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    Home » Recipes » Thanksgiving

    Cheese Ball Turkey Platter

    Modified: Nov 6, '23 · Published: Nov 23, '20 · By: Beth Klosterboer · Commission earned on paid or sponsored links.

    Jump to Recipe

    This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Turkey Platter is big enough to feed a hungry crowd on Thanksgiving. It's super cute too and will really make your table look festive and fun. Watch the video to see how to create this fun turkey cheese ball.

    Thanksgiving appetizer cheese ball turkey platter

    What party would be complete without a platter or plate of cheese? Whether you like to serve cheese slices, dips, or cheese balls to your party guests it can be fun dressing them up for the holidays. This Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Turkey Platter will look amazing on your table this Thanksgiving.

    I'm going to guess that you have seen pictures of turkey-shaped Cheese Platters online and perhaps you have even made one. They make great appetizers for a large crowd for Thanksgiving. I've wanted to make one for years and am excited to finally share my version of this fun Thanksgiving appetizer with you.

    If you follow me here you know how much I love making fun cheese balls. I've made so many including a Cheese Ball Cauldron, Mini Melting Snowman Cheese Balls, Baby Chick Cheese Balls, Birthday Cake Cheese Balls, Wedding Cake Cheese Balls, and even a Spa Party Cheese Ball that looks like a woman getting a facial. So for my cheese platter turkey, I just had to include a cheese ball.

    image of the turkey shaped cheese ball surrounded by feathers made using oval crackers and leaf shaped cheese cut-outs

    Ingredients

    • Town House (or other oval-shaped) Crackers
    • thin slices of cheese (I used CoJack, and Sharp Cheddar in orange and white)
    • leaf-shaped plunger cutter or metal cookie cutter
    • bacon ranch cheese ball (recipe below)
      • cream cheese
      • ranch dressing
      • cheese (I used the scraps from the slices)
      • Worcestershire sauce
      • bacon

    Supplies

    • knife or kitchen scissors
    • round cookie cutter
    • black and red food coloring markers

    Instructions

    how to cut leaf shaped cheese to use to make a turkey cheese platter

    Make the cheese and cracker turkey feathers.

    1. Cut leaf or oval shapes out of the cheese slices.
      • You can use a leaf plunger cutter which makes cutting the leaves super fast and easy.
      • Or use a leaf-shaped cookie cutter.
      • Or simply cut them out using kitchen scissors or a knife.
      • You just want the cheese to be slightly smaller than the cracker so you get a lot of color contrast and some dimension to the turkey feathers.
    2. Set one slice of cheese onto each cracker.
    3. Arrange the crackers into 4 rows of "feathers" in a half-moon shape.
      • Start by placing one cracker in the center at the top of your platter then arrange the top row of crackers going down towards the bottom of the platter.
      • Set the first cracker of the second row in the center overlapping the bottom edge of the cracker above it.
      • Continue around overlapping the crackers as you go.
      • You want to pack these crackers in so there is very little space between them.

    What type of cheese should I use?

    • Use any cheese you like but be sure it has some nice color to it.
    • I chose Co-Jack and Sharp Cheddar and liked how they looked.
    • You can add spicier cheese like pepper jack or milder cheese like Colby.

    Do I have to put cheese slices on the crackers?

    • No. If you want to just serve the turkey cheese ball with crackers that will work too.
    • I added the cheese to add some color to my platter.

    Can I add meat to my turkey cheese platter?

    • Yes, slices of pepperoni, salami, or summer sausage would be great additions.
    collage of images showing how to make the cheese ball turkey

    Make the cheese ball and shape it into a turkey.

    1. Combine 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 6 ounces of cheese.
      • You can weigh out 6 ounces of cheese or measure out 1 ½ cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
      • You can also use the scraps of cheese you have left over after cutting all the leaves. I used 6 slices of Co-Jack cheese and 9 slices of Sharp Cheddar cheese for my leaves. After weighing those scraps I needed to add one more slice of cheese to get to 6 ounces.
    2. Add 1 ½ tablespoons of ranch dressing and a ¼ teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.
    3. Stir until well combined.
      • I like using a food processor to make my cheese balls but a mixer works well too.
    4. Scoop out about ⅓ of the cheese ball mixture and place it in a bowl filled with 1 cup of finely chopped bacon.
    5. Roll that into a ball coated in bacon.
    6. Remove from the bacon and set aside.
    7. Scoop out the remaining cheese mixture into the bowl of bacon, reserving about a tablespoon of the soft cheese to use later.
    8. Roll that into an oval-shaped body for the turkey.
    cut the white cheddar cheese eyes and draw on black food coloring pupils then cut an orange beak and wattle and color the wattle red, cut two orange cheddar cheese feet, then decorate the turkey cheese ball

    Decorate and assemble the turkey.

    1. Set the body section of the cheese ball in between the cracker leaves leaving room for the head.
    2. Use a small amount of the reserved cheese spread to attach the head to the body.
    3. Cut out two round eyes from a slice of white cheese and draw on pupils using a black food coloring marker.
    4. Cut out a beak, a wattle, and two feet from a slice of orange cheese.
    5. Color the wattle piece using a red food coloring marker.
    6. Let the colored pieces dry before arranging them on the turkey cheese ball.
    7. Attach the pieces using some of the soft cheese spread.
    8. Serve to your Thanksgiving dinner guests.

    How far in advance can I decorate this Thanksgiving appetizer?

    • No more than an hour before your party guests arrive.
    • You can cut out your cheese slices and keep them wrapped in plastic wrap, stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to a few days.
    • The cheese ball can also be made and refrigerated for several days but don't decorate it with the eyes, beak, wattle, and feet until it comes out of the refrigerator. Those cheese slices will dry out if not wrapped well.
    • Do not refrigerate the crackers or they will get soft.

    Related Recipes

    You might like these other cheese ball recipes...

    cheese ball cauldron decorated with pepper logs, guacamole potion, and pretzel logs.

    Cheese Ball Cauldron

    Rudolph cheese ball with bacon antlers on a white platter with bowls of star shaped and Christmas tree shaped crackers and a snowflake cheese knife all on a blue snowflake background.

    Reindeer Cheese Ball

    Spa party appetizer - cheese ball face covered in a mozzarella cheese wrap, a guacamole face mask, cucumbers on the eyes, and red pepper lips. Served with crackers.

    Spa Party Cheese Ball

    daisy wedding cake cheese ball.

    Wedding Cake Cheese Ball

    You can find more fun Thanksgiving recipe ideas here.

    Video...

     

    Printable Recipe

    This recipe was originally published on November 8, 2018.

    5 from 2 votes
    Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Turkey Platter.
    Print
    Cheese Ball Turkey Platter
    Prep Time
    45 mins
    Total Time
    45 mins
     

    Dress up your cheese ball for Thanksgiving by turning it into an adorably cute turkey complete with cheese and cracker feathers, cheese eyes, a beak, wattle, and feet. 

    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: bacon ranch cheese ball, turkey cheese ball
    Servings: 24
    Calories: 175 kcal
    Author: Beth Klosterboer
    Ingredients
    Cheese & Cracker Feathers
    • 15 slices orange or orange and white cheese (cheddar, Co-Jack, etc.)
    • 60 oval crackers
    Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Turkey
    • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
    • 6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 ½ cups or use scraps from cheese ball)
    • 1 ½ tablespoons ranch dressing
    • ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 cup finely chopped bacon
    Turkey Eyes, Wattle, Beak, and Feet
    • 1 slice orange cheese
    • 1 slice white cheddar cheese (or any other white cheese)
    • black and red food coloring markers
    Instructions
    Cheese & Cracker Feathers
    1. Cut 4 leaves out of each slice of cheese and set one slice on each cracker. 

    2. Arrange in four rows in a half-moon shape on a large serving platter, overlapping the crackers as you go, leaving an opening on the interior of the half-moon for the cheese ball. 

    Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Turkey
    1. Stir together the softened cream cheese, shredded cheese (or scraps from above), the ranch dressing, and Worcestershire sauce until well combined. 

    2. Scoop about ⅓rd of the cheese spread into a shallow bowl filled with the bacon. 

    3. Coat the cheese spread in the bacon and roll it into a ball.

    4. Set aside.

    5. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cheese spread for later. 

    6. Roll the rest in bacon shaping it into an oval-shaped turkey body.

    7. Set the turkey body in the opening in the crackers. 

    8. Attach the cheese ball head using some of the reserved cheese spread. 

    Turkey Eyes, Wattle, Beak, and Feet
    1. Cut two circle-shaped eyes out of the white cheese and draw on pupils using a black food coloring marker. 

    2. Cut out a triangle-shaped beak and a teardrop-shaped wattle from the orange cheese. 

    3. Brush red food coloring over the teardrop-shaped wattle. 

    4. Cut two triangle-shaped feet each with 3 toes. 

    5. Attach the Turkey Eyes, Wattle, Beak, and Feet to the cheese ball using the remaining cheese spread.

    6. Serve and enjoy!

    Recipe Notes

    • Assemble within an hour of serving. 
    • You can cut out your cheese slices and keep them wrapped in plastic wrap, stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to a few days.
    • The cheese ball can also be made and refrigerated for several days but don't decorate it with the eyes, beak, wattle, and feet until it comes out of the refrigerator. Those cheese slices will dry out if not wrapped well.
    • Do not refrigerate the crackers or they will get soft.

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth Klosterboer
    Beth Klosterboer
    Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth Klosterboer
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    1. The Partiologist says

      November 11, 2018 at 6:59 am

      How fun to serve a turkey cheese ball platter, love the idea!

      Reply
      • Beth says

        November 11, 2018 at 1:44 pm

        Thanks I'm so glad you like this turkey cheese platter.

        Reply
    2. Tavette says

      November 09, 2018 at 11:52 am

      He's JUST adorable!!! He looks like he's watching who's plucking his feathers 🙂

      Your instructions and videos are so thorough. Congrats.

      Us big folks and the little ones will surely get a kick out of this.

      Tavette

      Reply
      • Beth says

        November 09, 2018 at 4:19 pm

        LOL! You are right.
        I'm so glad you find the instructions and video helpful. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 🙂

        Reply
    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

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