Coated in a crispy panko breading and drizzled with a sweet and spicy hot honey sauce, these goat cheese balls cook up in minutes in the air fryer and are always a winning appetizer.
Meet your new app addiction for real. If I could eat these goat cheese balls every day and get away with it I most definitely would.
If you’re a fan of mozzarella sticks, think of these goat cheese balls as a slightly more extra cousin. They’re all dressed to impress in a sweet hot honey sauce and cooked to perfection in the air fryer.
This crispy, creamy goodness just doesn’t lie. Goat cheese lovers, you’ve met your new match!
You’re only going to need a handful of ingredients to make these balls and they cook up quickly in only about 8 minutes in the air fryer! I also include stovetop instructions further down in the blog post if you don’t have any air fryer but still want to try these balls.
These Goat Cheese Balls feature…
- A crispy panko-breaded exterior
- A creamy herbed goat cheese interior
- Sweet and spicy hot honey sauce drizzled on top
- Cooked in minutes in the air fryer
Making the Goat Cheese Balls
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Goat cheese
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Egg
- 2% or skim milk
- All-purpose flour
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Nonstick spray
- Unsalted butter
- Honey
- Hot sauce
- Red pepper flakes
- Green onions
Stovetop Instructions
Cook the goat cheese balls in a large skillet in a bit of vegetable oil in a single layer over medium-high heat until balls are golden-brown and crispy, turning occasionally, and adding additional oil to pan as needed. Drain balls on paper towels.
Tips for Perfect Goat Cheese Balls
- Freeze goat cheese filling before breading – this firms up the goat cheese and will make it easier to bread.
- Use traditional breading method – this means coating the goat cheese balls in flour, beaten egg, and then rolling in the panko. This method will help your breading stick to the goat cheese.
- Double-bread goat cheese balls – I do a double-coat of the breading method to form a thicker shell of breading around the goat cheese so it doesn’t melt out during frying.
- Preheat air fryer – I preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes prior to adding the goat cheese so it’s nice and hot.
- Use nonstick cooking spray – since we’re relying on convection to make the balls crispy, this added little bit of fat is essential for browning and getting a nice crisp on the outside.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these balls.
- Serve goat cheese balls on a salad – these goat cheese balls are fantastic served on top of a leafy salad.
- Use another fresh herb – try basil or chives in place of the parsley.
Adjusting Heat Level
You can easily dial the heat up or down to suit your personal preference.
- Mild Version: decrease the hot sauce to 1 teaspoon and the red pepper flakes to 1/4 teaspoon.
- Spicy Version: use 1 tablespoon hot sauce and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Extra-Spicy Version: use 2 tablespoons hot sauce and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes.
That first bite into these goat cheese balls takes you through the sweet and zingy hot honey through the crisp coating and down into all that wonderful creamy goat cheese. I mean, it’s pure madness in the best way.
A plate of these goat cheese balls are pretty much an empty plate and you’ll soon see why.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More favorite appetizers to make next!
Air Fryer Goat Cheese Balls with Hot Honey
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Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh goat cheese
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup 2% or skim milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1-2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Sliced green onions for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine goat cheese, garlic, and parsley until smooth and creamy. Season goat cheese with salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop goat cheese into 1-inch balls and place on a plate. Chill goat cheese in freezer while you prepare the breading.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and milk together until smooth. Place flour in a separate shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Combine breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to taste in a separate shallow bowl.
- Gently dredge goat cheese balls in flour, shaking off excess. Dip balls in egg, then roll in panko mixture until fully coated. Repeat breading process, dredging balls again in the flour, egg, and panko and place on a clean plate.
- Preheat air fryer to 400F for 3 minutes. Spray basket well with cooking spray and working in batches, lay goat cheese balls in a single layer in basket, being careful not to overcrowd basket. Spray goat cheese balls well with cooking spray.
- Air fry goat cheese balls at 400F 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Repeat cooking with remaining goat cheese balls.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter then whisk in honey, hot sauce, and red pepper flakes and bring to a low simmer. Remove hot honey from heat and keep warm (if hot honey solidifies while sitting, gently reheat over low heat to bring back to liquid form).
- Drizzle warm hot honey over hot goat cheese balls and top with green onions. Serve goat cheese bites with additional hot honey for dipping. Enjoy!
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