Mediterranean Cheese Balls

Martina SlajerovaUpdated 8 May 2024★★★★☆4.4 (86 ratings)

Ready in 45m
1.7 g net carbs
164 kcal
Serves 5

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These cheese balls may look like coconut truffles but they are far from it! These bite-sized cheese fat bombs are packed with flavour from sun-dried tomatoes, herbs and olives, all rolled in parmesan cheese.

Adding freshly chopped herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and olives gives them a strong Mediterranean kick - you won't even know these are fat bombs! :-) Why use fat bombs? Have a look at my post here.

Step-by-step

Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a bowl with the cream cheese. Leave it on a kitchen counter for 20-30 minutes to soften. Mash with a fork and mix until well combined. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and chopped kalamata olives.
Add freshly chopped herbs (or dried), crushed garlic and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to solidify.
Remove the cheese mixture from the fridge and start creating 5 balls. You can use a spoon or an ice-cream scooper. Roll each ball in the grated parmesan cheese and place on a plate. Eat immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
Enjoy!

Recipe

Mediterranean Cheese Balls

★★★★☆4.4 (86 ratings)

These tasty low-carb, bite-sized cheese balls are packed with flavor from sun-dried tomatoes, herbs and ...

Hands on: 10m
Overall: 45m
Servings: 5

1.7 g
Net carbs: 3.7 g
Protein: 17.1 g
Fat: 164
kcal

Pin Rate

Ingredients makes 5 cheese balls

¹/₂ cup cream cheese, full-fat (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
¹/₄ cup butter or ghee, softened at room temperature (55 g/ 2 oz)
2-3 tbsp freshly chopped herbs (basil, thyme and oregano) or 2 tsp dried herbs
4 pieces sun-dried tomatoes, drained (12 g/ 0.4 oz)
4 olives, pitted, kalamata or other type (12 g/ 0.4 oz)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
freshly ground black pepper
¹/₄ tsp salt or to taste
5 tbsp grated parmesan cheese or other Italian hard cheese (25 g/ 0.9 oz)

Instructions

Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a bowl with the cream cheese. Leave it on a kitchen counter for 20-30 minutes to soften. Mash with a fork and mix until well combined. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and chopped kalamata olives.
Add freshly chopped herbs (or dried), crushed garlic and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to solidify.
Remove the cheese mixture from the fridge and start creating 5 balls. You can use a spoon or an ice-cream scooper. Roll each ball in the grated parmesan cheese and place on a plate. Eat immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
Enjoy!

Nutrition per serving, 1 piece

Carbs 4%Protein 8%Fat 88% of calories

Net carbs: 1.7 g
Total carbs: 2 g
Fiber: 0.4 g
Sugars: 0.7 g
Protein: 3.7 g
Fat: 17.1 g
Saturated fat: 10.3 g
Calories: 164 kcal
Sodium: 280 mg · 12.2% RDA
Magnesium: 9 mg · 2.3% RDA
Potassium: 96 mg · 4.78% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per 1 piece	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Cream cheese, soft (full-fat)	0.6 g	1.4 g	5.6 g	49
Butter, unsalted, grass-fed	0 g	0.1 g	9.2 g	81
Basil, fresh	0 g	0.1 g	0 g	1
Sun-dried tomatoes (in oil, drained)	0.4 g	0.1 g	0.3 g	5
Kalamata olives	0 g	0 g	0.6 g	6
Garlic, fresh	0.4 g	0.1 g	0 g	2
Pepper, black, spices	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Salt, pink Himalayan rock salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Parmesan cheese	0.2 g	1.8 g	1.3 g	20
Total	1.7 g	3.7 g	17.1 g	164

Serving size 1 piece

Gluten free
Egg free
Nut free
Pork free
Avocado free
Coconut free
Fish free
Shellfish free
Beef free
Pescatarian
Vegetarian

Comments & ratings (21)

4.486 ratings

5 ★57
4 ★14
3 ★9
2 ★2
1 ★4

Charlene (Char)10 September 2025
Hello,
I am making savory fat bombs to replace breakfast (I don't eat breakfast and am sure this is why I have slow metabolism and now diagnosed with Type II diabetes). I am using the keto diet app to monitor and make sure I don't go over my recommended amount. Is this a good idea? That is having these for breakfast if you don't eat breakfast? I plan to make the salmon and the eggs and bacon one too. The second question I have, are these freezable?
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor12 September 2025
  Hi Charlene, it depends on your goal but a protein-based breakfast option would be much better. Fat bombs are useful but they are not what some people believe them to be - also, the research has shifted more towards protein, and only using fat as filler. I use fat bombs for snacking, or boosting fat intake (therapeutic purposes), or treats (sweet).
  What you can do is filter recipes in our app and sort them by protein so you can see the options with the highest amount. A high-protein smoothie like this may be a better option: High-Protein Chocolate Smoothie
  Our app enables users to add a protein boost right in the Profile > Macros. There's more information about this feature and why more protein can be beneficial in our built-in guide.
  Another option is to just skip breakfast and fast (our iOS app has a fasting tracker feature - if you have Android, it will be released next week). I hope this helps! Any questions, feel free to tag me in our Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/Ketodietplan
Susan Sahver13 April 2023
These sound so awesome! It is hard to find fat bombs that are not made for people with a sweet tooth!
Lisa10 April 2018
why not feta cheese ?
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor10 April 2018
  My Greek partner would ask the same question! You can add feta (or use in place of part of the cream cheese) if you like 😊
Michelle30 March 2018
Delicious!! At first I found the amount of butter to be overpowering but I quickly got used to it 😉 In addition to eating these on their own, I also plopped some on top of my salmon dinner and it melted into a delicious sauce. And then I added it to asparagus and yum. And then I made a loaf of keto bread just so I can use it as a spread...
I clearly love this recipe. Thanks for coming up with something so wonderful!
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor30 March 2018
  I love that idea, almost like a cross between compound butter and cream cheese dip 😊
Hillary tonken10 March 2018
How many fat bombs would you use per day when trying to lose weight?
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor27 March 2018
  Hi Hillary, that depends on how you use them. They are high in fat and can easily add up and exceed your energy requirements. They can help with weight loss if you use them in moderation as a quick source of energy, e.g. when you don't have time to cook. Do not use fat bombs only to increase your fat intake if your goal is to lose weight.
Debbie10 September 2017
These are tastey! Do you know the calories? Although I understand keto diet focuses on net carbs, fat and protein, my APP I use to track my food and exercise requires a calorie measurement. Please and Thanks!
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor12 November 2017
  Hello Debbie, calories are listed as "kcal". I hope this helps!
Kasey9 July 2016
Is it 2 tsp of each individual herb, or is it 2 tsp total herbs?
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor10 July 2016
  Hi Kasey, it refers to total amount.
Mary K Schenten27 July 2015
I love the savory fat bombs. I've made several batches now of the Savory Salmon Fat Bombs. Love them.
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor27 July 2015
  Thank you Mary, glad you like them! 😊
Jewel8 April 2015
i think rolling these in crushed pecans or other nuts would be awesome too! Going to be making these ASAP. Thanks for sharing. Jewel
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor9 April 2015
  Oh yes! I actually made another batch with blue cheese & crushed walnuts 😉
Amy18 March 2015
I love my sweet fat bombs but this was a great change of pace. Going into the rotation! Thanks!
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor20 March 2015
  Thank you Amy, hope you like these! 😊
Elizabeth11 March 2015
Can't think of anything else than coconut, love it! 😊 So tempting to try these since they don't look savoury at all 😊
1. Martina @ KetoDietAuthor11 March 2015
  Thank you Elizabeth, hope you like them!

Mediterranean Cheese Balls

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