Drain the pineapple. In a fine-mesh strainer, drain the 20-ounce can of pineapple. Use a spatula to press out as much water as possible.
Dice the veggies. Dice the bell pepper, jalapeño, shallot, and green onions.
Toast and chop the pecans. I like to toast the pecan because toasting them brings out their flavor. Chop them, if they aren't already chopped.
Mash the cream cheese. Use a fork to mash the softened cream cheese.
Add the remaining ingredients. Add the drained pineapple, the diced veggies, the Worchestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is evenly combined.
Form and chill. Form the cheese ball mixture into a ball and wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Add the crushed pecans. Roll the chilled pineapple cheese ball in crushed pecans.
Serve. Serve with round buttery crackers. I like Ritz and Wheat Thins.
Video
RECIPE TIPS
Ingredients Notes
Cream cheese. 2 blocks of cream cheese (16 ounces), softened to room temperature.
Crushed pineapple. Use a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple in juice. Drain it well. Press out as much liquid as possible. You'll end up with about 1 cup of crushed pineapple.
Chopped pecans. 2 cups of crushed pecans to add to the outside of the cheese ball.
Red bell pepper. This is a Foodology Geek addition. I like the flavor of red bell pepper with the pineapple. Use about 1/4 cup finely diced bell pepper.
Jalapeño peppers. I use 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, finely diced (instead of the original green bell pepper). If you want this cheese ball even spicier, you can use serrano peppers.
Green onions. 3 to 4 green onions. Green parts, chopped.
Shallot. 2 tablespoons of finely minced shallot.
Worchestershire sauce. 1 teaspoon of Worchestershire sauce. (OR 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt, or soy sauce)
Salt and pepper.
Here are my flavor-boosting tips.
Umami. The Worcestershire sauce adds a kick of umami. You can also use 1 teaspoon of Lawry's Seasoning Salt or even soy sauce.
Don't skimp on the salt. If you use Seasoning salt, you don't need to add extra salt. However, the salt in this recipe actually enhances the sweet flavor of the pineapple and the savoriness of the onions. So make sure that you add enough salt.
Well-drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple. The original recipe calls for 8 ounces of crushed pineapple. Many people think this means you should buy the 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple, which doesn't give you a lot of pineapple in the end.
A 20 ounce can of pineapple gives you about 1 cup of crushed pineapple after it is drained. Using pineapple in syrup will add quite a bit more sweetness to this recipe.
Jalapeño peppers. I swap out the green bell pepper in the original recipe for jalapeño or serrano pepper to add extra spiciness.