Cranberry and Pecan Mini Goat Cheese Ball

When hosting a gathering or holiday parties I love having bite-sized balls that people can grab and go. This individual cheese ball recipe is the perfect holiday appetizer to serve to your guests! That’s why I love this cranberry pecan goat cheese ball!  Unlike a traditional cheese ball, this recipe uses a mixture of tangy goat cheese and mascarpone cheese. Adding in the mascarpone makes it a creamy goat cheese and then I add a touch of honey for sweetness. You can dip any cracker, pretzel, or crostini in it for an easy side dish to grab and walk around.

During the holiday season its common to host large gatherings and have small plate style foods that people can easily walk around, eat, and chat. I always keep this in mind when I’m planning my recipes. This is also a make ahead holiday appetizer! You can assemble and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days before the party. The tart cranberries, soft cheese, pecan chips, and a touch of honey have a little something for everyone with the sweet and savory.

I love using soft goat cheese in holiday recipes. I usually buy mine at Aldi! The mascarpone cheese adds this extra level of creaminess to it! If you can’t find it you can also use cream cheese as well and it will work out perfectly. I use chopped cranberries and try to make the pecans the same size. So I will typically buy whole pecan and chop them the size I like! You could make this into a large cheese ball as well but I love the little bites as it’s easier to eat in a large group.

Mini Cranberry Pecan Goat Cheese Balls Assembly

In a medium bowl, add in the soft goat cheese and mascarpone cheese. You can use a whisk or a hand mixer and blend well. Add in a touch of honey, black pepper, and sea salt. Continue to mix with hand mixer or whisk for 2 minutes until light and all ingredients are mixed.

A minute on the pecans. Do not skip this step. Turn your oven to 350 and roast them for 5-7 minutes. This will make all the difference in the flavor! So just, do it!

Ok, once the pecans are toasted, you can chop them up. You don’t want them to be a fine powder but you do want them to to be similar in size to the chopped cranberries. Remember these are little balls of goat cheese that can fit in the palm of your hand so keep that in mind when deciding on the size! Chop the fresh parsley as well and mix all three together in a shallow bowl or pie plate. I love all the festive holiday colors of this mix!

Shape

Now we need to shape the mini-cheese balls. I like to use a cookie scoop or a small ice-cream scoop so I get out the same amount for each. Then I’ll roll them into a round ball, toss into the cranberry/pecan/herb mixture, and place on a serving platter or if you are making in advance you can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I like to line my dish with parchment paper just to make sure nothing sticks. The easiest way to make sure the cheese ball mixture doesn’t stick to your hands is to either wet them in between rolling or to add a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking. This helps a ton!

Serve with pretzel sticks, crackers, or fresh toasted flatbread! These cranberry pecan mini cheese balls are truly the perfect party appetizer for your holiday party! Some other variations you could try would be to add in fresh chives or chopped green onions instead of parsley. You could mix in some other cheeses with the goat cheese as well to play with the flavors. Try blue cheese or an herbed soft cheese. You could also add some pieces of freshly cooked salty bacon to the outside! So many different ways to spice this up and use over and over again.

I hope you will give these cranberry pecan mini goat cheese balls a try for your next holiday spread!