BBQ Bacon Cheese Ball

November 2025. Fall in Memphis, and I am 66, walking the neighborhood in my light jacket, watching the leaves turn on the oaks and maples that line Deadrick Avenue. The smoker is happy in fall — the cooler air holds the smoke lower, keeps it closer to the meat, and the results are always a shade better in October than in July, as if the season itself is a seasoning.

Marcus and Angela in Whitehaven, building their family, their house full of the sounds I remember from our own early years — a baby's laugh, a spouse's voice, the daily music of people learning to live together. Naomi growing with the speed of childhood, each visit revealing a new word, a new capability, a new expression that catches my breath because it echoes someone I lost.

Baked beans on the smoker — navy beans soaked overnight, simmered with onion, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, and my BBQ sauce, then smoked uncovered at 250 for two hours. The hickory settles into the sauce and transforms ordinary beans into something that belongs at any table, any gathering, any moment when people need to be fed and comforted and reminded that simple food, made with patience, is the best food there is.

Another week in the book. Another seven days of tending fires — the one in the smoker, the one in the marriage, the one in the family, the one in the church. Each fire needs something different: wood, attention, food, faith. But the tending is the same for all of them: show up, add what's needed, wait patiently, trust the process. Low and slow. Always. Low and slow.

When the baked beans come off the smoker and the family starts pulling chairs up to the table, I always want something to put out while people settle in — something folks can reach for without ceremony, something that says welcome before the main spread is even set down. This BBQ Bacon Cheese Ball has become that thing for us: it’s got the smokiness I love, it’s built for passing around, and every time I roll it together I think about Marcus and Angela and the way a good table does the same work a good fire does — it draws people in and holds them there.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 10–12

Ingredients

2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup your favorite BBQ sauce, plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 strips bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled (divided)
3 green onions, thinly sliced (divided)
Crackers or sliced baguette, for serving

Instructions

Mix the base. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the shredded cheddar, BBQ sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper until fully combined.
Fold in mix-ins. Reserve about 1/3 of the crumbled bacon and 1/3 of the sliced green onions for the coating. Fold the remaining bacon and green onions into the cream cheese mixture.
Shape the ball. Turn the mixture out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use the wrap to help shape it into a ball. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight, until firm.
Coat before serving. On a plate, combine the reserved bacon and green onions. Unwrap the chilled cheese ball and roll it in the bacon-onion mixture, pressing gently so the coating adheres on all sides.
Finish and serve. Transfer to a serving plate, drizzle lightly with additional BBQ sauce, and surround with crackers or sliced baguette. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

BBQ Bacon Cheese Ball — Something to Pass Around the Table