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Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

5 from 14 votes

This easy chocolate chip cheese ball recipe is the perfect crowd pleasing dessert or snack for any party!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Cheese Ball
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No bake chocolate chip cheese ball

Just 5 ingredients.

That’s really all you need for this homemade thick, smooth, rich, chocolatey, delicious peanut buttery chocolate chip peanut butter cheese ball. 

It literally tastes like a giant ball of creamy chocolate chip cheesecake!

And the recipe fits right in at holiday gatherings, potlucks, book clubs, birthday dinners, football parties, barbecues, happy hours, or Super Bowl Sunday.

Also try these game day Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Dessert Party Cheese Ball Recipe

Chocolate chip cheesecake ball dip ideas

The dessert or snack ball tastes great when served with any of the following.

Try graham crackers, Oreos, bananas, oranges, apple slices, berries or other fruit, pretzels, potato chips, animal crackers, vanilla wafers, or gingersnaps.

It’s wonderful spread on top of Chocolate Banana Bread or Protein Banana Bread.

Or skip the dippers and just eat it with a spoon!

Dessert Cheesecake Ball

The best dessert cheese ball flavors

S’mores: Use butter or a neutral nut butter instead of peanut butter. Cover the cheesecake ball with crushed graham crackers, chopped chocolate bars, and mini marshmallows.

Double Chocolate: For a chocolate cheese ball, add two and a half tablespoons of cocoa powder along with the powdered sugar.

Strawberry: Use strawberry cream cheese instead of plain. This flavor works well with a neutral nut butter like cashew or coconut butter.

Cookie Dough: Use the butter option below, and increase the vanilla extract to one teaspoon. Press any size chocolate chips on the top and sides of the dessert.

Pumpkin Spice: Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the cream cheese, and use pumpkin cream cheese. Cover the giant cheese ball in cinnamon sugar and toasted pecans.

Birthday Cake Batter: Use regular butter or cashew butter. Add a half teaspoon of butter extract or a few drops of almond extract before beating. Cover in sprinkles.

Mocha Cheesecake: Beat in half a teaspoon of instant coffee powder. Garnish with crushed coffee beans and finely chopped dark chocolate.

The recipe was inspired by my Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip and Peanut Butter Dip.

Super Bowl Snacks Chocolate Covered Katie

Football snack chocolate chip cheese ball

Make the recipe as written below, pressing the chilled dough firmly into a football shape instead of a round ball.

Cover the entire surface with mini chocolate chips, then use an icing writer or a spoon to create the football laces out of white or vanilla frosting.

Serve with graham crackers, pretzel sticks, strawberries, or anything else you wish.

This is one game day snack that everyone will remember for years.

I know this for a fact, because I first brought one of these dessert cheese balls to a Super Bowl party almost a decade ago, and people are still talking about it!

Chocolate chip cream cheese ball recipe video

Above, watch the step by step video

Mini chocolate chip cheese balls

You can make individual dessert cheese balls instead of one large ball if you prefer.

Dollop small amounts of the chilled cheesecake dough onto squares of saran wrap, and wrap them tightly into mini ball shapes.

Freeze the mini cheese balls until the wrapping can be removed easily without most of the dough sticking to the sides.

Cover the spheres with melted chocolate, add different toppings to each, or keep them all the same.

The choice is entirely yours.

Easy Cream Cheese Ball Ingredients

Chocolate chip cheese ball ingredients

To make the recipe, you will need cream cheese, powdered sweetener, pure vanilla extract, butter or peanut butter, and mini chocolate chips.

For a vegan dessert cheese ball, use your favorite plant based cream cheese and dairy free dark chocolate chips.

I like to make the recipe with peanut butter. (Hello, chocolate chip peanut butter cup cheesecake!) You may also use almond butter, cashew butter, macadamia butter, or regular dairy butter or a plant based alternative.

The recipe works well with powdered sugar. Or choose a no sugar alternative to make it a keto game day dessert. You can make your own refined sugar free powdered sugar by blending granulated coconut sugar until it turns into powder.

As a fun flavor alternative, feel free to swap some or all of the chocolate chips for chocolate or rainbow sprinkles, chopped toffee or caramel, white chocolate or butterscotch chips, mint chocolate candies, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, slivered almonds, shredded coconut, chia seeds, or granola.

Leftover chocolate chips? Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Filling

How to make a cheese ball for dessert

Start by gathering all of your ingredients.

Bring both the cream cheese and the nut butter to room temperature. The two ingredients should be easily stir-able.

Add them to a deep mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, then stir in the vanilla extract and about a fourth of the powdered sugar.

Stir until the powdered sugar is fully incorporated, using the mixer, hand beaters, or a large spoon.

Gradually add the rest of the powdered sugar. Beat or stir until you achieve a smooth and even cookie dough texture.

Refrigerate or freeze the batter for a few hours or overnight, until firm enough to scoop onto a large sheet of plastic wrap.

Bring the sides of the wrap up over the cream cheese dough, and twist very tightly to form a ball shape.

Freeze the wrapped ball in the coldest part of the freezer until the plastic wrap can be removed without the dough sticking to the sides. This should take anywhere from a few hours to a day, depending on the heat and humidity where you live, as well as the temperature of your freezer.

Once the cheese ball is unwrapped, place it on a serving plate.

Press chocolate chips or your toppings of choice firmly onto the sides and top. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve.

The dessert ball is fine to leave out on the counter for a few hours at an event. Due to the perishable ingredients, we recommend storing leftovers in the fridge or freezer.

Tip: If you don’t have time to wait for the ball to freeze, simply serve it in a bowl as a chocolate chip cream cheese appetizer, snack, or dessert dip.

Chocolate Chip Dessert Cheesecake Ball Football Appetizer
Pin it now to save for laterPin Recipe

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

This easy chocolate chip cheese ball recipe is the perfect dessert or snack for any party!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Yield 1 dessert cheese ball
5 from 14 votes

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese or vegan cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter (or regular butter or almond butter)
  • 2 cups powdered sugar or sugar free alternative
  • 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or sprinkles

Instructions

  • Bring both the cream cheese and peanut butter to room temperature, so they are easily stir-able. In a deep bowl, mix the two together with a spoon or beaters. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, then the vanilla. Stir or beat until smooth and even. Refrigerate or freeze until firm enough to scoop the batter onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. (If you wish to skip the refrigeration step, simply serve in a bowl as chocolate chip cream cheese dip.) Bring the sides of the wrap up and twist very tightly to form a ball shape. Freeze in the coldest part of the freezer until the wrap can be removed without the dough sticking to the sides. Press the chocolate chips or other toppings firmly onto the chocolate chip cheese ball. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve.
    View Nutrition Facts

Notes

Readers also love these party favorite 2-ingredient Chocolate Truffles.
 

Have you made this recipe?

Tag @chocolatecoveredkatie on Instagram

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Published on January 31, 2024

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
featured on The 
Today Show, CNN, 
Fox, The 
Huffington Post, and 
ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

Learn more about Katie

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77 Comments

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  1. becauseHeloves! says

    You might just be my best friend. Everybody needs peanut butter and chocolate chips to cheer them up! This looks so good. I’m so excited right now, you don’t even understand!

  2. EVA says

    I just ate yet I’m salivating after seeing that big missing chunk of cheeseball. Party? I don’t need a party as an excuse to eat this. I think it would look very nice sitting on my kitchen counter, like a cornucopia.

  3. eej2004 says

    Just discovered your blog and everything looks yummy! A question for you though: When a recipe calls for peanut butter, are you using natural peanut butter (i.e. no sugar added, etc) or your run-of-the-mill Jif? There is a consistency difference for sure, and I would hate to mess up any of these yummy-looking recipes. Thanks!

  4. Lindsay says

    Um, amazing. Do you think you could break off pieces of the ball after freezing and roll into little cheesecake bites?

  5. Sydney says

    Wow, this looks and sounds amazing! I love it’s simplicity, and it would definitely look deliciously unique at a party or gathering with non-vegan friends who think being vegan is no fun (it is!)

    Katie: I recently became vegan (Im 17 years old), and Ive been bookmarking many of your recipes to try soon! I was just wondering what brand of chocolate chips you buy that are dairy free? Im in the process of learning more about veganism and ingredients so im not very knowledgeable about this kind of stuff yet 😛

    • K says

      Ghirardelli semi-sweet (the ones in the gold bag) are also vegan, and you can find those in almost all stores. Good luck with your veganism! 🙂

    • Sarah says

      I love Better’n Peanut butter but my guess is no since it’s runnier and less stable. You cod try firming it up with more dairy-free cream cheese or throw in some PB2 though to make it firmer. And thicker. Hmmm now I’m curious… 🙂

  6. Katy says

    This is such a cool idea, and I bet it was a hit at the super bowl party! The cute mini chocolate chips definitely make the dessert. 🙂

  7. Kate says

    A ball of cheesecake? Sign me up!

    Also, today is one of those days when I feel like I need chocolate more than I have ever needed anything. This post is not helping 😛

  8. Hannah Elizabeth says

    Oh. Yum. THANK YOU, KATIE!!! I think I will just faint with delight *when* I eat this…which I will do as soon as possible, you can believe me!!! *SO* excited!! All your dipping ideas sound so delicious…a good excuse to try them all! 😉

  9. Madeline says

    Hi Katie. I’m a huge fan and this looks like the most amazing thing I will ever eat!! However I have been wondering latley. Your recipies used to be a lot more health conscious. They seem to be full of oils and fats latley. I do love all your recipies and I’m always keen for a treat but can you post some healthy ones again soon? Thanks!!

  10. Mel @ a table prepared says

    This looks amazing. I really want to make these…but I fear that I will eat the entire ball right away. That basically happens when I make anything with cream cheese!

  11. Maggie says

    Hi katie!

    This looks rediculously delicious!! On a specific diet and can’t have some of these ingredients yet, but very much look forward to making this ASAP!! Thank you for all you wonderful healthy desserts! my love for baking can continue with inspiration from you! <3 been looking into starting a blog to aid my creativity, expression, and love for writing; what site do you use? If you don't mind me asking….

  12. Molly says

    Hi Katie!
    I’ve been following your blog for awhile and recently I’ve been working on making your healthy poptarts (which are ah-mazing by the way). For my next project I was looking into making this. When I calculate the nutrition facts I get something very different from yours. Nothing to big, but a few questions pop up that I was hoping you could help me with.
    1) Have you tried the recipe with Tofutti? You offer it in your substitution and I was wondering if it changes the taste a lot from how it would be with regular cream cheese.
    2) Would 480 grams of xylitol in the sugar-free powdered sugar recipe equal 2 cups? That’s I guess more of a double check on my math and to see if that’s how much you did.
    Thanks!

    • Michelle says

      1) Do you mean real cream cheese? Katie is vegan, so she wouldn’t have tried it with real cream cheese.
      2) She suggests 300 g in the recipe.

  13. Karin says

    I only used 1 cup regular powdered sugar instead of 2 cups. I used a little bit more peanut butter (but I love peanut butter!). Haven’t tried it as a finished product yet, but straight out of the bowl tasted wonderful! I’m not sure if I’m going to be patient enough to wait for it to freeze…

  14. Sam says

    Oh my gosh, it’s like a giant cheesecake buckeye ball! I seriously want to stick a spoon into my monitor and eat it ALL right, now. XD

  15. MaryAnn Stewart says

    This recipe sounds heavenly. Anxious to try it. All I need is the mini chocolate chips. Thanks for sharing this.

  16. BentoBella says

    I do not use any xylitol products because I have pets in my home (the smallest amount of xylitol is extremely life-threatening to dogs). I wouldn’t want my dog to accidentally consume xylitol, which I see you use in some of your sugar-free recipes. I will try my special combination of non-xylitol sweeteners (synergy=3 sweeteners) in this recipe to see how it works. Also, I just ordered Vermont Peanut Butter flavors Maple Walnut and Good Karma Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter that I’m anxious to try in this recipe. I will use my Sensato Sugar-Free mini chocolate chips to roll in the cheeseball. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. I wish my order were here already!

  17. Audrey says

    Katie, I absolutely love your recipes and make them all the time. I was wondering if tofu could be used in place of the tofutti/cream cheese. I would love to add some protein to the recipe and blended firm/extra firm tofu has a similar consistency. Have you ever tried this?

  18. Anthony Perez-Florido says

    The second i saw this recipe i immediately thought of putting in oreo’s in there as well. So when the peanut butter cheese mix was made i decided to make the ball then cut the ball in half then add as many oreo cookies possible on the sliced top of one of the halves then mold back the other half so you couldnt see the cookie then i finally put it in the freezer for like 10-15 minutes. It ended up being an absolute hit with my family.!

  19. vanillamaple says

    Hey, anyone know if I could smoosh this into a crust and serve it as a normal cheesecake? I would make the New York Style Cheesecake from the book however I am a chocolate and peanut butter addict.
    Thankyou in advance 😉

  20. Carol says

    OK CCKatie … Here’s what I have to say,”OMG” and Lordy B, I believe I must be in Heaven!
    You have No idea, I am the Queen of Chocolate, Cheese Cake and Peanut Butter.
    The three of them are literally my Very Favorite Things to enter this mouth, travel my throat to my esophagus then come to a rest in my tummy!
    Thank You so Much, I know what I’m doing today.

  21. cheryl says

    I am a big fan of all your recipe’s, and I have followed you for at least a couple of years now, could you tell me with this recipe could I substitute monk fruit for any other sugar
    Thanks and please don’t ever stop posting your fun healthy goodies
    Cheryl

  22. Jayme says

    Scooby Snacks are great for dipping too… basically the same thing as Teddy Grahams but slightly bigger so they’re easier to hold. Plus, cute dog bone shape… great for ‘puppy’ themed parties!

  23. Chris says

    Is there any way you can do a few low-sugar recipes? Like half the normal serving and replace garbage sugar with coconut sugar or another healthier alternative.

  24. Julie Sansoni says

    I found this recipe and am making it for work today, celebrating a birthday. thanks for making fun recipes and
    helping those of us with a sweet tooth be able to enjoy it without as much “guilt”. Thanks 🙂

  25. Andrea says

    5 stars
    The picture shows the peanut butter in the center of the cheese ball, but the recipe says to mix the peanut butter with the cream cheese. I’m confused as to how the center becomes peanut butter.

    • CCK Media Team says

      Hi, which picture are you referring to? The entire thing is peanut butter/cream cheese mixture. There is no only-peanut-butter center.

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