Cheese Ball With Green Olives and Dried Beef

This yummy Dried Beef Cheese Ball is a classic holiday appetizer that can be served at parties year-round.

This easy and nostalgic recipe takes just 10 minutes to make and is the perfect blend of creamy and salty.

It's an old-school dish to serve when entertaining and you're going to love how simple it is!

If you're a fan of easy appetizer recipes, save this one for later!

Originally posted February 2019. I've updated this post to include some helpful tips and more information!

There are things about attending or throwing parties that truly delight me. I love to see friends and family that I don't get to see often. And a good party punch puts a smile on my face.

But I totally geek out when there is a cheese ball present. They are so easy to make and I think they make such a great easy appetizer idea!

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Ingredients

I had some leftover dried beef from my favorite chicken dinner recipe so I decided to make a cheese ball with it. When I was a kid, we used to eat Creamed Chipped Beef and it was SO tasty!

Don't be afraid of dried beef.

What is Dried Beef?

Dried beef, sometimes also called chipped beef is pressed, dried and salted meat that has been thinly sliced.

You find it in the canned meats aisle (by the chili and tuna) which sounds heinous but just breathe through it. Dried beef is good, really good.

•  2) 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
• 1) 5 oz. jar dried beef, chopped (you'll use 1/2 to 3/4 of the jar)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce

Dried beef is super salty. Some people suggest rinsing the slices. I am far too lazy for that.

Be sure to plan ahead the first time you make this recipe as it can be difficult to find dried beef. It's not available on Amazon Fresh and it's not at my local Ralphs store.

I usually pick it up from Albertsons and grab an extra jar to keep in the pantry since there are several recipes that I love that call for it.

Find it in the canned meat aisle (near the cans of chili and tuna).

So make sure you taste your cheese ball mixture before adding any additional salt.

As with all of my recipes, I love to encourage you to add other ingredients that you may like. This would have been super tasty with some black pepper and bacon bits too.

Next time I'm going to add a little onion salt. I've been adding it to everything lately and think it adds so much flavor!

How to Make a Chipped Beef Cheese Ball

Make sure you let your cream cheese sit out and soften long enough so that it is easily smushable (technical cooking term).

Add the cream cheese and seasoning to your stand mixer. You could also use a hand mixer but I never get to use my stand mixer so I decided this was how I wanted to mix it. And mix until fluffy.

Chop your dried beef and green onions. And if you're too good to buy pre-shredded cheese make sure to grate it now.

I totally get that cheese you grate yourself is way better, but I always like a good time-saving hack so this is up to you.

These old episodes of '24' aren't going to watch themselves and not grating my own cheese means I can find out if Jack Bauer is going to save the world, again, sooner.

Add the dried beef and green onions and give it a whirl in the mixer.

Add the cheese and mix it in. I'm not sure why I decided to mix in the cheese by hand as if it was some delicate piece of the puzzle that needed special care and handling.

Scoop out the cheese ball mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap. I actually needed to use two pieces, one laid perpendicular over the other piece, so I could cover the whole thing.

You may not need to do that if your plastic wrap is wide enough.

I gathered the end and bunched it at the top. If it won't stay, just a clothespin or something. I used my hands to form it into a ball-like shape.

Place in the fridge for about 2 hours to chill before serving.

When you remove it from the fridge, you can form it a little bit more to get the shape you want.

How to Serve Cheese Balls

I had originally wanted to roll this dried beef cheese ball in chopped pecans to give it a nice finished look but I couldn't find them.

Also, my oldest son is allergic to pecans and I wanted him to be able to eat this cheese ball too. If you are serving this for a party, consider rolling it in pecans.

They can be served with chips and crackers and even veggies (if you're into that kind of thing…).

But seriously, there is no wrong way to serve a dried beef cheese ball.

This Beef Cheese Ball Recipe is Perfect for Parties

I love serving a cheese ball recipe at a party because they are always a crowd-pleaser. They're pretty inexpensive to make and can feed crowd.

They can also be made ahead of time and sit out for a while during the party.

I'm a big stickler for food safety so it really grosses me out when I see mayo-based things out for hours. But this cheese ball with beef, totally ok.

When's the last time you made a cheese ball??

This cheese ball recipe with dried beef couldn't be easier! The hardest part is waiting for it to firm up in the fridge.

I mean, you know it's there. And it's basically calling your name every time you walk by.

Do you have a favorite cheese ball recipe? While I like to think this cheese ball I posted in the past is the best cheese ball ever, this cheese ball recipe with dried beef is neck and neck!

The dried beef gives this cheese ball the perfect salty, meaty flavor. And the punch of the fresh green onions is the perfect counterpoint for all the creaminess and tang of the cream cheese.

While this works great for a party, it also makes a great family snack idea. Or a mom snack. Or lunch. Since I ate this for several days after I took these photos…

• How cute are these Bite-Sized Cheese Ball Truffles.
• Here are 20 Cream Cheese Based Cheese Balls to Make (also some dessert options!)
• And these fried Mac and Cheese Bites are an upgraded idea for a cheese ball!

• Dried Beef Roll Ups Recipe

• Easy Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip with Dried Beef

• Easy Chicken Cheese Ball Recipe

• Easiest Ever Hot Bacon Cheese Dip Recipe

• ▢ 2 ) 8 oz. packages cream cheese softened
• ▢ 1 ) 5 oz. jar dried beef chopped (you'll use 1/2 to 3/4 of the jar)
• ▢ 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ▢ 3 green onions chopped
• ▢ 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• ▢ 1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
• ▢ salt To taste. Remember the dried beef is already super salty!

• Soften the cream cheese.

• Add the cream cheese, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce to your stand mixer and mix until fluffy.

• Chop the salty dried beef and green onions and shred your cheddar cheese (if you didn't buy pre-shredded to save time).

• Add the dried beef, green onions and cheddar cheese to the stand mixer and mix.

• Taste the cheese ball mixture and season with salt and pepper if it needs a little bit more seasoning.

• On a piece of plastic wrap, scoop out the dried beef cheese ball mixture.

• Gather the ends of the plastic wrap and twist to hold the cheese ball in place. I used my hands to form it into a ball-like shape.

• Place the chipped beef cheese ball in the fridge for about 2 hours to chill before serving.

• When you remove it from the fridge, you can form the easy appetizer a little bit more to get the shape you want.

• Place this nostalgic party dish on a platter and serve with an assortment of crackers, bread and veggies.

This cheese ball recipe with dried beef is also tasty when coated in chopped pecans! If you'd like to serve it that way, simply chop up pecans (or buy pecan pieces). Fill a shallow dish with the nuts and take the chilled cheese ball and roll it in the pecans so they adhere.

Serving: 12 Servings | Calories: 191 kcal | Carbohydrates: 3 g | Protein: 8 g | Fat: 16 g | Saturated Fat: 10 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5 g | Cholesterol: 57 mg | Sodium: 573 mg | Sugar: 2 g

You're going to want to find this simple recipe again! Bookmark it or pin it so you can quickly find this cheese ball recipe with dried beef to make for your next party!

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Source: https://www.cupcakesandcutlery.com/dried-beef-cheese-ball/

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