I don’t know about y’all but I love a good cheeseball. I mean, cheese. In a ball. Need I say more? What’s not to love? Cheese and crackers are a simple treat we all love. If I see a cheeseball on any food spread, I am heading straight to it. With this recipe, I knew I wanted to create a pumpkin shaped cheeseball for all those fall festivities but I didn’t necessarily want pumpkin flavor. I wanted a true cheeseball.
So I headed to Wal-Mart and walked around for a bit looking for some flava inspiration. As soon as I spotted the new Hidden Valley Ranch Spicy Ranch Mix, the recipe began to take shape in my mind. So, I came home, whipped it all up, popped it in the fridge and waited. Keeping my fingers crossed that it actually tasted as good as I was hoping.
The next day, my son and I were going to a painting workshop fundraiser. We were all asked to bring in some snacks for everyone to share. Little did those folks know, I was bringing in my pumpkin cheeseball for them to be my guinea pigs. I started setting it all up and I immediately had folks over to look at it and actually taking pictures.
It really turned out so cute! I was so happy with it. They liked it even before I added the stem on top. My son said he had to take a picture of it for me so I would remember what I made. Hee Hee. So here’s the photo he took.
Then later, after the workshop, I had several people come up and ask for the recipe. It was then I knew I had a winning recipe to share with y’all. That is always the best compliment when someone wants the recipe! Looking cute is nice and all but I wanted to make sure the taste was on point. Kinda like beauty, right? It’s nice to look cute but it’s your inside beauty that really matters.
Below is the picture that Jess from the Art Center took of the cheeseball before we even got started painting. A whole box of doughnuts laying open and untouched and there was my little cheeseball – already half eaten. Love it!
Oh and here I am with my painting from that day. We painted barns and mine actually ended up looking like a barn. Ha! Wonders never cease. And after this, we headed BACK up to Wal-Mart to get some more ingredients so I could make this cheeseball again to share with y’all. And maybe because I wanted more to eat.
You don’t even have to form it into a pumpkin shape. The taste alone will make it a hit at your next gathering. What I love most is being able to make it ahead of time. You can get it all prepped and ready to go, wrap it in Glad ClingWrap, pop it in the fridge and the next day, you are all ready. The only thing you have to do is set it out with some crackers. Boom! And who doesn’t love easy – especially around the holidays!
But I’m going to show you how easy this really is. Some Glad ClingWrap and a few rubber bands and you turn this cheeseball into a great pumpkin!
Ingredients:
1 (8oz.) block cream cheese, softened to room temp.
1 (8 oz.) tub vegetable cream cheese
2 tbsp. Hidden Valley Ranch Spicy Ranch mix
3 green onions, diced
1 red pepper, finely diced (save the stem)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided use*
Directions:
Finely chop your red pepper and green onion. You want small pieces, not big chunks.
Be sure to save the stem of the red pepper. It’s going to be our pumpkin stem! I just wrap the stem up in a slightly dampened paper towel and wrap that up in some Glad ClingWrap and put it in the fridge until I’m ready for it.
Using an electric or stand mixer, combine both cream cheeses.
Then stir in 2 tablespoons of Hidden Valley Ranch Spicy Ranch mix. Note: This was not spicy in this cheeseball at all. It just gave it a small kick of flavor. You can always use the Hidden Valley Original Ranch flavor for this!
Then gently stir in green onion and red pepper.
I love the orange-ish color the Spicy Ranch Mix and red pepper adds to the mixture.
Finally, stir in one cup of shredded cheddar cheese.
Spread out a large sheet of Glad ClingWrap. Sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese onto the plastic wrap.
Then top with cheeseball mixture.
Take the rest of the shredded cheddar cheese and sprinkle it onto the tops and sides of the cheese ball.
Now wrap it up well with the Glad ClingWrap. I do two layers of cling wrap. It needs to be well-wrapped and wrapped tightly.
Now, time to wrap it up with rubber bands. You can also use kitchen string for this. You will need 4 large rubber bands. This is why it’s important to have a tightly wrapped cheeseball with two layers. We don’t want any cheeseball mix squeezing out while we’re putting on the rubber bands. (Ask me how I know.) With these rubber bands, I had to double wrap each one to get those long indentations we’re looking for to make the pumpkin shape. You can also use kitchen twine for this if that makes it easier for you.
Place cheeseball into the fridge for a minimum of two hours (overnight is best.) Not only do the flavors get better as it sits, but as the mixture cools, it will help it to form that pumpkin shape.
When ready, cut off the rubber bands and carefully remove the cling wrap. Then add on the red pepper stem to the top. Just gently push it in there. Serve with your favorite buttery crackers.
Got leftovers? No problem. Just pop your leftover cheeseball into a tall and large Glad entree container and you’ll have it ready to snack on for later!
Cook’s Note: I like to use freshly grated cheddar cheese for this. It is stickier than the pre-shredded kind and that helps when forming the cheeseball.
Enjoy!
Pumpkin-Shaped Cheese Ball
Prep Time
2 hr 15 mins
Total Time
2 hr 15 mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Calories: 100 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 block cream cheese softened to room temperature, 8oz.
- 1 8 oz tub vegetable cream cheese
- 2 tbsp Hidden Valley Ranch Spicy Ranch mix
- 3 green onions sliced
- 1 red pepper finely diced (save the stem)
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided use
Instructions
- Using an electric or stand mixer, combine both cream cheeses.
- Then stir in 2 tablespoons of Hidden Valley Ranch Spicy Ranch mix, green onion, red pepper and one cup shredded cheddar cheese.
- Spread out a large sheet of Glad ClingWrap.
- Sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese onto the plastic wrap.
- Then top with cheese ball mixture.
- Take the rest of the shredded cheddar cheese and sprinkle it onto the tops and sides of the cheese ball and wrap it up well with cling wrap.
Two layers of cling wrap work best. It needs to be well-wrapped and wrapped tightly. Now, time to wrap it up with four large and wide rubber bands.
We don't want any cheese ball mix squeezing out while we're putting on the rubber bands. I had to double wrap each rubber band to get those long indentations we're looking for to make the pumpkin shape.
Place cheese ball into the fridge for a minimum of two hours (overnight is best.) Not only do the flavors get better as it sits, but as the mixture cools, it will help it to form that pumpkin shape.
- When ready, cut off the rubber bands and carefully remove the cling wrap.
Then add on the red pepper stem to the top. Just gently push it in there.
- Serve with your favorite buttery crackers.
Recipe Notes
I like to use freshly grated cheddar cheese for this. It is stickier than the bagged kind and that helps when forming the cheese ball.
Nutrition Facts
Pumpkin-Shaped Cheese Ball
Amount Per Serving
Calories 100
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Glad & Hidden Valley Ranch. The opinions and text are all mine.
Rubberbands – who thinks to do this. So glad they did. It will be on my Thanksgiving table. Thank you!
How easy peasy is this!?!?!? I love that you used rubber bands to make the pumpkin shape. Brilliant and adorable!
Awesome! It is so very creative and will be on our Thanksgiving table also.
Y'all are so sweet – thank you! I hope you love it as much as we all did!!
YUM YUM Thanks Brandie looks d-lish.
Thank you!!
This also makes an awesome Christmas appetizer! Just use plain cream cheese (reduced fat works great), a packet of regular ranch dressing mix (so no orangish look), red pepper and green onions (no cheddar cheese needed here). Then spread it on green tortillas, roll up, chill, and slice into 1/2 inch pieces. Looks Christmassy and tastes great!
Great suggestion!
I JUST put this into the fridge for our thanksgiving appetizer tomorrow. Thanks for the great recipe and instructions!
I had to come back and tell you how much I enjoyed the cheese ball. YUM!!!! I ate more of it instead of pumpkin pie at dessert time. Thank you so much. I'm going to print this one on paper and put it in my recipe box.
Love this idea! Will definitely add this to my Thanksgiving recipe collection! Thank you!
Thanks Sharon, hope you enjoy it this upcoming holiday season!
What an ingenious idea. Love it & can't wait to make it & bring somewhere. People will flip! Thanks!
Yummy Can't wait to make this again
Made this for a Garden Club meeting today. BIG hit!!! Such a great conversation piece & yummy to beat. Your instructions were "spot on" and made it so easy! THX!!!! And yes everyone wanted the recipe; sent them your way.
Just made this for a pumpkin themed baby shower. I only had thin rubber bands but they seem to look like they will help make the shape after all. Thanks for the recipe.
I will try once more, sorry if you get it 3 times – I'm new to this! I love this idea. It is adorable and very creative – perfect for our annual Thanksgiving family get together. We have a family full of artists who are going to love your ingenuity and creativity. I can't wait to make it, so I will definitely try it ahead of time. I love cheese balls, and I'll get to have the first one all to myself! !
Yours looks lovely! I would have never thought to wrap rubber bands like that to make the indention! My sister has made this cheese ball several times and I'm always amazed that it taste good…sorry sometimes prepackaged stuff doesn't IMO. But I love yours because I'm all about FALL anything! Thanks!
I made this over the weekend, it was so good. I couldn’t find the Spicy Ranch, so I used their Fiesta Ranch instead. Everyone raved about it. I served it with Ritz Cracker Chips and also Pretzels. Will definitely make this again.
So cute — love how easy it is to make the pumpkin shape with rubber bands. Thank you for the recipe. Will whip it up this coming week for a special gathering next Sunday.
Thanks Phyllis, it is super easy and so cute for a party! You will have to come back and let us know how well it turned out for you.
Hello, the pumpkin cheese ball was a huge success at Thanksgiving dinner. They devoured it! Thanks for sharing your recipe. I’m in Canada and we don’t seem to have spicy Hidden Valley Ranch dip, so I used another basic ranch dip and added 1/8th tsp of cayene. I am seriously impressed at how good this turned out!
A friend brought this to our Bible study this morning – big hit! She always makes such creative things. I’m going out now to get the ingredients to make it for a get-together tomorrow night!!
Hi Sue! I’m in Virginia too! 🙂 I think this is one of my favorite cheeseball recipes ever. It’s cute but it actually tastes good. Ha! Thank you for taking the time to leave a sweet note on here!
We are having a fall themed bridal shower for my daughter with pumpkin chili, soups and salads. This will be perfectly perfect on the buffet!! Thank you for sharing your creative genius.
Love that! Hoping everyone loves it! You will have to come back and let me know how it goes.
I am making this for our annual United Methodist Conference tomorrow. I can’t wait to see if it’s a hit with most people. I’ll come back to let you know. I am also going to take it to my family Thanksgiving this year….so I’ll be able to report on it twice! Thanks for posting this recipe. You are so creative.
Thank you!! Just made this for a dinner party for tomorrow night and I can’t wait to share it with friends 🙂
Hope everyone loves it 🙂
Awesome recipe! I just made it for our Cooking Club’s Witches Night Out themed party. It looks fabulous and I can’t wait to eat it. Thanks.
Thanks Diane! Hope everyone enjoyed it 🙂
Let me first say that this is super yummy, super easy, and super cute!! Everyone at the pumpkin carving party loved it. Even though it’s hard to believe, I did have some leftovers and I decided to make a hot ham and cheese sandwich in my grilled cheese maker. I just mixed it up real well, slathered it on some bread, and added ham. Mind blown!!!
Love it Ashley!! Glad everyone loved it and that grill cheese sounds seriously delicious!
I made this for our Halloween party yesterday and everyone LOVED it. Just barely enough to feed 36 people. No leftovers. They were scraping the plate trying to get one more bite. LOL Love your recipes. They are easy and good.
Thanks Linnie!! Its so easy and everyone goes nuts over it!
Yay!!! Thank so much for coming back to let me know Linnie! It really means SO much to hear!
This is not only a wonderful idea but tastes amazing!!!! I made it for a fall baby shower that was “pumpkin-themed.” BIG HIT! I couldn’t find the Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch Dressing Mix so I used the regular mix and mixed a tablespoon of the bottled HVRD Spicy Dressing. It worked perfectly.
Crushed Cheese Pringles would look amazing on the outside…adds saltiness though!
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! The instructions were accurate and mine actually looked like yours did! In another comment someone said they used the leftovers to make a grilled ham and cheese and my sister did just that today and she said it was wonderful and now she said it’s the only way to have grilled cheese 🙂 Thanks so much for a quick and easy and delicious appetizer. I can’t wait to take it to the next potluck at work.
Hi Bonnie! You are so sweet to come back and let me know how it turned out. Yippee!! And I am totally stealing that grilled cheese idea! LOL!
I love your pumpkin shaped cheeseball and everyone who has tried it does also. I have made the pumpkin shape but have also just made a cheeseball. This has become a regular staple at my house. I almost always keep some made up in my refrigerator. This is a great high protein source for those who are increasing protein in their diet as I do.. I have put my own twist on your recipe. I double your recipe adding green bell peppers and jalapeño peppers both finally chopped in also. We really enjoy it. Thanks for the recipe.
I can’t wait to try this at my scarecrow painting party!!! It looks delicious and fits in perfectly with my Fall theme!
How nice of you to share this recipe and how clever to use the rubber bands to shape it. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks, from a new subscriber and fan.