbled down in no time.
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I love cheese ball and how wonderful to make it into a tree. I bet the guests would be so fascinated. Saving this for later.
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This is almost too beautiful to eat. Almost. Because, well, cheese is amazing. What a fun recipe, bookmarking for the holidays.
Oh my goodness, what a cute idea for a cheese ball! Saving for Christmas Day!
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That’s a brilliant Christmas snack recipe. I’m saving it right away. What an impressive way to serve cheese balls.
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Adorable! I pinned it for making later!
Haha! This is so cute! I bet it would be easy to vegan-ize with some small substitutions!
That is an impressive snack – how cute ! This is definitely something I would love to try.
Kasey Ma
I cant wait to make this for a dinner party its is so cute!!! thanks for the recipe
This is SO adorable! I love cheese balls, and make them every year. I’m yet to shape it into anything OTHER than a ball, so I need to try!
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This cheeseball looks so cute and festive! I bet it tastes as good as it looks as well!!
I was looking for a festive holiday appetizer, that my kids would enjoy too! How creative that tree is!
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OMG how cute is this?!?! Talk about taking the cheese ball to the next level! I can’t wait to impress our holiday guests with this one!!
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I love having the food be themed..Each holiday season I try to do something different, so this I will have to try this Christmas tree cheese ball.
This is so freakin’ cute! I love the herb and almond crust to make the tree and the zip from the peppers sound wonderful!
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I love love love this!!! My family has a cheese ball every single Christmas. We love it! I may offer to bring the cheese ball this year. They will be impressed!
Haha wait that cheese tree is so adorable! I haven’t really seen anything like that! I’m sure it’s a crowd pleaser, it sounds so tasty!
-Madi xo
What a cute idea! And those dips look amazing. I love the bean dip recipe.
How cute! My mom always brings one to our celebration, but I may have to make this instead! Looks great and sounds delish.
this is truly a work of art you are so creative I would hate to cut into this! so festive!
Oh my gosh, I have never seen such a cute cheese ball before. It’s so festive and looks like it tastes awesome.
Wow, this is so creative. I must make one for sure. I just love cheese balls during the holidays.
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OK now this sounds like one unique idea for a Christmas table! I think my only issue would be think it looks to good to eat. But then it is cheese so I would get over that haha!
WHAT This is the cutest cheeseball I’ve ever seen!! Pinning to try this weekend!
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This is such a clever idea, and would be perfect for my next family gathering. Looking forward to giving this a try.
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OMGosh! This cheeseball has my mouth watering! It is one of the best cheese balls I’ve seen! Very creative idea !!!!
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I’ve never craved cheese before like now! This is perfect for New Year’s Eve!
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This is a cute and yummy idea to serve for a holiday party this year. The rosemary on this cheese ball recipe is an amazing touch. I would eat pita chips and crackers with this dish.
What a creative and festive recipe idea. Cheese balls are such an easy appetizer to whip together for holiday gatherings but I’ve never shaped one into a Christmas tree. Love this idea and the recipe as well.
I like using Rotel during the holidays for all sorts of holiday dishes and appetizers. This tree is so super cute! I will have to try it.
I make that same recipe but I haven’t ever built a Christmas tree from it. I love how you decorated the whole thing. Awesome!
A: This looks amazing.
B: You added bacon!
C: I will eat my weight in this!
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That has to be one of the cutest cheese balls I have ever seen. I love this recipe. You could make all kinds of shapes. Thanks for sharing.
Love this cheese ball. So festive. Perfect for our appetizer evening we always have