Smoked Cream Cheese Ball Loaded Bites Recipe
Thanks to the smoked cream cheese, these loaded cheese ball bites are the best out there! They are the perfect grab-and-go anytime appetizer!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1.5 hours
- Yield: 30-40 bites
- Category: snacks, appetizers, party foods, holiday treats, game day snacks, keto friendly, gluten free snacks, smoked foods
- Method: Smoker
- Cuisine: snacks, appetizers, party foods, holiday treats, game day snacks, keto friendly, gluten free snacks, smoked foods
Ingredients
- 2–eight-ounce blocks of cream cheese, cold
- 3 Tablespoons Ranch Powder Seasoning, divided
- 8 slices of crispy bacon chopped small, divided
- 6 green onions, minced, divided
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded cheddar
- 3/4 cup pecans, processed small
- 30–40 pretzel sticks
Instructions
- Fill the GE Profile Indoor Smoker to the water line and fill up the hopper with pellets. I went with what came in the box but if you have pellets at home, use a fruity-type pellet. Insert one rack and preheat the smoker to 250F. Set the smoke level to 2 and the time to 1 hour. While the smoker is preheating, assemble the dish!
- Place the cold cream cheese on a foil-lined pan or baking dish. Using a paring knife, make shallow hash marks/criss-cross marks into the top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of the ranch seasoning over top of each block of cream cheese.
- Place the pan into the preheated smoker and smoke for 1 hour. Once done, allow the cream cheese to cool to room temperature. *If I’m super impatient I’ll place it in the fridge for about 30-40 minutes to cool down. You want it to be cool enough so it doesn’t melt the Cheddar cheese.
- To a large bowl add in the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Add in the rest of the ranch seasoning, finely shredded cheese, green onions, and crispy bacon. Mix until well combined. *If the mixture is too soft to mold, cover and chill for 1 hour.
- Using a small cookie scoop (about 2 heaping teaspoons), scoop up some loaded cheese ball mixture and roll it into a ball. *If it’s too hard to roll or the mixture sticks to your hands, lightly dampen your hands with water.
- Place the cheese ball into the coating mixture and coat all sides completely. Repeat until all of the balls have been scooped and coated.
- If serving right away, insert a pretzel stick. If serving it later, insert the pretzel stick before serving.