DILL PICKLE CHEESEBALL (EASY APPETIZER)

Any dill pickle lover is going to fall head over heels for this Dill Pickle Cheese Ball! It’s the perfect appetizer recipe for any party and will remind guests of those yummy dill pickle ham rollups, but this is easier to make!

a cheese ball that's has a portion of it removed to show the inside of the cheese ball. On a black plate with round crackers and pickle slices

NOTE: This recipe was updated in 2020 to include new text and new images. The recipe was written with more clarity but it still has the same ingredients as before.

This past week has been beyond crazy! I ended up in the dentist’s office twice I think. My nine-year-old was playing king of the hill on an icy hill at the school. Apparently he was pushed off the hill and ended up breaking his front tooth in half. His permanent front tooth that he’s going to need for the rest of his life! Ya, that one!

Maybe I was most sad about it because he has the absolutely most adorable buck teeth in the world! After it happened, he even told me he just wanted his buck teeth back!

You know how doctors’ offices are right? They provide you an opportunity to look at every magazine you don’t subscribe to and scroll through all the social media channels you really don’t want to waste time on.

I must admit our dentist is awesome, but there is plenty of time to read magazines. The little wait turned out to be a good thing this time because that’s when I found a recipe for Dill Pickle Cheeseball! I knew I needed it in my life!

a round butter cracker topped with a piece of cream cheese dip and sprinkled with fresh herbs

Tips for making the BEST Dill Pickle Cheese Ball.

TIP #1: The recipe I found at the dentist’s office had dill pickles listed in the ingredients, which totally makes sense since this is a dill pickle recipe! I knew I didn’t want to fuss with chopping pickles so this recipe uses a jar of pickle relish.

TIP #2: Pickle relish has extra liquid in it, so be sure to drain the liquid off. I put it in a colander and let it sit for a few minutes.

TIP #3: Be sure to use room temperature cream cheese. Want to know the best way to get the cream cheese to room temperature? Pull it out of the fridge about minutes before you want to use it. Or, it can be defrosted in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

a collage with four images showing how to make a dill pickle cheese ball and the ingredients needed to make it.

How to make Dill Pickle Cheeseball.

It seriously takes about 5 minutes to throw this recipe together! And honestly, I think it took less time than that for our family to devour it!

Here are the steps.

Mix cream cheese, dill pickle relish, onion powder, and Worcestershire together. You can stop right here and serve it just like it is as a dill pickle dip if you’d like! Yum!
Wrap cream cheese mixture in a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a ball. This easiest way to shape cheese balls.
Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes.
Remove from plastic wrap and sprinkle with chopped dill weed, or roll the cheeseball in dill weed.
Set on a plate and serve, or cover with plastic wrap until you’re ready to serve it.

a cheeseball sprinkled with minced fresh dill weed, surrounded by butter crackers and pickle slices

What to serve with a Dill Pickle Cheese Ball?

This recipe really is a winner whenever you’re asked to bring finger foods for a party. It’s fun because there are lots of options for serving with it.

Butter crackers like Ritz, other crackers are good too
Serve it with carrots or celery sticks if you want to keep it low carb, or gluten free
Spread on a tortilla and wrapped up like those yummy dill pickle pinwheels or rollups from the fifties too!
Soften it in the microwave and spread it on a hamburger bun

Although I wouldn’t freeze this recipe it keeps for over a week in the fridge.

a knife with a serving a cheese dip on it sprinkled with fresh herbs

Fun variations for dill pickle cream cheese appetizers.

There fun ways to switch this recipe up to customize the flavors.

Cooked and crumbled bacon can be added
Chipped beef can be added
Chopped ham can be added
Pepper Jack cheese makes it a bit spicy
Use cheddar cheese for a classic flavor
Monterey Jack cheese is yummy
Add dill weed to amp up the pickle flavor
Use chopped pickles for bigger chunks of pickle

A black plate with a cheese ball covered with fresh dill weed and a knife for spreading cream cheese dip. Surrounded by Ritz crackers. Little Dairy on the Prairie

a cheese ball has a pickle sitting on the top with round butter crackers surrounding it. — I’m leaving an image from the first draft of this post, just in case you were looking specifically remembering this cheese ball recipe! It’s the same recipe with new images!

Grab the recipe!

My sister and I used to eat dill pickles every single day for lunch. So I guess you could say I’ve been a lover for a long time!

This cheese ball has always been a winning snack, appetizer, or party food with me! I’ve pretty much checked out all the dill pickle snack and recipe ideas and this one is at the top of my list! I just know you’re going to love it too!

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