French Onion & Bacon Cheese Ball – Caramelized onions, Gruyere and cream cheese coated in French’s® Crispy Fried Onions and chives makes for an insanely delicious appetizer.
This French Onion & Bacon Cheese Ball is a super delicious and shareable appetizer! It’s totally awesome for family gatherings during the holidays, except you’ll have to hurry to get a bite before it’s all gone!
I love making fun, easy and full of flavor appetizers that wow guests at holiday get-togethers and parties. While entertaining can be stressful, my job as the hostess is to one, make it easy on myself, two, not overcomplicate things, and three, make everything look so delicious that my guests feel loved.
So my goal this holiday season is to make everything into a cheese ball. I’m kidding… Well, kind of. You see, cheese balls take little time to prepare, they sit in the fridge until they’re ready to be served, and they’re just a gorgeous addition to every table.
Not only are they gorgeous and delicious, they are the best make-ahead appetizer. A homemade bacon cheese ball will keep well in the refrigerator for one to two weeks! You can also freeze it. What could be better during the busy holiday season?
Recipe Inspiration
My family loves, loves, loves caramelized onions and bacon. Whenever we hit up our favorite burger joint, both kids and adults load on the bacon and grilled onions.
This past Thanksgiving, I had a bottle of fried onions on the counter the to make green bean casserole and of course, I had little hands in the jar, eating as many fried onions as they could sneak.
I really couldn’t yell at them, as I was doing the same exact thing. And while I am really the only one in my family who loves that casserole, everyone ate the fried onion topping right off the top.
With the kids and the hubs eating up all the onions, I was inspired to create this Bacon Cheese Ball with French Onions. We love French’s Crispy Fried Onions (obviously). And with bacon, the more bacon the better.
I decided to combine the two into a no-bake appetizer. I also wanted a touch of heat, so I added some crushed red pepper. You can adjust this amount to what you think your party crowd would like.
Cheese balls are always huge hits over the holiday season, and this French Onion & Bacon Cheese Ball will become a go-to recipe – not just for your holiday season, but for the rest of the year as well.
Ingredients
- Diced yellow onion
- Bacon
- Cream cheese
- Sour cream
- Grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese
- Dried thyme
- Red pepper flakes
- Finely diced chives
- Chopped French’s Crispy Fried Onions
How do you make a cheese ball?
Cut raw bacon into chunks and fry up in a pan over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked.
Once cooked, remove from heat and drain grease.
Allow the bacon to cool on a paper towel; set aside.
Using the same frying pan heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat, then add onion and season with salt and pepper.
Cook over heat, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool.
Finely chop cooled bacon and add to a large mixing bowl.
Add cream cheese, sour cream, Gruyère, thyme and red pepper flakes, beat until well combined.
Stir in cooled onions, until completely mixed in.
Form the cheese mixture into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap to chill for at least 1 hour.
In a small bowl combine chives and French’s Crispy Fried Onions, toss to combine.
When ready to serve, remove the cheese ball from the fridge and roll it in the fried onion and chive mixture.
Serve with crackers, chips or baguette slices.
How do you store a bacon cheese ball?
- Wrap cheese ball tightly with plastic wrap and completely in aluminum foil and shape again with your hands before storing in the fridge for up to 1-2 weeks.
- To freeze, wrap cheese ball in plastic wrap and then add to a resealable freezer bag.
- Place in freezer for up to 1 month.
With just a few simple ingredients, including bacon, cream cheese, and fried onions you are well on your way to an insanely delicious appetizer. Happy Holidays friends, and make this a season of foodie adventures.
XOXO San
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French Onion & Bacon Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced yellow onion
- 1/2 lb bacon
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/4 cup Gruyère or Swiss cheese, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup finely diced chives
- 1 1/2 cup French’s Crispy Fried Onions chopped
Instructions
- Cut raw bacon into chunks and fry up in a pan over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked. Once cooked, remove from heat and drain grease. Allow the bacon to cool on a paper towel; set aside.
- Using the same frying pan heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat, then add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook over heat, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
- Finely chop cooled bacon and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add cream cheese, sour cream, Gruyère, thyme and red pepper flakes, Beat until well combined.
- Stir in cooled onions, until completely mixed in.
- Form the cheese mixture into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap to chill for at least 1 hour.
*TIP* I set the cheese mixture in the center and on top of two pieces of plastic wrap. Then gently pull the plastic wrap together to form a ball. Then using my hand I gently press the plastic wrap to make a ball. - In a small bowl combine chives and French’s Crispy Fried Onions, toss to combine.When ready to serve, remove the cheese ball from the fridge and roll it in the fried onion and chive mixture.
- Serve with crackers, chips or baguette slices.
I have made this a few times to rave reviews. It is so killer good!
So glad to hear that! Thank you!
Great , our new cheeseball recipe.
Okay, this is such an awesome appetizer!
Oh maaaaan, this is the best cheese ball! I’ll be making it for al my parties now.
Oh my, this looks incredibly delicious!! The perfect appetizer!!
This is the perfect appetizer for holiday parties!! Can’t wait to try it!
OMG! This cheese ball looks amazing! I need to make one!
These flavors are spot on! Loved every bite of this!
This seriously has the best flavor!!
Just made this to take tomorrow to our party. I like that you can premake this recipe. I tasted it, and it’s yummy and festive.
This is by far the best cheese ball ever! Thank you for sharing the recipe.