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Dried Beef Roll Ups Recipe

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These Dried Beef Roll Ups are the perfect salty snack to bring to a game day party or serve at home! I love to keep my game day snacks easy and these totally are. 

What I love about this recipe is that they can be made ahead of time and your guests probably haven’t had them before. Do you watch football just for the food, too? With these around, you won’t care what’s happening around you.

Bowl of horseradish and cream cheese beef roll ups in a bowl.
Let’s make these tasty dried beef roll ups with cream cheese.

You’ll Love this Meat Appetizer

Dried Beef Roll-Ups with cream cheese are the perfect finger food and football appetizer.

They are salty and creamy and unexpected. Most people have never had these before but they always LOVE them! 

Related: Dried Beef Cheese Ball

It is the most delicious appetizer you’ve never heard of. And I don’t even like cream cheese. Or horseradish.

True story.

And of course, these are a great finger food idea for any party, not just when sports are involved. In fact, I also make these every year for Christmas!

Ingredients

Ingredients to make a dried beef roll up appetizer.
What you’ll need to make chipped beef roll ups.

Scroll down to the end of the post for a printable recipe card with full measurements and more detailed instructions.

Chipped beef in a roll right out of the jar.

What is Dried Beef

Dried beef is sometimes also called chipped beef. It’s an off-the wall ingredient that isn’t super popular.

You typically find it in recipes that most likely originated in the 1970’s, so equally tasty and horrific.

I don’t make these chipped beef roll ups that often so I always forget where to look for the dried beef at the store.

It comes in a jar and is located in the canned meat aisle. Yes, that sounds super gross. Just look for the chili and the tuna.

Not every store carries this product but there are a few brands like Armour, Hormel and Buddig that make dried beef. I always have good luck finding a jar at Walmart.

How to make Dried Beef Cream Cheese Roll-Ups

Mixing bowl with cream cheese and horseradish

Step 1

Add the softened cream cheese to a small bowl. Like, really softened cream cheese.

I like to use my glass measuring cup. It’s the perfect size.

Jar of horseradish on a counter.
Small bowls of spices next to a mixing bowl for an easy appetizer recipe.

Step 2

Add 2 TBSP of prepared horseradish and mix well. I prefer to use a fork to really break up the cream cheese and incorporate each ingredient.

Taste. Add more horseradish depending on your taste preferences.

Step 3

Add in garlic powder and Worcestershire Sauce and mix again. Taste and adjust.

Step 4

Spread about 1 tsp of cream cheese mix on a slice of dried beef with a knife or offset spatula. And taste again.

NOTE: Because the dried beef slices are salty, you shouldn’t need to add any salt to the mixture. You may want to add more garlic powder or Worcestershire though.

Holding a piece of dried beef spread with a cream cheese mixture.

Step 5

Continue making the beef roll ups with cream cheese.

Make sure the cream cheese goes to the edges so that when you roll it up, it will stick to itself.

In the photo above, you can see that I covered almost the whole slice except for the area closest to my thumb.

I would roll it up starting at the opposite side (with the cream cheese going all the way to edge) and roll it towards my thumb.

Leaving that blank space means that whatever squishes while being rolled, will fill in that area and help the final edge stick to the keep it rolled up.

It will take a few to get the amount and technique right. It’s not hard, just takes a second to get used to and sort out how it will squish as it’s rolled.

A chipped beef roll up appetizer cut in half on a small plate.

Step 6

You don’t have to cut them in half but I like to. It makes them easier to eat and gives you more of them which is great if you are making them for a crowd.

If you find that everything is just a bit too soft and cutting is hard, you can put them in the fridge for about half an hour and use a serrated knife to cut them in half.

Storage

Close up of a container of easy dried beef snacks for a football party.

I prefer to make them a day ahead so all the flavors can marry. They should be refrigerated, in an air-tight container, until serving.

These can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for about 5 days.

A Great Game Day Snack Idea

bowl of appetizers made from dried beef and cream cheese

This is one of those appetizers that is not fussy and can be left out on your party table for quite a while. Make the Dried Beef Roll Ups for all your game day parties or any time you need a creamy, salty snack!

This simple appetizer recipe is a great addition to store-bought game day snack ideas or healthier snack ideas for game day.

While we think these are the perfect football appetizers, they are even great for a movie night!

Pair them with a simple game day guacamole if you’re feeling extra fancy.

And if you’re looking for an easy way to dress up your party, check out my free printable football banner!

Just print, cut and hang. Done!

Close up of chipped beef rolls with cream cheese and horseradish in a bowl.

Whether your hosting or going to a party elsewhere, these Dried Beef Roll Ups will be your go-to appetizer.

I’m not a big football fan, but there is something so exciting about getting together with friends to enjoy watching the game.

A football party table with snacks.

Ok, well maybe I’m not excited to watch the game, but I’m very excited about the food. I love a good party. And every party has food. The best part is, a football party doesn’t need much fuss.

Just yummy food, a little fanfare and good friends.

Printable pages on top of an image of kitchen gadgets with text next to it.

More Dried Beef Appetizers

Dried Beef Roll Ups with horseradish are the perfect creamy snack that you can eat with just your fingers. No forks needed.

I also use dried beef in this Dried Beef Cheese Ball recipe. It’s a fun appetizer to serve at parties. Because who doesn’t love a cheese ball! 

Or you can use it in my Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip with Dried Beef. It’s the perfect way to add a little salt to a warm dip.

And you can use those leftover pieces to make my favorite Chicken Eden Isle dinner!

More Easy Appetizers

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Printable Recipe for Dried Beef Roll Ups with Cream Cheese

Bowl of easy dried beef appetizers for a football party

Dried Beef Roll Ups

These delicious Dried Beef Roll Ups with cream cheese and horseradish are the perfect football appetizers! It's an easy finger food recipe to make for any party!
4.39 from 13 votes
Print Pin Rate Save
Course: Appetizers
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 30
Calories: 34kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Add softened cream cheese to a small bowl.
  • Add 2 TBSP of prepared horseradish and mix well. (A fork works really well!)
  • Taste then add more horseradish if needed.
  • Add the 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce and mix again.
  • Spread cream cheese mix on a slice of dried beef with a knife or off-set spatula.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning one last time.
  • Make sure the cream cheese goes to the edges so that when you roll it up, it will stick to itself. (See photo in post to see where I stop the spread)
  • Try not to overfill or it will squish out.
  • Roll up each piece of dried beef with the cream cheese mixture then cut each in half.
  • Place in a container and chill until ready to serve.

Notes

Dried beef can be found in the canned meat aisle at some grocery stores.
You will have a few leftover dried beef slices when you get to the end of the cream cheese mixture.
I prefer to make these the day before I serve them so the flavors really stand out.

Nutrition

Serving: 20Servings | Calories: 34kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 162mg | Sugar: 1g
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9 Comments

  1. For the past 30+ years my family has called these horsey doodles. Has anyone else heard of these being called this?

  2. Is it possible that people don’t know to rinse the dried beef that comes in the jars?! I’ve always rinsed the beef. I cannot imagine eating it that salty, it’s horrible unrinsed. I separate the rounds on a plate or baking dish with sides on it. Lay them out in a single layer or you can put the rounds loosely in a casserole dish. I put a light splatter guard over the plate/bowl to keep the beef rounds from washing out of the container. I set the plate/bowl in the sink and using the sprayer on my faucet, turn on the cold water. You want to GENTLY rinse the beef under cold water for a few minutes. Afterwards, lay out a layer of paper towels on a cookie sheet and lay the beef rounds out in a single layer. I use another layer of paper towels over the beef and press with my hands to extract the excess water. You will love the beef in you recipes much better! Absolutely, do this for all your future dried beef recipes. This will remove loads of the salt and make our recipes much healthier for your recipes. Enjoy!!!

    1. Hi Ronnie! Thanks for your comments. I never rinse the beef for any of my recipes. And I like how they taste. But I appreciate you leaving instructions on how to rinse it in case people want to watch their sodium! Super helpful!

    2. Jeanne Watts says:

      I have always rinsed the slices in cold water and dried them on a paper towel.
      I also freeze them after they are rolled. It’s easier to cut them in smaller bite sized pieces. Then I defrost them..

  3. Anna Wickham says:

    If you don’t like horseradish I have chopped onions and added to cream cheese and also have done cream cheese and dill…just some other ideas that have worked for me…I prefer horseradish…

    1. What a great idea! I’ve never deviated but I bet you could do all kinds of fun things with it!! Hmmm, now you’ve got me feeling creative!

  4. I LOVE the chip bags. Such a cute and simple way to spice up the party. Cute, cute, cute!

    1. Sharon Garofalow says:

      And they were SO easy!! I use that roll of kraft paper for everything!

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