Reindeer Cheese Ball

The holidays are here, and that means holiday parties! Forget spending hours in the kitchen making appetizers for your guests. What you need is an appetizer recipe that takes only minutes to make and is 100% adorable too – just like this reindeer cheese ball.

This fun holiday recipe is the perfect mix of festive and delicious. It’s so easy to make – even your kids will love to help. And it looks so cute on any holiday table with the red Rudolph nose! 

We know that sometimes you need an appetizer fast, but you don’t want to sacrifice taste or style. Cold appetizers like this cheese ball, a Christmas tree veggie platter, and cranberry cream cheese dip are the best ways to feed your guests without much effort at all. 

You’ll definitely want to keep this in your recipe bank as an idea for last minute guests that drop by, the annual holiday party, or even for the office pot luck.

Step-by-Step Directions:

This recipe is pretty darn easy…but to make things even easier for you, I created a simple photo guide below. For a printable guide, check out the recipe card at the bottom of this page.

Step 1 – Unwrap the cheese ball and place it on your serving tray. Place two mini pretzel twists on the top of the cheese ball to create antlers.

Step 2 – Add your candy eyeballs under the antlers. If the candy eyes don’t stick at first, remove the nuts from that area, dig out some of the cheese, and use it as glue to keep them on.

Step 3 – Press a red jelly bean into the cheese ball underneath the eyes.

Step 4 – Add crackers to your plate and enjoy!

Essential Tips:

Don’t skip these tips – read them before assembling to avoid any potential mistakes.

Assemble the reindeer cheese ball on a square of parchment paper

Cut a small square of parchment paper and put the cheese ball on top before assembling.

This way, if you find out that the plate you chose at first wasn’t the right size, it’s easy to transfer your cheese ball to another plate.

Substitutions and Adaptations:

There’s not a whole lot to substitute with so few ingredients, but here are a few ideas:

• Pre-made cheese ball: You can use a homemade cheese ball recipe if you prefer. It’s the color of the cheddar cheese and sliverd almonds that make this so adorable. So you’ll want to use another cheese ball recipe that’s covered in slivered or ground nuts.
• Red Jelly Bean: We also love to make the red Rudolph nose with a maraschino cherry that’s been cut in half or a red spice drop.
• Candy Eyes: Sometimes the large candy eyes can be hard to find. You can also use regular candy eyes, or black olives. Just don’t use black jelly beans. The color will run down the cheese ball and make it look horribly unappetizing. (Yes, that’s experience talking…)

Ready for a Holiday season with less stress and more fun?

FAQs:

Can You Make the Reindeer Cheese Ball in advance?

I don’t recommend it. The candy eyes and jelly bean will get ruined in the refrigerator.

But since this recipe only takes a couple minutes to assemble, it’s no big deal to pull it together right before guests arrive.

What to Serve with a Rudolph Cheese Ball?

Cheddar cheese balls go well with with most crackers and salty snacks, like:

• Butter Crackers
• Crostini
• Mini Pretzels
• Toasted baguette slices
• Saltines
• Apple slices (apples and cheddar are so good together!)

If you liked my reindeer cheese ball, you’re going to love my easy Christmas appetizer wreath on a budget. It’s a full step-by-step tutorial that explains how to make an appetizer wreath for your party – including how much of each type of appetizer to serve.

Or you can check out my other appetizers right here.

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