Pineapple Cheese Ball – The Ultimate Game Day Recipe

This cheese ball recipe and shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are mine alone. #GameDayGreats #CollectiveBias

When my husband and I were dating, I was that girlfriend that would sit for hours on the couch beside him and cheer on any sports team he happened to be watching at the time. I never really cared if it was football or baseball or basketball. I was happy to be snuggled up next to my guy… and he apparently was under the impression that I actually liked sports. Hmmmm.

I didn’t grow up a sports enthusiast. I went to the occasional game here and there, but I didn’t play sports… and I didn’t want to spend my time watching them. After we got married, I stopped being interested in spending weekends on the couch doing nothing. I mean, watching sports. I could think of a million other things that were more interesting. If you ask my husband, he’ll tell you I played him big-time. That I only pretended to like sports to keep him interested and then after I had the ring on my finger, I let my real feelings shine through. Okay… maybe he was right.

I was raised on the East Coast and now I live on the West Coast… and there are some pretty awesome teams on both sides of the country. I never really favored one over the other until recently. That’s because out of all the sports out there, the only one I can actually sit and watch is football. And now that my city finally has a team to root for… I am ALL about the blue and gold. Luckily, my husband is pretty stoked to have a team back too… and he can finally get his wife to sit and watch a game with him again.

So while he’s all about the big screen TV… I’m all about the snacks. Football snacks are really the best. For some reason, when there is a game on, you NEED a table full of awesome food.

Did I ever tell you about my fondness for cheese balls?

Every Thanksgiving when I was a kid, we would go to my Aunt’s house for the day. And every year she would put out her famous cheese ball to snack on. It was a family tradition and even though we weren’t watching the football game that the adults were, we would still sneak into the family room to scoop up that cheese ball.

Making this cheese ball recipe always brings back great memories… and hopefully, my kids will have similar memories of snacking on cheese ball and watching football as a family.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 can crushed pineapple, drained (about 10 oz)
• 1/4 red pepper, chopped fine
• 1/4  green pepper, chopped fine
• RITZ crackers, crushed

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and the cheddar cheese really well. The softer, the better, which is why you want the cream cheese at room temperature. Add the crushed pineapple and peppers and mix until well blended. You might be temped to dig right in… but don’t!

Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the counter or table and with super clean hands, grab the cream cheese mixture and form into a ball. Put the ball onto the plastic wrap and use the wrap to form an even better ball shape. Keep well wrapped and place in the refrigerator to harden back up.

Once you have a firm cheese ball, take the crushed RITZ crackers and lay them out on a plate. Roll your cheeseball around in the crackers. Make sure to cover the surface completely.

You can either serve immediately, or you can wrap it back up in plastic and keep for later in the day or for the next day. The great thing is that you can prep this ahead of time.

I usually serve my cheese ball with additional RITZ Crackers, TRISCUIT, or Wheat Thins. Of course, veggie sticks that are also amazing with the cheese ball.

Great snacks… fun decorations… and you’ve got yourself a party – whether you are entertaining guests or your just enjoying the game with family. Pick up some Coca-Cola and sit back and relax.

I purchased my Game Day snacks and drinks at Ralph’s, my local Kroger Banner Store.

Tell me your go-to family Game Day snack.