Any dill pickle lover is going to fall head over heels for this Dill Pickle Cheese Ball! It’s the perfect appetizer recipe for any party and will remind guests of those yummy dill pickle ham rollups, but this is easier to make!
NOTE: This recipe was updated in 2020 to include new text and new images. The recipe was written with more clarity but it still has the same ingredients as before.
This past week has been beyond crazy! I ended up in the dentist’s office twice I think. My nine-year-old was playing king of the hill on an icy hill at the school. Apparently he was pushed off the hill and ended up breaking his front tooth in half. His permanent front tooth that he’s going to need for the rest of his life! Ya, that one!
Maybe I was most sad about it because he has the absolutely most adorable buck teeth in the world! After it happened, he even told me he just wanted his buck teeth back!
You know how doctors’ offices are right? They provide you an opportunity to look at every magazine you don’t subscribe to and scroll through all the social media channels you really don’t want to waste time on.
I must admit our dentist is awesome, but there is plenty of time to read magazines. The little wait turned out to be a good thing this time because that’s when I found a recipe for Dill Pickle Cheeseball! I knew I needed it in my life!
Tips for making the BEST Dill Pickle Cheese Ball.
TIP #1: The recipe I found at the dentist’s office had dill pickles listed in the ingredients, which totally makes sense since this is a dill pickle recipe! I knew I didn’t want to fuss with chopping pickles so this recipe uses a jar of pickle relish.
TIP #2: Pickle relish has extra liquid in it, so be sure to drain the liquid off. I put it in a colander and let it sit for a few minutes.
TIP #3: Be sure to use room temperature cream cheese. Want to know the best way to get the cream cheese to room temperature? Pull it out of the fridge about minutes before you want to use it. Or, it can be defrosted in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
How to make Dill Pickle Cheeseball.
It seriously takes about 5 minutes to throw this recipe together! And honestly, I think it took less time than that for our family to devour it!
Here are the steps.
- Mix cream cheese, dill pickle relish, onion powder, and Worcestershire together. You can stop right here and serve it just like it is as a dill pickle dip if you’d like! Yum!
- Wrap cream cheese mixture in a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a ball. This easiest way to shape cheese balls.
- Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from plastic wrap and sprinkle with chopped dill weed, or roll the cheeseball in dill weed.
- Set on a plate and serve, or cover with plastic wrap until you’re ready to serve it.
What to serve with a Dill Pickle Cheese Ball?
This recipe really is a winner whenever you’re asked to bring finger foods for a party. It’s fun because there are lots of options for serving with it.
- Butter crackers like Ritz, other crackers are good too
- Serve it with carrots or celery sticks if you want to keep it low carb, or gluten free
- Spread on a tortilla and wrapped up like those yummy dill pickle pinwheels or rollups from the fifties too!
- Soften it in the microwave and spread it on a hamburger bun
Although I wouldn’t freeze this recipe it keeps for over a week in the fridge.
Fun variations for dill pickle cream cheese appetizers.
There fun ways to switch this recipe up to customize the flavors.
- Cooked and crumbled bacon can be added
- Chipped beef can be added
- Chopped ham can be added
- Pepper Jack cheese makes it a bit spicy
- Use cheddar cheese for a classic flavor
- Monterey Jack cheese is yummy
- Add dill weed to amp up the pickle flavor
- Use chopped pickles for bigger chunks of pickle
Other cream cheese appetizers you will love!
- Jalapeno Popper Bites with Puff Pastry
- Poolside Dip
- 2 Ingredient Cream Cheese Salsa
- Broccoli Dip
- Veggie Pizza
- Jalapeno Popper Pinwheels
- Pimento Cheese Spread Recipe
Recipes with pickles
Grab the recipe!
My sister and I used to eat dill pickles every single day for lunch. So I guess you could say I’ve been a lover for a long time!
This cheese ball has always been a winning snack, appetizer, or party food with me! I’ve pretty much checked out all the dill pickle snack and recipe ideas and this one is at the top of my list! I just know you’re going to love it too!
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Dill Pickle Cheeseball (Easy Appetizer)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Cream cheese Room Temperature
- 1 cup Dill pickle relish drained
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Onion powder
- 1 1/2 cup Grated Cheese I used colby jack
- 2 tsp Dill weed Fresh is best
Instructions
- Mix room all ingredients except grated cheese.
- Stir in grated cheese
- Form into a ball.
- Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chopped dill weed, or roll cheese ball in dill weed.
- Serve, or refrigerate until serving time. If you want the cheese ball to be firm refrigerate for an hour before serving.
LT says
We really enjoyed this recipe. I didn’t use the dill pickle relish and would recommend buying good baby dill pickles and chopping them up (I’m partial to Gedney brand)(no, I don’t get paid by them, I really like their baby dills the best).
Amy Engberson says
You can definitely chop your own pickles. It’s a great swap if that’s what you have on hand and have time for it! I think I’m going to have to try Gedney brand pickles now! Thanks for the recommendation.