How to Make a Cheese Ball Shaped Like a Turkey
This EASY turkey cheese ball will be a hit at Thanksgiving dinner. Serve this Thanksgiving appetizer before the big feast, or as part of your Thanksgiving dinner. Easy to make in less than 15 minutes!
Making an amazing Thanksgiving dinner is a lot of work. You have to prep and cook the turkey, make homemade mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, homemade pies, and the list goes on…
I'm here to help with a thanksgiving cheese ball that looks just like a turkey!
This easy and delicious Thanksgiving appetizer can be easily made in under 15 minutes.
You have better things to do than be in the kitchen all day on Thanksgiving, right?
Easy Turkey Cheese Ball
I'm still in awe of how easy and cute this little gobbler was to make!
Just follow the simple instructions below to make your own Thanksgiving turkey cheese ball appetizer.
You'll find the exact turkey cheese ball recipe at the very bottom of the post.
Cheese Ball Ingredients
- Kaukauna Cheese Ball (I used Sharp Cheddar cheese flavor and found mine at the grocery store)
- Red and yellow bell pepper
- Cream cheese
- Pecan halves
How to Make a Turkey Cheese Ball
Just follow the simple instructions and recipe below to make your own!
Make the Turkey Head
Cut a piece of red pepper in the shape of a turkey head and neck.
Cut a small triangle shape from a yellow pepper to make a beak.
Use a small amount of cream cheese to add the yellow beak to the red pepper turkey head.
Place a tiny amount of cream cheese onto a bell pepper seed and place on the red pepper to make the turkey eye.
Create the Turkey Feathers from Nuts
Cut a small slit into your premade cheese ball with a knife.
Place the turkey neck and head into the slit.
Press pecan halves in three rows to form the turkey tail feathers behind the head.
Place completed turkey in the fridge until ready to serve.
I placed my turkey cheese ball onto a white plate, then added crackers around the turkey for everyone to eat with the cheese.
This cute Thanksgiving cheese ball was a hit with everyone and really added to our Thanksgiving feast!
The kids had a hard time keeping their hands off our cute little edible turkey.
Thanksgiving Turkey Cheese Ball Variations
Here are a few variations you could try when making your own cheese ball.
- Use pretzels or pretzel sticks for the turkey tail feathers instead of pecans (good to do if there is a nut allergy)
- Use candy eyes instead of a bell pepper seed to make the turkey eyes
- Use a candy corn to create the turkey beak
- Add a red wattle to the beak
- Make your own cheese ball with shredded cheddar, cream cheese, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and green onions. You could even add bacon if you'd like!
Thanksgiving Table Ideas
To create our gorgeous natural and rustic Thanksgiving table, I started with our long 14 foot farmhouse table that my husband and I built.
I love the dark, rich wood tone, and knew it would be the perfect place for our feast.
We had some pumpkin vines that went crazy this year and produced almost 100 of the cutest white and yellow pumpkins you've ever seen!
These mini pumpkins were the perfect size to decorate with.
They looked so adorable running down the middle of the table and around the turkey.
Speaking of turkey, we had two fabulous turkeys at our Thanksgiving table.
One was the traditional turkey, stuffed with apples and onions.
A fresh sage garnish around the turkey finished off the platter.
Here's the star of the show, our lovely Thanksgiving cheese ball.
You really can never go wrong with cheese!
I cut a variety of colorful fresh veggies for guests to munch on and arranged them on a wood slice platter.
Fresh apples, mandarins, and oranges were a healthy way to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth.
They looked so pretty in our leaf-shaped bowl that we use every fall.
My homemade orange cranberry sauce is one of my favorite Thanksgiving foods to eat every year.
It's the perfect combination of sweet and bright orange and orange zest flavor mixed with the tartness of the cranberries.
Of course it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without rolls, so I served some giant four-dusted rolls in a gorgeous leaf serving dish.
Warm apple pie fresh from the oven was our delicious dessert.
Always a classic!
Thanksgiving Table Setting
Each Thanksgiving table setting was set for the big meal with a white dinner plate with a yellow cloth napkin folded underneath.
On top of the napkin were some of my favorite owl salad plates.
They're just perfect for fall and Thanksgiving!
I love how the bright white stand out against the rustic dark wood of our farmhouse table.
Scattered colorful ears of corn and more pumpkins and gourds decorated the table and the place settings.
Gorgeous metallic clay leaves I made were turned them into tea light candle holders and scattered them around the table.
They gave such a pretty fall look and ambiance to the table.
Turkey Thanksgiving Cheese Ball
This EASY Turkey Thanksgiving Cheese Ball will be a hit at Thanksgiving dinner. Serve this Thanksgiving appetizer before the big feast, or as part of your Thanksgiving dinner. It's easy to make and can be made in less than 15 minutes!
Prep Time 15 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cheese, easy, Thanksgiving
Servings: 12
- 1 Kaukauna Cheese Ball (I used Sharp Cheddar flavor)
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 1 Yellow bell pepper
- 1 tsp Cream cheese
- 1 handful Pecan halves
-
Cut a piece of red pepper in the shape of a turkey head and neck. Cut a small triangle shape from a yellow pepper to make a beak. Use a small amount of cream cheese to add the yellow beak to the red pepper turkey head.
-
Place a tiny amount of cream cheese onto a pepper seed and place on the red pepper to make the turkey eye.
-
Cut a small slit into your Kaukauna® Cheese Ball with a knife. Place the turkey neck and head into the slit.
-
Press pecan halves in three rows to form the turkey feathers behind the turkey head. Place completed turkey in the fridge until ready to serve.
More Creative Fall and Thanksgiving Ideas-
DIY Metallic Painted Acorns
DIY Thanksgiving Wood Peg Dolls
Fall Stovetop Potpourri Recipe 
Fall Party + Acorn OREO Cookie Balls Recipe
This Turkey Cheese Ball recipe was updated in October 2021 and was originally published in November 2017.
How to Make a Cheese Ball Shaped Like a Turkey
Source: https://www.makelifelovely.com/thanksgiving-table-turkey-cheese-ball/