Foods What’s your favorite festive appetizer? This Cranberry Walnut Cheese Ball is a beautiful way to start any holiday meal!
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If I could eat whatever I chose for holiday get togethers, I’m pretty sure I would be fine filling up on just the appetizers. (Well, I might need to save a little room for dessert, of course.) And of all the appetizers I’ve had, cheese balls are probably one of my favorites. Though I’d never tried to make my own until recently, I‘m happy to say that they’re not only delicious, they’re easy to put together!
This festive Cranberry Walnut Cheese Ball combines the standard cream cheese and cheddar with a sweet tang from orange zest and dried cranberries. Rolling it in additional dried cranberries and walnuts gives the finished product a wonderful tart crunch.
Though there are endless delicious variations on cheese balls out there, I like to add as many health benefits as I can to every recipe I put together. Cranberries and walnuts are full of nutrition!
Health Benefits of Walnuts and Cranberries
Walnuts have been shown to reduce the risk of prostate and breast cancer, support cardiovascular health, and keep cholesterol levels healthy by boosting ALA (plant-based omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid). They have the highest antioxidant activity among other nuts. Their powerful polyphenols help scavenge almost all the disease-causing free radicals from the human body, too!
They’re also full of neuroprotective compounds, including vitamin E, folate, melatonin, the B-complex vitamins riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. And they contain minerals such as manganese, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.
Cranberries are well known for their ability to effectively treat UTIs by inhibiting bacteria from adhering to the cells that line the bladder. They also contain vitamins like thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, E, C, and K, and the minerals magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium and zinc.
The tiny tart berries are also full of antioxidants and phytonutrients: cyanidin, peonidin, quercetin, and flavonoids that help inhibit the growth of H. pylori bacteria and give them their bright red color.
In this Cranberry Walnut Cheese Ball, the cranberries and walnuts go wonderfully with the orange zest and cheese. But don’t limit your cranberry/walnut pairing to only this cheese ball. Some other delicious recipes with cranberries and walnuts are my Cinnamon Apple Chutney and Cranberry Walnut Granola from Renee at Raising Generation Nourished.
Cranberry Walnut Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese room temp
- 1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 t. orange zest
- 1/2 c. finely chopped dried cranberries divided
- 1/4 c. finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- A few hours (or the day before) you'd like to devour the cheese ball, set out the cream cheese and let it come to room temperature.
- Combine cheeses, zest, and half of the chopped cranberries until smooth and well mixed.
- Stir cheese mixture in a ball and place it in the center of a piece of plastic wrap.
- Wrap the ball in the plastic, firming up the shape as you wrap.
- Place the cheese ball in the fridge overnight or until firm.
- Before serving, combine the remaining cranberries with the walnuts.
- Roll the cheese ball in the cranberry/walnut mixture.
- Serve with gluten-free crackers.
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you love this Cranberry Walnut Cheeseball!
What’s your favorite appetizer? What’s your favorite dish with cranberries and walnuts?
More Appetizer Recipes:
- 52 Keto Party Foods
- Grain-Free Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
- Classic Homemade Hummus
- 101 Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Snack Ideas for Kids (and Parents!)
this is the perfect Christmas appetizer! sounds so yummy and festive!
Thanks Rachel! I agree. 😉 I hope you get a chance to enjoy it. 🙂
This is beautiful Raia! Sounds delicious too! Pinning.
Thank you so much, Emily!
Hi Raia,
What a wonderful recipe – sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing the many health benefits of walnut & cranberries. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted.
Glad to share, Marla! 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping by. 🙂
This looks great. Thanks for linking up to Simply Natural Saturdays.
Thanks, Jessica! 🙂
Thanks for sharing at Let’s Get Real. Will be sharing this link with my sister. This is exactly what she would make.
Thanks, Karen! Glad to share. 🙂
I am so excited that I have all the ingredients to make this now. It looks perfect for a Christmas party!
Yay! I hope you enjoy it, Sherry! 🙂
I love a good cheese ball! This is one looks and sounds delicious.
Thanks so much, Jen!
I love cheese balls this time of year. I have never seen a recipe with cranberries. Looks delish!
Thanks, Charlene! The cranberries are delicious with the cheese! 🙂 I hope you get a chance to try it out. 🙂
I love cheeseballs too! I think I dream about the appetizers this time of year, can’t wait for parties so we can eat more 🙂 I’ve gotta try this one! Thanks for sharing at the Wednesday Showcase party.
I hope you enjoy it, Kari! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
These are definitely to die for. I could easily make a meal of them, if only one could find Cheddar cheese in the south of France!
I feel your pain, Margaretha! I used to live in Far East Russia, and finding any cheese mentioned in a recipe from the States was practically impossible! I hope you can find an easy substitute!
I am going to try Condé, one of the hard sheeps’ cheeses from the Pyrenées mountains just south of us. Thanks for the great recipe!
I hope it works well for you! 🙂
Raia, this looks so incredible, what a great Christmas appetizer… all of that cheese! Yum. Pinning it to my festive board immediately!
Thanks for pinning, Monique! Yes, all that cheese is a wonderful thing. Haha!
Oh! I want THAT! What a great idea with the cranberries! Great recipe!
Haha! Thanks so much, Renee! 😉
That looks so pretty and festive! Yum!
Thanks, Marjorie!
A great Cheese Ball! Thanks so much for sharing your post with us at Full Plate Thursday and have a great day.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Glad to share, Helen! Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
Such a wonderful tradition ~ ‘new again’ from my childhood.
I started making these again few years ago.
LOVE this classic combination. Thanks!!
Thanks, Carol! They are pretty delicious. 🙂
Oh yum! This sounds so Christmasy and festive! Thanks for sharing on the Tasty Tuesday link up 🙂
Glad to share! Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
What a fun and festive appetizer for a holiday party!
Thanks, Sylvie!
Delicious cheese ball, I just had a taste test at sam’s club a cranberry cheese. I loved it your version looks more delicious, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop, pinning and tweeting.
Glad to share, Swathi! Thanks so much for pinning and tweeting. 🙂
What a delicious cheeseball, Raia! I love the combination of walnuts and cranberries as well as using cream cheese as well as cheddar. Sharing! Thank you for bringing this recipe to the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Thank you so much, April! 🙂 Glad to share.
Fabulous!! I hope you had a great holiday! Thank you for linking up to Creative K Kids’ Tasty Tuesdays. I have pinned your post to our Tasty Tuesdays Pinterest Board! I hope you can come back and party with us again tomorrow!
Thanks so much, Danielle!
Definitely going to make this for our NYE feast!
I hope you enjoy it, Jessica! 🙂
i WANT TO TRY THIS FOR MY NEW YEARS EVE PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT. IT LOOKS ELEGANT AND IT LOOKS DELICIOUS . i JUST HAVE TO BUY SOME CRANBERRIES, I THINK I HAVE EVERY THING ELSE. WISH ME LUCK !
Hope you enjoy it, Louise! 🙂
Hi there, congrats on your feature at Happiness is Homemade! I’m quite a fan of a delicious homemade cheese ball myself. Pinned for my next family gathering!
Thank you so much, Katie! I hope you get a chance to enjoy it! 🙂
Yummy. This looks great!
Thank you, Bethany! 🙂
Super easy to make and is exactly what you’d expect from a cheese ball. I firmed this up really quickly in the freezer because I made it an hour before leaving for our Christmas dinner.