Thank you Castello Cheese for sponsoring this post on an easy cheese ball recipe. Castello Cheese makes entertaining easy with its range of flavors.

We are hosting our family at our house this year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is my first time cooking and hosting such a large group! So I have been looking for easy, yet beautiful festive holiday recipes to make for our large crowd! So the idea of a quick and easy cheese ball recipe for my gusts sounded amazing.

I have also been trying my hand in the kitchen much more recently due to my diagnosis with Celiac Disease and the need to make my own food with a strict gluten-free kitchen and ingredients. One of the items that always screams “holiday” to me is a festive cheese ball with crackers and crudite. This cheese ball recipe is like the dressed up version of charcuterie ( which is also a gathering go-to for me ) so I decided to figure out how to make one and try my hand at my own flavor variation!

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For my easy cheese ball recipe, I decided to use a smoked gouda, almond, and tart cherry cheese ball! I LOVE tart cherry and a smoky gouda / almond flavor pairs really well against the bright acidity of the tart cherries.

Castello Cheese reached out to me to create a holiday entertaining cheese ball recipe, and I readily agreed because they are a staple cheese brand we get from the grocery store all the time. Castello Cheese has a range of flavors and are excellent quality/price.

They make holiday entertaining super easy – just grab one of everything and put it on a cheese board with some ( gluten-free ) crackers and VOILA! You’ve got a holiday dish that will please the whole crowd. Castello Cheese can be found in the specialty cheese aisle. Click here to find out where to buy Castello near you. They also have a great Pinterest board with easy cheesy holiday entertaining dishes! (See what I did there. ;D)

You can also make this easy cheese ball recipe to take the ” holiday spirit” up a notch. I always thought cheese balls must be a complicated thing to make, but NOPE! Literally took me 8 minutes to make this cheese ball from start to finish and it was only that long because I shredded the gouda by hand.

My cheese ball recipe was a hit with my husband so I am confident in serving it to my Thanksgiving and Christmas guests. I’m sure they will think it is good-a.

( okay okay, I know enough with the cheese-y jokes. )

Without further ado – here is the easy cheese ball recipe!

SMOKED GOUDA, ALMOND + TART CHERRY EASY CHEESE BALL RECIPE

Ingredients:

1. 1 package Castello Smoked Gouda cheese
2. 1 cup sliced almonds
3. 1 cup sliced tart cherries
4. 1 cup dried tart cherries
5. 1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
6. pinch of pink himalayan salt

Take the cheese and shred it!

Add the softened cream cheese, the sliced tart cherries, and pinch of salt to the shredded cheese bowl. Mix with a stand mixer on medium until well blended. The mixture will be chunky and that’s okay, just make sure all the ingredients are well combined.

Using a spatula, scrape the mixture onto a sheet of wax paper. Form the mixture into a ball using your hands.

Roughly chop the almonds and the dried tart cherries and sprinkle onto a cutting board.

Gently roll the cheese ball over the chopped almond and cherry mixture. Fill in any holes on in the almond/cherry covering by hand.

Place on a plate, cover lightly with cheesecloth or a towel and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove right when you are ready to serve! I paired mine with a gluten-free water cracker and cherry jam.

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That’s it! You are all done with your super easy cheese ball recipe. Seriously the easiest thing to make. Also, the flavor combos are endless. You can practically take any cheese variety and turn it into a cheese ball. If you want more ideas for holiday entertaining recipes please check out my Pinterest board or Castello’s Pinterest board for some great and easy ideas!

Again – you can click here to find out where to buy Castello cheese near you.

Thanks for popping by and let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!

Looking for more easy recipes? Check out my gluten-free biscuit recipe here.