Pineapple Cheese Ball with Pecans – An Old Fashioned Cheese Ball Recipe

Love the combination of salty and sweet? This Pineapple Cheese Ball with Pecans has a sweet pineapple flavor that goes hand in hand with the saltiness of chopped pecans. It comes together easily, and includes common ingredients – cream cheese, crushed pineapple, green pepper, onion, pecans an salt. Serve with crackers for a new favorite appetizer.

Pineapple Cheese Ball with Pecans Recipe

The holidays are just around the corner, and a cheese ball is an easy appetizer to prep ahead of time. It makes a great contribution to any party, any time of year. This version has drained, crushed pineapple for a sweet twist. The cheese mixture is rolled in pecans for a salty bite that perfectly complements the sweetness of the pineapple.

Sweet and salty go together like peas and carrots, or more like chocolate chips and pumpkin muffins (this is our favorite).

Ingredients in Old Fashioned Cheese Ball Recipe

The base of the cheese ball is really simple – cream cheese, crushed pineapple, green pepper, onion, pecans and salt.  No crazy ingredients here. Put them together and what do you get…bippidy, boppidy, cheese ball.

• Cream Cheese, softened
• Crushed Pineapple, drained
• Green Peppers, chopped
• Onions, chopped
• Pecans, chopped
• Salt

How to Make a Pineapple Cheese Ball Recipe

Step by Step Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, crushed pineapple, green pepper, chopped onion, pecans and salt.
2. Shape into a ball, and roll in remaining pecans.
3. Chill pineapple cheeseball in the fridge until ready to eat.
4. Serve with your favorite crackers such as Triscuits, Ritz, or Wheat Thins.

For the full recipe steps and ingredient amounts for Sweet Pineapple Cheese Ball, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. 

Sweet Pineapple Cheese Ball

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of forming a cheese ball but love these flavors, try our Pineapple Cream Cheese Dip with Pecans and Water Chestnuts.

I have to give credit to our family friend, Jackie, for this recipe. She’s a great cook, and she included this recipe in my wedding cookbook, a collection of her favorite recipes. Some of her goodies have graced the blog before, including Caramel Bars, Shrimp Salad, Cheesy Broccoli Casserole, and French Onion Rice Casserole.

What do you eat with cheese balls?

The obvious choice is crackers to eat with a cheeseball, and there’s so many fun varieties of crackers available at the grocery store including butter crackers, whole wheat crackers, and many gluten-free options. You can also serve sliced apples, pretzels, baguette, pita chips and so much more. Who remembers Sociables crackers? Our mom ALWAYS had these at the holidays to go with our cheese ball.

How long can a cheese ball keep in the refrigerator?

If the cheeseball is intact and has not been served yet, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Be sure to wrap it up tight to store it properly.

If you serve the cheeseball, please be hesitant about about saving it to serve later. When served at a party or get-together, there’s usually many people sampling the cheese ball. Each person is potentially contaminating the cheeseball.

Be sure to dispose of the cheeseball if it sits out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. This is the general rule of thumb for disposing food.

Can you freeze a cheese ball?

Yes, you can freeze a cheese ball. Wrap it up tightly in saran (plastic) wrap, and then place it in an air-tight resealable plastic bag before freezing. For this particular cheese ball, freeze it before rolling in pecans.  Thaw it, and then coat in chopped pecans.

Recipe FAQs

• This makes a very large cheese ball. You could also make two smaller pecan cheese balls.
• Soften the cream cheese for this easy cheese ball recipe with pecans before mixing.
• This is a salty cheeseball so if you are worried about the 1 Tablespoon of salt, start with less and taste. Add up to a Tablespoon depending on your preference.
• Be sure to drain the crushed pineapple.
• Chop the pecans to the desired consistency, and save 1/2 for the coating on the outside.
• The sweetness of the pineapple and the saltiness of the pecans are perfect in this sweet pineapple cheese ball with pecans.
• Pecans are the star of many of our recipes including Slow Cooker Glazed Pecans, Hot Dried Beef Dip, Spiced Pecans, Praline Pumpkin Bars.
• Can you freeze a cheese ball?  Yes! Do not coat with pecans before freezing.  Wrap tightly with saran wrap, and then put in an airtight resealable plastic bag.
• Check out our Amazon store for our favorite kitchen items and pantry essentials.

Our Favorite Appetizer Recipes

Appetizers are a favorite “theme” of our family gatherings. We love to have 4-5 different apps to munch on during the holidays…sometimes skipping the big dinner altogether!

• Cheesy Taco Dip
• Hot Dried Beef Dip
• Cold Crab and Shrimp Party Dip
• Hot Crab Dip
• Mexicorn Crack Dip
• Dill Pickle Wraps