Skinnymixer’s Lemon Herb Feta Cheese Balls are the perfect combination of salty, lemony, herby, nutty with a touch of sweetness from the dried cranberries.
Perfect for the entertaining season to add to a grazing platter or cheeseboard, or even just a little afternoon snack plate for a girl dinner.
If you don’t want to roll the individual mini cheese balls you can always just make into one big cheese ball or cheese log.
What you will need:
- Cream Cheese – This needs to be a block of cream cheese and not the spreadable kind. If you can only access the spreadable kind you might like to remove the lemon juice from the recipe and increase the zest to help make it rollable.
- Pistachio nuts (shells removed) – you can also use almonds, macadamias, cashews or sunflower seeds.
- Dried cranberries – you can replace with chopped dried apricots or even change to your choice of nut/seeds.
- Fresh chives – you can change to a small handful of fresh dill, fresh thyme or just more parsley.
Ingredients
- 100 g dried cranberries
- 100 g pistachios - shelled
- 1 handful fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
- 10 g fresh chives - roughly chopped
- 200 g Danish feta cheese - cubed
- 250 g cream cheese - softened and cubed
- 10 g Chicken Stock Concentrate - or Worcestershire sauce
- 10 g fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
Thermo cooker
- Add cranberries to mixer bowl and chop for 10 sec/speed 7/MC on.
- Add pistachios and chop for 5-8 sec/speed 5/MC on or until pistachios are finely chopped. Set aside for coating.
- Without washing bowl, add parsley and chives. Chop for 3 sec/speed 9/MC on. Scrape mixer bowl down and repeat.
- Add remaining ingredients except coating and mix for 30 sec/speed 5/MC on. Remove mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for 30 min until it firms up.
- With wet hands, roll into 1 Tbsp golf sized balls and coat in cranberry pistachio coating. Return to fridge for at least 3 hr before serving.
Conventional
- Chop cranberries and pistachios until finely chopped and they form a crumb coating. Set aside on a plate.
- Finely chop parsley and chives. Add to a mixing bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients except coating to mixing bowl and combine well. Alternatively use a blender. Refrigerate for 30 min until it firms up.
- With wet hands, roll into 1 Tbsp golf sized balls and coat in cranberry pistachio coating. Return to fridge for at least 3 hr before serving.
Notes
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze.
Nut Free: Replace pistachios with sunflower seeds or pepitas.
Dairy-free: Use the Dairy-free Cream Cheese for both cheeses and add 2 Tbsp savoury yeast flakes. Omit lemon juice.Â
Low Carb: Replace pistachios with almonds or macadamias. Replace dried cranberries with additional nuts or crispy bacon.
Paleo: Use the Dairy-free Cream Cheese for both cheeses and add 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes. Omit lemon juice and use a compliant dried fruit.Â
Low Fodmap: Replace pistachios with almonds. If you wish to decrease the dried cranberries you can replace some with additional almonds or macadamias. Use lactose-free cream cheese. Omit garlic powder and replace onion powder with dried chives.
Vegetarian: Use vegetable stock concentrate.
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Nutrition
Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 220mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 385IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 0.5mg