Everything Bagel Cheese Ball

I’ve never made a cheese ball before and so I sort of feel like a fraud right now. But I will say that in my defense, I’ve always seen them at parties and have wanted to make it but I was waiting for the right one. I came across the perfect cheese ball the other day when I was flipping through an issue of EatingWell magazine. It was a much simpler version of this Everything Bagel Cheese Ball and so I wanted to take that idea but really bring that bagel flavor out. So this one is studded with all of my favorite bagel fixin’s like capers, red onion, scallions, and smoked salmon. And if that wasn’t enough, I serve the cheese ball with bagel chips (I had to) and sliced cucumbers and radishes to really drive the theme home. It’s really good and I hope you’ll try it for yourself!

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on high until light and fluffy. Stir in the white cheddar and parmesan until well-combined.

**Note: Make sure that the cream cheese really is at room temperature or else you’ll end up with chunks or bits of cold cream cheese in your cheese ball.**

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Add in the red onion, garlic, scallions, capers, salmon (if using), 2 tablespoons Everything Bagel Seasoning and a small pinch of salt and pepper. Give it a stir until evenly combined.

**Tip: I know that not everyone is a fan of smoked salmon, and so it’s worth mentioning that it’s an optional ingredient. You can omit it completely or swap it out for cooked crispy bacon. That would be delicious as well!**

Use a rubber spatula to transfer the mixture to onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a ball and wrap tightly. Allow to chill in the fridge until firm, about 3 hours or overnight.

The cheese ball can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept in the fridge (uncoated). Then when you plan on serving it, you can coat it and allow to come to room temperature just for a bit to make it easier to cut into.

Place the remaining Everything Bagel Seasoning into a shallow dish or plate. Unwrap the cheese ball and roll around in the seasoning mix until evenly coated.

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Place on a platter or wooden board and serve alongside crackers, pretzels, bagel chips, sliced carrots, cucumber, and/or radishes. It can really be whatever you prefer. I highly recommend bagel chips because this is supposed to be a bagel cheese ball after all.

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You can find Everything Bagel Seasoning in almost any store these days. It used to be that I could only find it at Trader Joes, but now I see it at several stores right in the spice aisle!

**Tip: But if you can’t find it, you can totally mix up your own with little effort. All you need is: 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon garlic granules, 1 tablespoon onion granules and 2 teaspoon flaked sea salt. Just give it a mix and store in a jar.**

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You can also shape it into a log rather than a ball and call it a cheese log instead. There’s no real purpose for this other than aesthetics and it also actually might be a bit easier to cut and serve so something to keep in mind. I hope you’ll give this one a try because it’s a great little recipe to have on hand. Let me know if you have any questions or comments below. Stay safe out there my friends and thank you for reading.