Turkey Cheese Ball for Thanksgiving
This festive Turkey Cheese Ball is a fun Thanksgiving appetizer made with cream cheese, cheddar, ranch seasoning, green onions, and bacon. It’s shaped like a turkey, coated with crispy bacon, and decorated with colorful mini bell pepper feathers for an easy make-ahead appetizer that looks as good as it tastes.
Servings 12 people
Calories 258kcal
Equipment
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Cheese Ball:
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 packet ranch seasoning
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 green onions finely chopped
- 1 cup cooked bacon finely chopped
Ingredients for the Decorations:
- 1 pretzel stick
- 2 candy eyes
- Red yellow, and orange mini bell peppers
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, and ranch seasoning and beat together until smooth.
- Stir in the shredded cheese, chopped green onion, and half the bacon pieces and gently mix very well.
- Divide the dip mixture into one small ball and one large ball. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours
- While the cheese balls are chilling, wash the mini sweet peppers and slice off the tops. Cut them in half lengthwise and set aside.
- When you are ready to serve this turkey cheese ball appetizer, remove both cheese balls from your refrigerator. Spread the remaining bacon pieces on a plate and roll the larger ball in the bacon, completely coating the ball. Place the large ball on your serving tray and repeat the steps to coat the smaller ball with the chopped bacon.
- Stick a pretzel stick into the bottom of the small ball and press the other end of the stick into the large ball to attach the turkey’s head.
- Cut a triangle shape out of the bottom of one of the yellow mini bell peppers. Press the triangle into the center of the small ball as the turkey’s beak and top with two candy eyes.
- Lightly press the cut mini peppers into the back of the large cheese ball to make the turkey’s feathers.
- Serve with crackers, crostini, celery sticks and/or more mini peppers on the side.
Nutrition
Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 377mg | Potassium: 122mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 678IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 0.2mg
