Buffalo Cheese Ball

Buffalo Cheese Ball recipe - All the flavor of buffalo hot wings with none of the bird (or the work)! An easy appetizer made healthier with light cream cheese and veggies. Vegetarian.

Note from Kare: Gina from Running to the Kitchen is back (yay!) with this incredible appetizer recipe that’s the perfect hybrid – a cheese ball + Buffalo hot sauce goodness in one easy (and relatively light!) package. Regardless of one’s stance on football (I am not exactly a sports person, though I don’t despise the sport quite as much as Gina does!), I think we can all agree that game-day food like this Buffalo Cheese Ball is something that everyone can cheer for. 🙂

The start of fall is always bittersweet. It’s the beginning of cozy sweaters, boots, and comfort food but the end of flip flops, tanks, tans and amazing summer fruit (peaches, you’ll be missed). It’s also the beginning of football season.

Buffalo Cheese Ball recipe - All the flavor of buffalo hot wings with none of the bird (or the work)! An easy appetizer made healthier with light cream cheese and veggies. Vegetarian.

For some reason, Buffalo and football have essentially become synonymous, something that sort of grates at my nerves as I love one dearly and couldn’t even be tempted to sit through the other for large sums of money.

Just the music alone, you know, the “duh duh duh duhhhhh” that prefaces every commercial break is cringe worthy to me, and yet, some of the best snacks, side dishes and appetizers come out of it all – like this Buffalo Cheese Ball.

Buffalo Cheese Ball recipe - All the flavor of buffalo hot wings with none of the bird (or the work)! An easy appetizer made healthier with light cream cheese and veggies. Vegetarian.

Buffalo sauce has made its way into pretty much every food out there and now its making its way into the beloved cheese ball appetizer, too. A party isn’t a party without a cheeseball somewhere, am I right?

This one has everything you love about a good one: it’s rolled in nuts, filled with small chunks of veggies, creamy and spreadable but with the added bonus of that football-centric Buffalo flavor. You can add more or less depending on your spice tolerance, but anyway you serve it I can guarantee both the football lovers and those just there for the food, like me, will love it.

Buffalo Cheese Ball recipe - All the flavor of buffalo hot wings with none of the bird (or the work)! An easy appetizer made healthier with light cream cheese and veggies. Vegetarian.

Buffalo Cheese Ball recipe
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Buffalo Cheese Ball

Prep: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Author: Kare
All the flavor of Buffalo hot wings with none of the bird (or the work)! A super-duper easy, crowd-pleasing appetizer made healthier with light cream cheese and veggies.

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces light cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 3 tablespoons Buffalo hot sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot sauce*)
  • 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
  • 1/3 cup diced celery (about 1 medium stalk)
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion (scallions)
  • 3 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
  • 2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts (divided)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt + more if desired
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper + more if desired

For serving:

  • Pita chips or crackers of your choice
  • Celery sticks
  • Carrot sticks

Instructions

  • Place the room-temp cream cheese and Buffalo sauce in a medium bowl. Beat with a hand mixer until well combined and smooth.
  • Add blue cheese, celery, green onion, red bell pepper, 2 tablespoons of the walnuts, salt, and pepper to the bowl and stir to combine with a spatula. Taste and add more Buffalo sauce, salt, and/or pepper if desired.
  • Turn the mixture out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap and form into a ball shape with your hands. Place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to firm up.
  • Place the remaining walnuts in a shallow bowl or dish. Unwrap the cheese ball and roll in the nuts until the outside is fully covered. Serve or keep chilled in refrigerator until serving. Serve with pita chips, crackers, celery sticks, and/or carrot sticks.

Buffalo Cheese Ball recipe - All the flavor of buffalo hot wings with none of the bird (or the work)! An easy appetizer made healthier with light cream cheese and veggies. Vegetarian.