Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball is a fun Halloween appetizer made with cream cheese, bell pepper, shallot, jalapeño and garlic powder rolled in crunched up Nacho Cheese Doritos and shaped into a pumpkin.
I made a Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball many years ago for a Halloween lunch with co-workers and it was one of those recipes I just sort of forgot about for a while. I do remember this appetizer being a huge hit and super tasty so it was time to recreate and share! I love that this recipe is kid-friendly and adds a lot of character to a Halloween party spread with the fun pumpkin shape. Bonus that these cheese ball is easy peasy!
You may also enjoy this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate great for trick-or-treating and Halloween parties!
Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball
Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball is creamy and smooth with a slight sweetness coming through from the shallot and yellow bell pepper. Jalapeño adds that little spicy kick inside and the crunchy, nacho cheesy outside layer brings in great flavor.
Tips & Tricks
Shaping the Pumpkin
The only part of this cheese ball that could be potentially frustrating is shaping the mixture into something that resembles a pumpkin. Utilize the plastic wrap to help you get it into a nice round ball to start. Gently patting the mixture into place is a great help. Place the rubber bands around the ball once you are happy with the roundness. Don’t worry about being perfect because real pumpkins aren’t perfect either. Just place them around the ball as even as possible and just go with it!
Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
Description
Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball is a fun Halloween appetizer made with cream cheese, bell pepper, shallot, jalapeño and garlic powder rolled in crunched up Nacho Cheese Doritos and shaped into a pumpkin.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Doritos Nacho Cheese, (crumbled)
- 12 ounces cheddar cheese, (shredded)
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 1 shallot, (finely diced)
- 1 jalapeño, (finely diced**)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 yellow bell pepper, (chopped (save stem))
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add shredded cheese and garlic powder. Beat again.
- Finely dice the shallot, bell pepper and jalapeño. Stir into cream cheese. Remember to save the stem from bell pepper for later.
- Place mixture onto some plastic wrap and form a ball. When a nice circular ball is formed, close up the plastic wrap around the ball.
- Place 3 rubber bands around the ball to make indention that looks like a real pumpkin.
- Place in fridge and chill for about 3 hours.
- Remove the rubber bands ad plastic wrap. Crunch up Doritos and lightly pat it around the cheese ball.
- Place the bell pepper stem on top of cheese ball and serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
** can remove seeds from jalapeño or leave seeds in for a spicier cheese ball. For extra flavor use 2 jalapeños. One without seeds and one with.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, snacks
don’t want to use Doreto on the outside of chees ball any other thoughts?
any cracker or chip that you like. If you use something like a saltine though, you may want to add some spices to flavor it up a little.
I need to make this for our pumpkin carving party!
Yes! That would be fun.
Who doesn’t enjoy a good cheeseball. I have seen a lot in my day, but this one is so creative and clever. Such a great way to celebrate Halloween.
Cheese balls are always a great item to bring to a celebration.
This is awesome! and looks delicious!