This Red Velvet Cheese Ball is the ultimate dip for red velvet lovers!! This sweet version of a cheese ball will have you going back for more!
Photos Updated January 2016
Yum
Every once in awhile, an idea comes to me. An absolutely brilliant idea.
Now, I’m not one to toot my own horn, or to pat myself on the back, but I do believe that this one deserves a little of both.
Red. Velvet. Cheese. Ball.
Yep, you read that right. All the deliciousness of red velvet – plus the cream cheese frosting – all rolled into a ball and served with cookies.
I guess I can’t say the idea is completely original. I actually had the idea pop into my head while reading another blog post, about a peanut butter cheese ball. But I looked and looked and looked some more, and nowhere online could I find another red velvet cheese ball. Usually, when I come up with an idea that I can’t find anywhere online, it’s because it’s not a good idea. Believe me – I’ve tried more than one thing before that I thought was originally a brilliant, original idea – only to learn my lesson. If you can’t find something online, most of the time it’s because it doesn’t work. But this idea – it worked – as well as I was hoping for.
The best way I thought to get that red velvet flavor and color while keeping the texture of the cheese ball was to use a cake mix. It only uses part of the cake mix, so feel free to double the recipe (especially if you are feeding a crowd!) or you can even make cake mix cookies with the other half. My husband loved this so much that he ate almost half of it himself!! He said the only thing that would make it better would be to add in more chocolate chips, mixed throughout – so that is always another option as well.
Not only would this great for Valentine’s Day, but I’m sure it would be a hit at your Super Bowl party this weekend, too!
Press play to see how easy it is in the how-to video below!
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- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups red velvet cake mix, dry
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- assorted cookies and crackers (my favorite was Vanilla Wafers)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the red velvet cake mix, the powdered sugar and the brown sugar. Beat until smooth and combined.
- Turn the mixture out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap up into a ball and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Put the chocolate chips on a plate or in a shallow dish. Remove the cheese ball from the refrigerator and unwrap. Roll in the chocolate chips. (This might get messy!) Place on a serving plate and serve with cookies or graham crackers.
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Yep. You’re definitely a genius. This looks AMAZING.
One word. WOW. 🙂
This. is. genius! You are a genius!!
This is the best. I love the concept, I love the presentation, and I bet it tastes AMAZING! Genius is right!
ooh – this is a must make. We just had the PB one a week ago and this looks like a winner too!
Perfect dip for Valentine’s Day!
Shut. Your. Face.
Brilliant would be one word to describe you right now…love it!
What a fun and unique idea! That ball of yummyness looks divine, this would definitely be a conversation starter at any get together 🙂 I pinned this recipe, great post!
What brand cake mix did you use? The color is so bold!! I want to make sure I duplicate! I might try white chocolate chips.
@Katie, I used Duncan Hines. It’s the only brand of red velvet that I’ve been able to find.
@Deborah, I just found Duff Goldman red velvet cake and tried this recipe. Amazing taste and color. I doubled and used only one stick of butter. Haven’t formed it into a ball yet, letting chill first. Great idea! Hope it’s a hit at the christmas party I’m going to tomorrow.
This looks gorgeous, super creative (I’ve seen other version of this but never red velvet!) and I know it’s going to be a FG, TS, and Pinterest hit in no time. AMAZING!
Cuuuute!! Love this idea!
This is indeed a brilliant idea! Love this!
Wow! It sounded soooooo yummy that I went straight to my kitchen and made it. DELISH right out of the bowl, even before you chill it. ha. YUM! Thanks for the recipe. btw, I found the recipe on Pinterest! 🙂
Amazing, Deborah. Just amazing. Can’t wait to try this, so perfect!
woah! i LOVE this! it’s so pretty, so perfect for v-day! awesome!
Is it wrong that I’d just eat it as is with a spoon? Who needs crackers??
This is amazing, go ahead and toot away!
You can never go wrong with more chocolate chips, can you!
What?!!!!! You.are.brilliant!!!!!!!!
Could this be more deliciously addictive? I have my doubts!
WOW, this is BRILLIANT!! I’d eat that whole thing. yep. the whooolllle thing.
OMG! The only thing keeping me from trying this RIGHT NOW is that I just found it at 10pm! I’ll be making it for my daughter’s college friends tomorrow evening. (And making a 2nd one for the rest of the weekend!)
You hit it out of the ballpark. Wish I would have thought of it!!! So gorgeous.
Oh my goodness, you are killing me! This is absolutely incredible AND sinful. I have been having major cravings for red velvet and have been loving all your red velvet week recipes!
you can toot your own horn–well deserved!!
What is it about Red Velvet that makes it so much more sinful than other types of desserts?!?! I just can’t get enough.
I really need to make this one soon!
I love anything in cheese-ball form! I made a Nutella Cream Cheese version – but RED VELVET?! Talk about taking it to the next stratosphere!! ~Megan
These look great! I wanted to let you know that I featured this in my “What I Bookmarked This Week” post – stop by and see!
Made this tonight for Super Bowl and EVERYONE raved. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Amazing!
what a really unique cheese ball! you’ve really outdone yourself with the red velvet goodies this year, deborah. 🙂
WOW! I’m making that! I’m headed to Walmart now!
I saw this on Kelly’s Korner Blog and had to check it out. My daughter loves red velvet anything! I Pinned this 😀
@MaryBe, Thanks for the pin!
So did you cook the cake or just use the dry mix?
@Allison, it’s just the dry mix.
I just ran to Wal-Mart and picked up all of the ingredients. It was so easy and I could have just eaten the batter, pre-ball form, all day! Thank you (and Pinterest)!
Anyone try any other type of cookie? I like nilla wafers, just curious…
@Jessy, I tried graham crackers as well and liked them, although I did like the nilla wafers the best.
I am making this right now!
However, I’m making mini-balls for individual cupcake wrappers. So I have the entire bowl sitting in the fridge and when I get home from work tonight, I’ll be putting the chips on them and then …. probably eat over 50% of them before I bring them with me tomorrow and Wednesday 🙂
I made this and the Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookies last weekend and they were both OUT OF THIS WORLD! I got so many compliments and I just think the presentation of the cheese ball is striking and beautiful–I love it! I will definitely be making more of your recipes! PS–My favorite cookie for dipping was the Nilla Wafer as well, but I could just eat it by the spoonful too! I definitely agree with your hubby about the chocolate chips! 🙂
@Sara Jean, I’m so glad they were both a hit!!
When I first saw this on Pinterest I was in complete awe, looks amazing!!! 🙂
I hope i can make this later on today since its after 2 am but since im having family over for my pre-birthday 😉 I thought it would be great either that or 2morrow for my reall birthday 🙂 It sounds so yummy~
THIS WAS AWESOME!!! MINE DIDN’T COME OUT SO PERFECTLY ROUNDED BUT IT TASTED DELICIOUS…… GREAT IDEA!!
can you use any cake mix?
@amy, I’ve only tried it with red velvet, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work with any cake mix!
I made this around Super Bowl time and it was the biggest hit ever. So many people ask me for the instructions and I always copy and paste the link to here.
I made just one variation. I chopped up raspberry hershey kisses and mixed them with the choco chips then rolled it in that. The raspberry added SOOOO much to the flavor. Didn’t look as pretty as whole chips but it was rediculously good. (Any raspberry chocolate would work, I’m sure)
I personally liked it the best with chocolate animal crackers. Was delish with the chocolate. I’ve pinned this too!
GREAT JOB!!!
@Lauren Ellison, so glad it was a hit, and the raspberry sounds amazing!!
This looks so good. I’m making it soon. How do u think it would turn out if I mixed chocolate chips throughout and then rolled it in a white chocolate and chocolate chip mixture? Or should I just stick to only chocolate?
@Mallory, I’ve heard that others have rolled it in white chocolate chips and liked it, but I’ve only had it with the chocolate chips. If you do try, please let me know how you like it! 🙂
I just wanted to drop by and let you know that I found this recipe on Pinterest, and am a HUGE sucker for anything red velvet. I made this for a work party and I will tell you, I have never had more compliments and requests for a recipe before. This is BEYOND good. Thanks for sharing it!!! PS – I took your advice and added the choc chips in with the mixture. Sooo yummy!
Made this for a party this weekend……AMAZING…!!! Everyone kept asking how did I come up with the recipe, and I couldn’t take credit. I also made one using carrot cake mix and rolled it in chopped walnuts and used gingersnaps for dipping. It was great!
@Rashonda, I’m so glad it was a hit, and I’m going to have to try the carrot cake version – sounds amazing!!
I have been meaning to leave you a comment for a couple of weeks now. I had a Kentucky Derby/Cinco de Mayo BBQ to go to a couple weekends ago and I made this cheese ball. Actually, I made 2. One to stay home so my family could try and one to take to the BBQ.
It was outrageously good and it was a HUGE HIT at the BBQ. People went crazy over it. I served Nilla Wafers with it and the whole thing was devoured within a couple of hours. The one that I left at home was gone within 2 days.
I did mix some chocolate chips in with the mixture as well as rolling the outside with them and I’m glad I did. Thank you so much for this recipe. It is very special and I can’t wait to bring it to parties in the future. 🙂
@Amanda, I’m so glad it was such a hit! And good thinking on making a second one to keep at home!
I dont have a stand mixer. I have a hand held electric mixer. Will this work as well??
@steph, it might get a little too thick for a hand mixer. If it does, I’d just mix it with a wooden spoon – you should be just fine!
My only concern is that it uses cake mix which has raw flour… isn’t that unsafe?
@Missy S, I had never even heard that raw flour is unsafe, but I looked it up and it looks like there is a small chance that it can be contaminated. I have never had a problem, and I think that cake mixes are probably processed enough that there is no worry, but if you are concerned, I’d skip this one.
This looks amazing! Is it still good if made the day before?
@Erin, it took us several days to eat it, and it was still good. The outside will get a little bit dried out, but I just stored it covered tightly with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
This stuff is amazing, I make it on a regular basis and my family loves it.
I just made the Red Velvet Cheese Ball to take to a 4th of July gathering today. Oh, my!!!! It’s to LIVE for!!! To make it more festive looking, I used white chips rather than chocolate. Beautiful! Also, because I have an extra 4oz of cream cheese, I made 1 1/2 recipes…made 3 nice sized balls. Additionally, because I find them very simple and delicious, I made my own vanilla wafers to go along. FABULOUS! Thx for sharing!
@Tracy McComic,
This would be great , with either blueberries or blackberrys as a fruit on the plate for 4th of July. Then you would have all 3 colors !! 🙂
This would be amazing with white chocolate chips 🙂
Another alternative is to make is like a cake pop. You use cooked cake and simply mix with cream cheese icing. Pretty much any cake mixed with cream cheese icing would be delish! Red velvet and devils food cake are my favorite so far.
Sounds really yummy!!! Thanks for the recipe! But you may want to bake off the raw cake mix first to be safe (which I’ll do since kiddos will be eating it, better safe than sick):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2011/12/09/eating-raw-cookie-dough_n_1140260.html
-MaMa
(who also worked in food service over 10 years)
Love! I’m a red velvet freak and this is a perfect addition to my Vamps & Tramps birthday bash this weekend! I can’t wait to test it out and I’m sure the lovely RED will be a hit with the vamps!
I am so thinking Halloween! ‘Brains’!! 🙂 Yummmm!!!:)
Is this grainy? I made a recipe once that required dry cake milk and condensed milk and the texture was horribly grainy. Any feedback would be appreciated or f if youve made this feel free to email me liamsmom10@gmail.com
@kimberly, it wasn’t grainy for me at all. Probably because it’s thicker. I’d love to hear anyone else chime in, though!
Hello from Iowa 🙂 This would be a wonderful xmas cheeseball !
Thank you …… marilyn
This will be my third time making this ball- I’m making 4 for seperate places tomorrow (thanksgiving in many different places!). This recipe is my favorite dessert ever! Chocolate animal crackers are the best dippers but gragham crackers are a good substitute too!
@sheryl, thank you so much!! That makes me so happy to hear. And I’m definitely going to have to try it with chocolate animal crackers!
how long will the red velvet cheeseball last in the refrigerator? just can’t eat it all! Can it be frozen for later?
@Jane, I would guess that it would last at least a few days in the refrigerator as long as it is covered. I’m not sure about freezing it because I’ve not tried freezing it before.
Can this be made the night before and kept cold in the refrigerator? I want to make it for a work Christmas luncheon. But I would need to make it the night before and keep it in the fridge. Would that be ok?
@Shanna, it should be fine being made the night before. Just make sure you cover it.
I just made this tonight for an office snack day tomorrow. I doubled up and made one huge ball. The mix before chilled was awesome! My husband waited like a little kid for the mixer, bowl and spatula. I’m putting vanilla wafers and graham crackers with it. I hope it is a huge hit tomorrow!
@Kera, I hope it’s a hit, too!! 🙂
@Deborah, Just to let you know, everyone loved it! Everyone wanted the recipe so I was quick to send them your link 🙂
@Kera, yay!!
I had this at a Christmas party the other day and it was amazing! I am going to make it for a Christmas lunch tomorrow but I have 2 questions. 1.) Will light brown sugar work and 2.) Does it have to be real butter or will margerine work?
@Kim, I used light brown sugar, so that is perfect. As far as using margarine, I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing that it would work.
I use margarine and my didn’t get thick enough to roll like a ball. It was sticky
I’ve never made it with margarine, so that might be the problem. It should be thick enough to hold it’s shape after it’s been refrigerated. It is still quite sticky when you roll it in the chocolate chips, but it should be thick enough to keep a ball shape.
WOW! Just made this and it is amazing, I can’t wait to serve it tonight. I used the duncan Heinz that came with the frosting. Since I forgot to buy powdered sugar I actually used the frosting mix, it turned out great! I thi mine may be a little less sweet but it tastes really cheesy. Thank you so much for coming up with this amazing recipe. I’m sure I will be sending plenty of people your way tonight.
I made this for a get together with some friends and it was amazing! Holy cow, I love red velvet desserts, but this one takes it to the next level. I followed the recipe exactly and had a fabulous result. I highly recommend making this delicious treat.
Made the Red Velvet Cheese Ball and is so delicious before even setting up. It’s in the fridge now but I think it may be too runny. Anybody else had this problem or have any ideas on how to fix? Thanks so much!
did ya’ll use dark brown sugar or light brown sugar????
sorry!! just saw the comment on you using light brown sugar!
AMAZING! Super easy to make and eat too :-). Brought to a work Christmas lunch and will bring the other one to a different office Christmas party. It turns out very pretty when placed on a shiny green plate with a Christmas spreader! Thanks for the recipe!
I love this! I made it for a Christmas party and used white chocolate chips instead. It was a huge hit!
I love this idea! Can’t wait to try the recipe.
oh my gosh LOOOOVE!!! it was super easy to make and tastes sooooo amazing. I don’t know how you came up with this, but it is a stroke of genius.
I just finished getting the cheese ball together. Now the wait begins. I did however clean the bowl, it’s its delicious! Can’t wait to try it when it’s all finished!
I made this for our NYE party and everyone loved it. I passed around your url to lots of people. I think I want to try it with other cake mixes now.
ALSO, my husband baked a part of it to make a cookie… ALSO very yummy. Soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Thank you!
I made several of these during the Christmas season. My son told me the only thing it needed was the traditional frosting used on a Red Velvet Cake, so we tried putting this all around the ball. Delicious! I also rolled it in toasted pecans rather than the chocolate chips because of allergy to too much chocolate.
Hi there!
I just came across this cheeseball via pinterest and I so want to make it. Unfortunately, we don’t get red velvet cake mix where I live. I do make red velvet cake myself, but can’t separate the dry ingredients to make a cake mix. PLEASE let me know how I can make it without the dry mix. I could just lick the screen right now!!
I would really really appreciate any help!! Thank you in advance!!!
@K’, I’m afraid I don’t have any advice on this one – the only way I have ever made it is with a cake mix.
I just made this. Excellent so far. It’s chilling right now. Taste good as us! Can’t wait to roll in chocolate chips
Made this last night for a baby shower today. From what I tasted as I was making it last night, it’s DELICIOUS!! Thank you for being so brilliant for the rest of us!!
I had many people asking me on my way to work today what I had and they couldn’t believe it. I should have carried your recipe around to hand out!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It rocks.
I’ve made this recipe twice, doubling it both times and it has been a HUGE hit! Everyone loved it and couldn’t stay away from it. The only minor tweaks I made when I doubled it was I made it more of a “mound” shape and simply pressed the chocolate chips in rather than try to roll it. I also refrigerated it for fours hours once and overnight the second time. It held it shape a little better with the overnight refrigeration.
Thanks for sharing this oh so delicious treat!
Made this for a “Happy Hysterectomy” Party…it was a hit! Delicious and fit the invite’s instructions of bring red food! Thanks for the recipe. I had a thought…ne could in theory substitute any flavor of cake mix…like Duncan Hines Deluxe Carrot Cake mix…mmm can’t wait to try that!
Absolutely brilliant!!! So simple and so A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Did you use light or dark brown sugar
I used light brown sugar.
A lady in my Sunday school class brought this last year to our Sunday school Christmas brunch. it was so good but she wouldnt give me the recipe so i googled it and found yours. got to try to make this.
I’m so glad you found it, and that you liked it enough to come searching for it! 🙂
We don’t have Red Velvet cakes around here. It looks like we’re missing something!!
About the ideias you don’t find online… well, someone has to have them, and publish them! Why not you?! =)
Infact, i thank you a lot, and whoever posted this on Pinterest, ’cause that gave another idea… Hope i get there. i’m not so good with cakes… but that one rings! =)
What kind of chocolate chips are best? white, semi-sweet, milk chocolate or dark??
I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Although I have heard of others using white and liking it as well.
thank you so much!!
I had this at a party and loved it so much, I googled the recipe! I’m making it today to bring to our Christmas eve family party. Thanks!
I made this red velvet dip for my daughter’s baby shower, it was a great success. The only thing I changed was the cake mix, I used already baked red velvet cookies. I processed the cookies into crumbs and mixed it into the rest of the ingredients. A great alternative to raw flour.
What a great idea! I need to try it!
Has anyone tried a gluten free cake mix? Any tips?
Just a follow up: I subbed a gluten free devils food cake mix for the red velvet and it was awesome. My celiac friend was extremely grateful (ate it with a spoon) and the remaining party goers had no idea it was gluten free.
I have made this recipe several times… Always the first dish to go. I have made it in the form of a football for a party, using white chocolate chips as the laces. Tonight, I made it in the form of a Bat for a Halloween party. The eyes/ears/nose/mouth & wings are outlined in white chocolate chips and the body in mini chocolate chips.
Good luck… your desert/appetizer is sure to be a hit!
Hello! I saw this and had to try it! Oh my its delicious. I thougt i would share a tip i tried that worked really well. I put some of the mini chocolate chips in the bottom of a gallon size ziploc bag and tossed in the cheeseball, after it had chilled of course, and added some more chocolate chips on top for good measure and it worked great at getting the cheeseball coated and not getting sticky stained red fingers. Although i did miss out on the finger licking tastiness! Also i found a box of lemon wafers. Just like vanilla wafers only lemony flavored, those are so tasty with this as well. I plan on serving this to kids too so i also picked up some animal cookies for the littles to use. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Great idea! Thanks for the tip!
I just made my cheeseball for bunco. Can’t wait to eat it. My daughter just licked the bowls and spoons and gave two thumbs up! Just curious what you think about freezing another one with the rest of my ingredients. I hate the half a bag of cake mix. lol
You know, I haven’t tried freezing it. I’m sure it would freeze well – it might get a little messier as it melts, but I’m sure it would still taste great!
Ok, when I’m looking for recipes I never leave comments but I can’t help it. I am speechless about this cheese ball. I am going to a gathering where we are suppose to bring a dish that we have never made. (Scary) This is the one!!!!!! I can’t wait to see it in person and taste the amazingness! Thank you so much for this recipe.
I hope you love it!! It is one of the most loved recipes here on my site, so I think you’ve chosen a winner!
This tasted just like what i thought it would. SO delicious and ate way too much before I even put it out for everyone!
* also, your video ads make this site SUUPER slow
What a great idea! I’m glad to know I’m not the only looking up something to see if it’s already been done online 🙂 Looks tasty!
I made this for Valentine’s Day, spilt into two balls. The party had more desserts and I didn’t want a huge one, the second one was a big hit at work the next day….here’s my challenge….how can I do it for St. Patrick’s day??
Ooooh, that would be fun! You’d have to use food coloring, but you could always use a white cake mix?? I might need to play with this one!
I love Red Velvet!! It is my favorite cake so of course I had to make this!! I love it & every time I make it, it’s definitely a hit!! I only have one concern, the shelf life. Normally it’s gone fast but if I do a double batch for parties, I have left overs. Can you please give me a recommended time before I have to eat or throw it out?
Thank you!
If you have a sweet tooth, this is the perfect fix. I made this for a party and to say it was a hit is an understatement! It is requested for all events we are invited to. Maybe that’s why we get invited in the first place! I tried several different cookies and nilla wafers are the perfect compliment! This recipes makes a big ball; I made two and froze the other. It freezes perfectly!