Turkey Cheese Ball

A cheese ball on a white plate. A small white bowl is behind it and is filled with crackers.

Create a fun and cute centerpiece with this turkey cheese ball. Made from cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, bacon, and herbs, it's both visually appealing and delicious!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine North American

Prep Time 15

Chilling Time 4

Total Time 4 15

Servings servings

Calories 335kcal

Author Nina

Ingredients

16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
⅓ cup sour cream room temperature
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon dried dill
¼ teaspoon ground salt
⅛ teasppon ground pepper
2 tablespoons green onions chopped
10 slices bacon cooked
1 pretzel rod
5 pretzel twists
3 bell peppers red, orange, and yellow
2 candy eyes

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Take 2 pieces of plastic wrap and lay them out on the counter top.
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and sour cream together until smooth. Add cheddar cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, dill, salt, pepper, and green onions. Mix until combined.
Chop up 4 slices of cooked bacon and stir it into the mixture.
Remove ¼ of the mixture. Place it on one of the plastic wrap pieces and wrap it up. Form it into a ball.
Turn out the remaining cheese ball mixture on the other plastic wrap piece. Wrap it up and form it into a large ball.
Place both cheese balls on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to firm. You can also place it into the freezer for 1 hour if you are short on time.
After cheese balls have been chilled, unwrap them. Place the pretzel rod about a ½" into the smallest ball. This will be the turkey's head. Add the candy eyes and Dorito beak.
Place the other end of the pretzel rod into the front top of the large cheese ball. It should go far into the ball to hold up the weight of the head. If the cheese balls are becoming soft at any point, put it in the freezer to firm up.
To form the turkey's tail, place 2 rows of pretzel twists in the top back. Then place a row of bell peppers, alternating colours.
Cover the whole cheese ball with the remaining strips of bacon. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Notes

Chill the cheese balls before decorating. The mixture will be way to soft after making it.

You can use whichever type of cheese you prefer in this cheese ball. I used cheddar.

Other substitutions for the beak are Bugles, Tortilla chips, or Candy Corn.

If you can't find a pretzel rod for the neck, try using a Slim Jim.

This turkey cheese ball would be adorable on a charcuterie board with crackers, chips, and veggies around it!

Nutrition