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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Cheese, fruit, and nuts are the ultimate combo for an easy appetizer. This cheese ball uses a fruit you may not have expected. You’re sure to be pleasantly surprised.

Looking for something to serve with your pineapple cheese ball, why not learn How To Make Homemade Pita Chips? Or you could make this Classic Homemade Nuts and Bolts Recipe! Or, if you need to use up more pineapple, how about this Pineapple Casserole?

Reader Review

I have been making this recipe for over 25 years. It is our all-time favourite. Everyone loves it and asks for the recipe. I make it to sell at our bake table for the bazaar. I put it in a small 4 oz. ramekin and top it with the chopped pecans…..it is a sell-out every year.

– Dianne Kehoe

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: Like most cheese balls, this one is very easy to make.
Total Time: The preparation time for this cheese ball is only about 15 minutes, but you will need to refrigerate the assembled product for at least 4 hours, so ideally plan to make it the day before you want to serve it.
Variations: Try different pecan sizes (chopped on the inside, halves on the outside) or a different nut altogether. Walnuts work well for cheese balls and will give you a slightly different tastes and texture. You can also mix in some grated cheese if you’d like more cheesy flavours in there. Try something zingy like aged cheddar.
Tools Needed: You’ll need a sieve or some cheesecloth for draining the pineapple, a medium bowl and a spoon for mixing your ingredients, and some plastic wrap. Bonus: a fun silicone or plastic food mold. You may also find it handy to have a cheese knife nearby when it’s time to serve up the cheese ball.

A round cheese ball coated in chopped pecans sits on a white plate, surrounded by rectangular crackers. Chopped herbs are sprinkled on top, and there are glasses, plates, and a bowl of crackers in the background.

What You’ll Need For Ingredients

Pineapple: Yes, it may sound strange but the flavours will balance out. If you happen to have some fresh pineapple around, go ahead and use that, but the canned stuff is a lot easier for this recipe. Whichever pineapple you choose, be sure to drain as much liquid out of it as possible so you don’t end up with a soggy cheese ball!

Cream Cheese: This versatile, soft cheese carries the flavours of almost anything you add to it and is great for making cheese balls. Do you plain, room temperature cream cheese. A flavored variety may not mesh well with the rest of the ingredients. You can most likely get away with a reduced fat cream cheese if you’d like, since there are so many other tastes added.

Something To Dip: Crackers, pretzels, pita chips, you name it! Try this cheese ball with some veggie sticks or spread some on a slice of sourdough bread. Just make sure that whatever you’re dipping into it is strong enough to make a good scooping utensil, or keep a cheese knife on hand.

Assorted ingredients on a marble surface: cream cheese, fresh parsley, green onions, chopped pecans, granulated sugar, green bell pepper, chopped green peppers, pineapple, and a jar of garlic powder.

How To Make Pineapple Cheese Ball

This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

Ingredients including cream cheese, crushed pineapple in a strainer, green onions, chopped parsley, bell pepper, pecans, and salt are arranged on a white surface with a kitchen towel.

Drain the crushed pineapple until very dry. Mix the drained pineapple with cream cheese, 1 cup of pecans, green onion, green pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Stir until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to a plate and form into a ball. Coat the cheese ball with the rest of the pecans. Wrap the ball tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours. Garnish with parsley or other fresh herbs before serving.

A round cheese ball topped with chopped pecans and herbs is surrounded by assorted crackers on a white plate, set on a blue and white checkered towel with parsley, green onions, and plates nearby.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Pineapple Cheese Ball

Molds: Why not try some fun shapes for your cheese ball? Depending what time of year it is, you may find pumpkin-shaped molds, Christmas tree shapes, or any number of shapes and sizes. Silicone trays come in so many different forms these days! You don’t even have to limit yourself to silicone. Really any food molds (like the ones for chocolate or even ice crubes) can help you make creative cheese ball shapes.

Make In Advance: As explained in the following section, cheese balls are easy to make in advance and freeze. They’re a lovely, quick food item that you can take out of the fridge or freezer with very little notice. As long as you make sure to seal them well with plastic wrap before refrigerating or freezing, you’ll have a quick appetizer to set out on the table with some crackers while you prepare the rest of your food.

A hand dips a square cracker into a round cheese ball coated with chopped pecans, served on a white plate with assorted crackers. The background shows glasses and a milk bottle on a white countertop.

Storage Instructions

Fridge: This recipe requires an initial 4 hours of fridge time to help the ball hold its form. After this, you can store the cheese ball in a sealed container or wrapped in plastic wrap in your fridge for several days.

Freezer: If you’d like to make it in advance and freeze it for later, be sure to wrap it in plastic wrap to keep the air out and hold the shape. Do this immediately after assembly and put the wrapped cheese ball in an airtight container in your freezer right away. You can store it this way for up to a month.

More Delicious Appetizer Recipes

Looking for more creative Appetizer and Snack recipes to make for your holiday parties?

Try this Pepperoni Bread or some Jalapeño Grilled Cheese Rollups for tasty carbs.

Or make a Shrimp Surprise Spread and a variety of Easy Holiday Appetizers .

If this cheese ball didn’t quite fulfill your cheese craving, check out this other Cheese Ball Recipe.

There you go, everyone. An delicious appetizer that’s easy to make in advance and pop out of your freezer the day you need it. Try this and other easy appetizers this holiday season. Let me know how you like them.

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn