Football Cheese Ball

Throwing a tailgating party or watching the big game? Make this delicious BBQ Bacon Ranch Football Cheeseball. Not only is it delicious, but it’s in the shape of a football for a fun football themed party. Grab your crackers, pretzels and more, dig in and watch the game.

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When the get nights cooler and there is a crispness to the air here in Minnesota, it can only mean one thing — it’s football season! Well, that and many other things, but that’s what we get excited about, right?

Ok, so maybe I don’t get that excited about football but I do get excited about all the food that goes along with football. I always make tasty snacks like football scotcheroos, football pepperoni pizza dip, nutter butter referees, and this tasty footballs cheese ball. You guys, it’s just easy peasy! Honestly, it comes together quickly and it’s not nearly as hard as I originally thought it would be. A tasty snack that is just perfect for game day.

Why You’ll Love this Football Cheese Ball

• It only takes about 20 minutes to prep this football cheese ball recipe. Then let it firm up in the fridge!
• This is a fabulous make-ahead recipe since it stores well in the fridge. Make it early to save some prep time for your game day party food.
• A football cheese ball is a fun themed snack for all of your football parties. It looks so nice on a table and tastes even better than how it looks.

Ingredients for a Cheese Ball Football

• Bacon – Make some crispy and flavorful oven baked bacon or use bacon bits from the grocery store.
• Chopped pecans – If you are not a fan of chopped pecans, you could use chopped walnuts as a tasty substitute.
• Chopped fresh parsley – Chop up fresh parsley leaves for added flavor and a nice green decoration on top of your football shaped cheese ball.
• Cream cheese – Use cream cheese as the base ingredient for the most perfectly creamy and addictive cheese ball.
• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese – You can use mild cheddar or another type of cheese if you prefer, but sharp cheddar adds a nice bite that goes great with the other ingredients in this recipe.
• Ranch seasoning – Store-bought seasoning works just fine, but you can also use a tasty homemade ranch seasoning.
• BBQ sauce – Grab a jar of your favorite BBQ sauce or make a tasty homemade sauce to use in your cheese ball.
• String cheese – If you don’t plan on making this into a football shape, then you won’t need the string cheese. But if you do, use string cheese to make the stitches on the top of the football.

How to Make a Football Cheese Ball

1. First things first, combine half of the bacon bits, pecans and 3 tbsp of parsley in a bowl. Set that to the side.
2. In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Then mix in the sharp cheddar cheese, ranch seasoning, BBQ sauce and the remaining bacon and parsley.
3. Mix together until well combined and fluffy.
4. Cover the cheese mixture and refrigerate anywhere from 2 hours to overnight.
5. Once chilled, remove it from the fridge and place the mixture onto a serving platter. Shape it into a football and pat some bacon, pecan and parsley onto the top and sides of the ball.
6. Pull apart a piece of string cheese and place it on top of the cheese ball to form a shoelace.
7. Serve immediately or refrigerate again until ready to serve.

How To Store Leftover Cheese Ball

Since this football cheese ball uses bacon and herbs, this will only last in the refrigerator just a couple of days. If you’re not using fresh herbs or bacon, a cheese ball will last refrigerated for a week or two! I do not recommend freezing the cheese ball.

What to Serve with a Cheese Ball Football

Serve this tasty cheese ball with your favorite crackers, chips and veggies. It also goes great on a bagel and can even be used on sandwiches! Serve some delicious appetizers like ham and cheese roll ups and air fryer pigs in a blanket go great alongside a cheese ball.

And other game day favorites like jalapeño poppers and buffalo chicken sliders would go well with this cheese ball football too! Leftovers of your cheese ball can be used in stuffed chicken breasts, chicken alfredo stuffed shells, and easy cheesy scalloped potatoes.

Why isn’t my cheese ball holding together?

There are a few different reasons why a cheese ball doesn’t hold together well. Make sure that you refrigerate it long enough to get it firm up. If the cheese ball seems a little dry or crumbly, make sure you’re using the right ratio of ingredients and mixing everything together well so that it’s not too dry.

More Cheesy Recipes You’ll Love

• This Broccoli Cheese Soup is a hearty dish perfect for warming up on a cold winter day.
• These Ham and Cheese Pinwheels are a fabulous snack, lunch and appetizer. They can even be an easy and quick dinner.
• Make some ooey gooey Ham and Cheese Sliders for a delicious appetizer or quick dinner one evening.
• A warm bowl of Beer Cheese Soup is the most comforting thing sometimes! So cheesy and full of flavor.

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!

 

4.50 from 8 votes

Football Cheese Ball

How to Make The Perfectly, Delicious BBQ Bacon Ranch Football Recipe! Loaded with Cheese, BBQ Sauce, Bacon, Pecans and Made into the Shape of Football.

Prep:20 minutes mins

Total:2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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Ingredients

• ▢ 10 slices bacon prepared and diced, divided
• ▢ ⅓ cup chopped pecans
• ▢ ⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves divided
• ▢ 2 packages packages cream cheese room temperature, (8 ounces each)
• ▢ 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ▢ 1 ounce Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix (1 package)
• ▢ ⅓ cup BBQ Sauce
• ▢ 1 stick string cheese

Instructions

• In a small bowl, combine half of the bacon, pecans and 3 Tbsp parsley; set aside. 
• In a large bowl beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add cheddar cheese, Ranch Seasoning, BBQ Sauce, remaining bacon and parsley and mix until well combined and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. 
• Cover cheese mixture and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 
• Remove cheese mixture from refrigerator and place until serving platter. Shape into football. Pat bacon, pecan and parsley mixture to top and side of cheese ball so it stays on. 
• Pull part string cheese and place on top of cheese ball so it forms the shoe lace. 

Nutrition Information

Calories: 217kcal (11%), Carbohydrates: 6g (2%), Protein: 5g (10%), Fat: 19g (29%), Saturated Fat: 9g (56%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 45mg (15%), Sodium: 422mg (18%), Potassium: 100mg (3%), Fiber: 0.3g (1%), Sugar: 3g (3%), Vitamin A: 577IU (12%), Vitamin C: 2mg (2%), Calcium: 83mg (8%), Iron: 0.3mg (2%)

© Julie's Eats & Treats ®

We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box is calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.