Italian Fried Cheese Balls

Really enjoyed these ... a great change from meatballs - my family enjoyed them too. I also cooked the cheese balls in the oven to avoid deep-frying - 350 degrees for 30 min. was all that was needed. I also placed them on parchment paper so I didn't have to grease the pan either. I substituted my own spiced tomato sauce but next time I'll try the one on the recipe. Thanks Debbie!

This is similar to the Italian Cheese Ball recipe I stole from Kettering Medical Center (Kettering, Ohio) in 1980 - only they called for ground walnuts, instead of pecans. I think thre's more flavor with walnuts. Strict carnivores I know don't care for this recipe, and my kids hated it. I love this recipe, however, and so do all my veggie friends. NB: I avoid all frying, so I brown the cheese balls in the oven first - 40 min at 350°F. It makes for a lot of oven time, but cuts way down on the fat intake.

These are excellent! I am a vegetarian and couldn't ask for a more perfect snack or appetizer for a meal. They are absolutely delicious! I accidentally left out the pecans in the first time around and they were still great! I am making them again, being sure that I remember the pecans this time! A++++++ (I hardly ever give five stars)

The cheeseballs themselves were fabulous. I left a lot of chunks in the pecans and they made for a wonderful texture. Next time, though, I will pass on the sauce. It tasted a bit too much like spaghetti-o sauce.

These are so delicious! I've made them for lots of people, with great results. I use a carton of roasted red pepper soup for the sauce, leave out the cumin. Yumm

I agree with JFOURNIER, these are similar to KMC's Italian Nut Balls. It is a really versatile meatball. I use pecan meal, instead of chopped pecans, and only 3/4 c bread crumbs. I bake mine for 15 minutes at 350, then cover with store bought or homemade marinara sauce, mushroom gravy, sweet and sour glaze, etc. I bake the sauce covered meatball for 30 minutes at 325. They are wonderful! These make great breakfast patties, if you use an ice-cream scoop to scoop them out onto a baking sheet. Then flatten to 1/2 inch thickness. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Cool, then package 3-4 patties in a zip-lock bag. Nuke about 30 seconds, and they are ready to eat!

Basically vegetarian meatballs - my husband loved them but they were a lot of work I felt like.

Very interesting flavor, but a little dry (especially if they've been sitting out at a party for a couple hours). I would probably recommend adding more cheese.

these were messy and tasted really strange. maybe the pecans weren't processed fully or something. i ended up with a pan full of oily nut mess.

they wern't at all cheesey, but still good

This was a good meal and we will probably make it again. Next time I might just press it in the bottom of the pan instead of taking the time to make balls of it just to make it easier. I also prebaked it instead of frying it to make it easier as well. With those changes it can be an easy weeknight meal!