Spruce up your holiday appetizers with a tasty Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball. It’s easy, delicious, and perfect served with crackers and veggies.
Cheese Balls are great for parties, and take minutes to make! Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball is one of our go-to appetizers, along with Veggie Cups and Tortilla Roll Ups – because they’re simple and delicious.
A perfect appetizer
Who loves cheese balls? We love them, but usually only make them for special occasions or holidays. In fact, they have become one of our go-to appetizers for Thanksgiving and Christmas, because everyone loves them!
We like to serve these cheese balls with a variety of items, but recently made a delicious Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball, and are in love! We used about ⅓ cup of the creamy, rich dip to mix into the cheese ball, which added so much flavor!
In addition to the ranch dip, we also added bacon and cheese, cream cheese, and spices. The result was a tasty ranch cheese ball that was a hit with everyone!
10 minute prep!
The best part about this cheese ball is that it literally takes no more than 10-15 minutes to prep.
MIX. Throw the ingredients in a bowl, and mix with a hand mixer.
CHILL. Form into a ball, roll in bacon pieces, and chill! It doesn’t get much easier than that!
A cheese ball shouldn’t sit out at room temperature any longer than 2 hours. After that, harmful bacteria can start to form.
what to serve with cheese balls
There are so many fun finger foods to serve with cheese balls, but we definitely have our favorites:
- Veggies: carrot and celery sticks are our top choices
- Fruit: pears and apples especially
- Mini Bagels
- Pretzels
- Crackers – of any variety
- Pita Chips
For even more dips, check out: Cream Cheese Bean Dip, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Queso Blanco, Cheesy Sausage Dip.
Recipe Tips
Bacon. I like to use this Bacon in the Oven recipe to make real bacon bits.
Make Mini Cheese Balls by forming the cheese mixture into 1-inch cheese balls. Roll each ball in bacon bits and place on top of a cracker or stick with pretzels.
Cheese. I like sharp cheddar cheese, but pepper jack or Colby are also yummy.
Nuts. Mix in chopped nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans, but don’t add too many or the cheese ball won’t hold together.
Variation. Add a bit of flavor by rolling in chopped green onions and bacon bits.
Storing info
Make ahead of time. Make this Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball a few days in advance, but wait to coat it in bacon bits until the day of, or they might get a little soggy.
STORE. It will last as long as the most perishable ingredient, which in this case is probably the bacon (if you use freshly cooked bacon).
If you use fresh bacon, 4-5 days is probably safe. If you use packaged bacon bits, however, you could make it last up to a week or so.
FREEZE the cheeseball (before you coat it in the bacon bits) by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap, and putting it into a freezer bag. It will last in the freezer for up to a month.
When you’re ready to use it, let it defrost in the fridge for a day or two before coating it in bacon and serving it.
I think this is our new favorite savory cheese ball by far. If you want to try our favorite dessert cheese ball, try this sweet and tasty Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball.
For more veggie appetizers, try:
- Veggie Tortilla Roll Ups
- Cucumber Sandwiches
- Veggie Cups
- Cucumber Cups
- Caprese Stuffed Avocados
- Christmas Charcuterie Board
More Collections: New Years Eve Appetizers,
Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, cold NOT room temperature
- ⅓ cup Marzetti Ranch Dip
- 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup chopped bacon, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, ranch dip, shredded cheddar, 3 tablespoons chopped bacon, garlic powder, paprika, parsley, and pepper. Using a hand mixer, mix just until combined.
- Roll mixture into a large ball, or two smaller balls. Roll in remaining bacon.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Video
Marzetti® dips are so tasty and great for any occasion!! For more information about Marzetti go HERE or find them on Facebook HERE.
I love these dips with carrot and fennel veggie sticks!
YUM!! I agree 🙂
I love Marzetti dips! My hubby nearly lives off them, what a great way to have him try something new and exciting!
I’d love to know what he thinks! It is a great one to try 🙂
I love the dips with celery. I’m allergic to carrots, but I love the crunch.
Love carrots with dip! Thanks for stopping by!
On salads or crusty bread
Great idea!! Thank you!
I love the Marzetti Carmel dip……
Seriously, so good!
I like Marzetti ranch just straight on raw veggies.
I agree! It’s so good! Thank you!
I totally love the veggie tree idea! And Marzetti dips are awesome! We usually just eat it as it comes (dunk raw veggies in the dip) but turning it into a cheese ball sounds fun too. Definitely have to give this a try sometime.
Yes, you’ll need to try it! It was delish! Thank you!
I like the veggie dip and the poppy seed dressing, but nothing says “fall” like the yummy caramel dip with apple slices. It’s my fave, and I enjoy it even when it’s not fall!!
Oh, how I love caramel dip & apples! I could eat it all the time, too!
I love to snack so on Christmas Day we do a snack tray for lunch! It’s fun and easy and everyone is happy. Love to make this cheese ball this year 🙂
That’s a great idea!! Thanks for stopping by!
WowWee! This veggie tree and cheese ball look amazing! My daughter and I have decided to attempt it on Christmas Eve! As much as we love Marzetti veggie dips, our favorite is their yogurt dip for fruit!
Very fiRst cheese ball ive made. Loved it. For Sure making it again.
Woohoo..thank you for giving it a try! Glad you liked it!
looks yummy
Thank you so much!! I hope you try it!!
It say’s 154 per serving but how much is a serving?
the family loved it tonight
I absolutely love cheeeseballs, and you can never go wrong with bacon, ranch, and cheese!
Is the Marzetti dip a dry powder?
It’s not. It’s a refrigerated ranch dip. You can find it in the refrigerator aisle right next to all of the produce.
Today is 12/22/21 and I just tried to save, on Pinterest, your cheese ball and meatball appetizer recipes but there seems to be some kind of problem. I’m hoping the problem will be corrected so I can save the recipes to Pinterest.
Hi Cassie! I just tried saving it to Pinterest and it worked ok for me. Hopefully it ended up working for you too so you could save and enjoy the recipes!! 🙂