Fall is right around the corner, and with it comes some of my favorite things: cooler temps, oversized sweatshirts, and pumpkin-spiced everything. Fall also brings Halloween, which is one of my favorite holidays!
I’m on a couple of Fall tennis leagues, and I’m so fortunate to have teammates who love Halloween as much as I do. When we host the home matches during the week of Halloween, we celebrate with a ghoulish spread of themed treats and snacks.
Every home match, we typically have some sort of cheese and cracker combo, but this Zombie Brain Cheese Ball takes it to a whole new level! While it may look creepy on the outside, it is full of delicious flavor on the inside!
The base is a delicious pesto and Parmesan flavored cheese ball that is topped with a smooth feta cheese mixture which is piped on to look like brains.
Then, the whole thing is centered in a bright red pool of sun-dried tomato sauce that adds a bold, garlicky punch.
Not only is this easy to make, but you can prepare it in advance, which means you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn on the day of your match in order to get the cheese ball and/or your kids, AND you ready!
And I guarantee it will get plenty of ooooooo’s and ahhhhhhhh’s at your Halloween home match!
Not making this Zombie Brain Cheese Ball right this second? Then be sure to pin this post so you can easily find it once you’re ready!
Zombie Brain Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- The Zombie Brain Cheese Ball:16 oz. cream cheese softened3.5 oz feta cheese, crumbled1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated (NOT shredded)1/4 cup CLASSICO traditional basil pesto sauce2 tbsp. toasted pine nutsThe "Blood" Tomato Sauce:1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes1 clove garlic1/2 cup water1/4 cup olive oil1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- In a food processor, blend 8 oz. of cream cheese with the feta cheese until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Spoon into a plastic baggie and refrigerate.Add the remaining cream cheese, parmesan cheese, and pesto sauce to the food processor and process until well blended. Add the toasted pine nuts and pulse several times to mix. Place mixture into a plastic wrap-lined bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.Add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, water, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.Unwrap the pesto ball and turn onto a plate. Gently shape into an oval, and cut in half lengthwise, separating the two halves slightly.Cut the tip (very small) off of one corner of the feta mixture baggie and pipe onto the pesto ball in a twisting brain-like pattern. Spoon the sun-dried tomato sauce around the cheese ball and serve with crackers.
