Olive Stuffed Cheese Ball Bites

Easy recipe for mini cheese ball bites stuffed with olives and coated in Ritz cracker crumbs. They are the perfect appetizers for Christmas party, New Year’s party or any get together!

Why make these mini cheese balls

• No bake
• Easy recipe
• Quick preparation – 20 of them are ready in 15 minutes!
• Make ahead cheese ball bites – even though this is a quick recipe, you can make these mini cheese balls the night before serving. Just throw them in air-tight container and take them out when ready to serve.
• Easier to eat than the classic cheese ball!

These quick appetizers are the perfect party food. Try them and let us know in the comment section what you think!

Ingredients

• Cream cheese
• Cheddar – you can either buy a block and grate it yourself or buy shredded. I prefer the first option.
• Dried oregano
• Pitted olives – preferably stuffed
• Ritz crackers

Tools needed to make these olive stuffed cheese balls

• Bowl for mixing
• Fork or spoon (spatula will also work)
• Food processor or a Ziploc bag and rolling pin for turning the crackers into crumbs

How to make cream cheese wrapped olives

First, gather all the ingredients. Then, drain all the liquid from olives and put them onto a few sheets of paper kitchen towel and set aside. This is to get rid of any excess moisture from olives.

Meanwhile, mix the two cheeses with oregano until smooth. Now all you have to do is cover each olive with some of this mixture. There is no need to use a lot of the mixture. Just enough to cover each olive. About a teaspoon should be plenty.

When ready, roll the cheese ball bites in cracker crumbs and you are done. Chill them in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Tips for making cream cheese wrapped olives

• It does not matter what kind of olives you use, just make sure they are pitted. My personal favorite are stuffed olives (with pepper, lemon, jalapeno …) as they are more flavorful. To make these olive balls I used pepper stuffed olives.
• The cream cheese mixture will be sticky, but you will still be able to form balls easily. Make sure to use chilled cream cheese.
• I serve these olive cream cheese balls coated in ritz cracker crumbs, but you can omit this step, if you like. Or use walnuts, pistachios or pecans instead. Alternatively, you can serve the olive balls on crackers.

More appetizer recipe ideas:

• Olive and Feta Shooters
• Winter Cheese Board
• Pear Prosciutto Appetizer
• Cranberry Bacon Cheese Ball
• Honey Pistachio Goat Cheese Log

Yield: 20 Balls, see note 3

Olive Stuffed Cheese Ball Bites

Print

Easy recipe for mini cheese ball bites stuffed with olives and coated in Ritz cracker crumbs. They are the perfect appetizers for Christmas party, New Year’s party or any get together!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 20 Pitted Olives, see note 1
• 8 ounces Cream Cheese
• 3.5 ounces Cheddar Cheese, finely shredded (100 grams)
• 1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
• 7 Ritz Crackers, see note 2

Instructions

1. Place 20 olives onto 2 sheets of paper kitchen towel and set aside. The towel will soak up any excess moisture.
2. In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, grated/shredded cheese and dried oregano until well combined. Use about a teaspoon of the mixture to coat one olive with it.
3. When done, roll it into a ball. Repeat until you have used up all the mixture.
4. Crush the crackers either using a food processor or a Ziploc bag and rolling pin. Pour the crumbs into a bowl. Coat each ball in the mixture and place onto a plate.
5. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour (up to overnight) before serving. When chilling them in the fridge overnight, I prefer placing them in an airtight container or covering them with plastic wrap.
6. Enjoy!
   

Notes

1. Olives - you can use black or green olives but for more flavor I recommend using stuffed olives.
2. Ritz crackers can be substituted with walnuts or pecans.
3. You should get somewhere between 20-24 balls out of this recipe. The number will depend on how much of the mixture you will use per ball.
4. These can be made night ahead and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge until the following day.
5. If you find the mixture too soft to your liking, add more grated cheddar.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 70Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 106mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

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