Bacon Ranch Cheese Log Appetizer

This Bacon Ranch Cheese Log Appetizer is quick, easy, and delicious… perfect for any festive celebration!  With ranch seasoning, cream cheese, sour cream, parsley, green onions, sun-dried tomatoes and cooked bacon - what's not to love!?

Bacon Ranch Cheese Log!

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This appetizer is creamy, cheesy, salty, savory - and then there’s the BACON!  Bacon makes everything better – doesn’t it!? 

If you didn’t want to take the time to cook the bacon you could either buy it precooked or swap it out for some Genoa Salami. Mmmm!

Or honestly, you could skip the meat all together.  Buy why would you ever do that!??  Just kidding  - you do you, my friend.

I thought this yummy appetizer recipe would be the perfect festive dish for the holidays or honestly any time you’re entertaining and need a home run hit for your guests.  It's fancy enough for the "big" holidays (like Christmas or New Year's), but this is something you can serve year round!

The idea for this recipe came from two other tasty dishes I make. 

One being the Italian Torta – I’m sure you’ve tasted this before… layers of a cream cheese feta mixture, toasted pine nuts, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes crafted in a round or log shape and served with crackers or veggies.  That is one delicious and pretty appetizer, but it can be a bit more time-consuming because you add the ingredients one layer at a time. 

The other recipe that inspired today’s cheese log is a dip my girlfriend Jess turned me onto.  It has ranch dressing as the base, then you add chopped bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, and green onions.  It’s so good!  I could literally eat cut up veggies for every meal from now until forever if I had this dip to go with them. 

So I basically combined two favorite cheese dip appetizer recipes into one to make this Bacon Ranch Cheese Log.  Good idea – right!?

Since I know you’ve got party invites to send out and food to prep, I’ll get to the recipe…

How to make this Bacon Ranch Cheese Log:

First, allow your cream cheese to soften either by sitting on the counter for a bit or heating in the microwave.  Then add your sour cream and ranch seasoning and mix thoroughly.

Now, chop your sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor or with a knife.  Then add them, along with crumbled bacon, chopped green onions and parsley, and mix together. 

  

Grab either two mini loaf pans or one large loaf pan (I like using two mini loaf pans because I can serve one and freeze one to save for another time).  You can also use Tupperware as well – it works great for storing.

Spray your loaf pan(s) with cooking spray and line the container with saran wrap – leaving enough hanging over edges to use as a cover for the log.  This will also help you pop it out when it’s time.

 

Now add your mixture to the pan – pressing it down into the corners with a rubber spatula and then smoothing out the top.

 

Fold your plastic over the top of the cheese log and either refrigerate for 4 hours, or freeze.  You can freeze this for up to 2 months if you’d like… just be sure to thaw in the fridge at least 4 hours before serving.

In case you’re wondering, the refrigeration is to help the cream cheese mixture to firm up to make the log shape.

When it’s time to serve, just unwrap the plastic wrap and gently loosen the loaf by pulling on the plastic wrap.

Turn your serving platter upside-down, and place it on top of the upright loaf tin.  Holding them together, flip them over and that loaf should pop right out.  If not just give the plastic wrap a few more tugs.

Now it’s time to make it pretty!  I like to sprinkle some more julienned sun-dried tomatoes on top, along with some parsley.

I like to supply a few cheese knives for serving and spreading this yumminess onto crackers or plates.

You can serve this Bacon Ranch Cheese Log Appetizer with your favorite crackers or veggies - or just eat it with a spoon.  But who do you know that would ever do that?  Ahem.

And you might want to keep that second log handy, because this Ranch Cheese Log with Bacon and Sun-Dried Tomatoes is going to go quick!

Happy Holidays and Happy Eating my friend!