Keto Sweet Spiced Cheese Balls

Most cheese balls are served with herbs and savoury accompaniments, but I thought I’d give them a flip and make them sweet while keeping them low in carbs and diabetic friendly.

These keto cheese balls are gently spiced with seasonal spices and rolled in moreish sweet & salty pecan crunch. These festive cinnamon and cardamom flavoured cheese balls are perfect for snacking on during the holiday season. They are freezer friendly too so you can make them ahead of time. Enjoy!

Step-by-step

1. Strain any excess whey in the mascarpone or cream cheese or the cheese balls will be too soft.

2. Place the cheese into a bowl and add the erythritol, almond flour, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir through or process with a hand mixer until well combined. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.

   

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted), or 200 °C/ 400 °F (conventional), and line a baking tray.

4. Melt the butter and stir the pecans through before tipping them out on to the oven tray. Sprinkle them with erythritol, salt and bake for about 10 minutes. You want them fragrant and golden, but not scorched. This will depend on your oven. When cool, blitz them into crumbs to coat the cheese balls.

   

5. Remove the cheese mixture from the fridge. Using a teaspoon and a lined tray, scoop out and roll the cheese into balls (about 38 g/ 1.3 oz per cheese ball). Once all balls are formed, roll them in the pecan crumble and chill until ready to be served.

   

6. Serve! If the cheese balls start to get too soft, pop them back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to chill. Cheese balls will store in a covered container in the fridge for up to one week. For longer storage, freeze for up to 3 months.

   

Recipe

Keto Sweet Spiced Cheese Balls

★★★★★5.0 (4 ratings)

Soft low-carb cheese balls flavored with cinnamon and cardamom and coated in crunchy pecans. A fun bite-sized ...

Hands on

10m

Overall

1h 10m

Servings

16

1.4 g

Net carbs

3.3 g

Protein

19.1 g

Fat

191

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings16 servings32 servings48 servings64 servings

US + metricMetricUS

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Ingredients makes 16 cheese balls

• 500 g mascarpone cheese or cream cheese (1.2 lb)
• 4 tbsp powdered Erythritol or Swerve (40 g/ 1.4 oz), or to taste
• ²/₃ cup almond flour (67 g/ 2.4 oz) or 3 tbsp coconut flour (24 g/ 0.9 oz)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¹/₄ tsp cardamom
• 1 cup pecan halves (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
• 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter or ghee (30 ml)
• 1 tbsp granulated Erythritol or Swerve (10 g/ 0.4 oz)
• ¹/₄ tsp sea salt, or to taste

Instructions

1. Strain any excess whey in the mascarpone or cream cheese or the cheese balls will be too soft.

2. Place the cheese into a bowl and add the erythritol, almond flour, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir through or process with a hand mixer until well combined. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted), or 200 °C/ 400 °F (conventional), and line a baking tray.

4. Melt the butter and stir the pecans through before tipping them out on to the oven tray. Sprinkle them with erythritol, salt and bake for about 10 minutes. You want them fragrant and golden, but not scorched. This will depend on your oven. When cool, blitz them into crumbs to coat the cheese balls.

5. Remove the cheese mixture from the fridge. Using a teaspoon and a lined tray, scoop out and roll the cheese into balls (about 38 g/ 1.3 oz per cheese ball). Once all balls are formed, roll them in the pecan crumble and chill until ready to be served.

6. Serve! If the cheese balls start to get too soft, pop them back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to chill. Cheese balls will store in a covered container in the fridge for up to one week. For longer storage, freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition per cheese ball

Carbs 3%Protein 7%Fat 90% of calories

Net carbs

1.4 g

Total carbs

5.5 g

Fiber

1.1 g

Sugars

1.2 g

Protein

3.3 g

Fat

19.1 g

Saturated fat

9.2 g

Calories

191 kcal

Sodium

81 mg · 3.54% RDA

Magnesium

19 mg · 4.71% RDA

Potassium

54 mg · 2.72% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per cheese ball	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Mascarpone cheese	0.6 g	1.8 g	11 g	110
Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener)	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	1
Almond flour (blanched ground almonds, almond meal)	0.4 g	0.9 g	2.2 g	25
Cinnamon, spices	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Cardamom powder, spices	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Pecans, nuts	0.3 g	0.6 g	4.5 g	43
Butter, unsalted, grass-fed	0 g	0 g	1.4 g	13
Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener)	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Salt, sea salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Total	1.4 g	3.3 g	19.1 g	191

Serving size cheese ball

• Gluten free
• Egg free
• Nightshade free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Fish free
• Shellfish free
• Pescatarian
• Vegetarian