Tiffani Thiessen's 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Cheese Balls

When people invite me to a party, I always ask what I can bring. It’s a nice thing to do, but it sometimes gets me in trouble. For instance, one time, the host said, “Can you pick up 20 bags of ice?”

To avoid those assignments, I now ask, “Can I bring an appetizer?” Most people appreciate this suggestion, and if they don't have a preference, I go with one of my favorites—either a tray of cheese, crackers, olives, and other pickled items or my famous guacamole. That's about to change, thanks to Tiffani Thiessen, who, in her most recent cookbook, Here We Go Again, reveals an epic cheese ball recipe with a genius one-ingredient upgrade: pretzels!

How I Make Tiffani Thiessen's Pretzel Cheese Ball

Thiessen’s Pretzel Crumb Cheese Ball is, thankfully, a bit more thoughtful than some of the versions right out of the 1950s. It begins with combining cream cheese, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer and beating them until combined.

Next, she adds shredded cheddar (or any variety) cheese and chives, then drops the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap. After wrapping up the sides and shaping the mixture into a ball, she refrigerates it until firm.

When the guests arrive, she crushes pretzels, removes the cheese ball from the plastic, and rolls the ball in the crushed pretzel pieces, pressing them in to cover it completely. She serves it up with a plate of vegetables, crackers, and chips.

Cheese balls are typically rolled in nuts, which is fine, but I love using salty, crunchy pretzels instead. Their airy, crisp texture balances the heavy cheese ball in the most pleasing and craveable way. The best part? If you already have a beloved cheese ball method, this easy upgrade will work with any recipe.

It’s so delicious, in fact, that I prefer to make multiple small cheese balls instead of a big one, which increases the surface area for more pretzel coverage. I’ll even serve the cheese ball with big crunchy pretzels (I like these) or pretzel sticks (these are my favorite), to bring home the pretzel flavor even more.

So, the next time you’re invited to a party, don’t ask what you can bring. Instead, let your host know you’ve got the perfect appetizer—Thiessen’s Pretzel-Crumb Cheese Ball. You can offer to pick up the ice, too, but you’ve been warned.