Easy 3-Ingredient Bologna Cake

Don’t let the name fool you! This isn’t a sweet ‘cake’ for dessert. Bologna Cake is a simple, savory Southern dish, popularly served as an appetizer or side dish at potlucks or family events. You may have heard of this unique meal in Sweet Home Alabama. Whether you’re curious or amused, you’ve got to give this bologna cake recipe a try.

If you’re looking for a simple appetizer or side dish to feed a large group, look no further. Bologna Cake is made with just 3 simple ingredients plus an optional cheese whiz for garnish. In less than 20 minutes, you’ll have a tasty appetizer and a conversation starter.  

What Is Bologna Cake / Boloney Cake?

This unique Southern dish is rumored to have started as a joke which ended up being tasty enough to be taken seriously. By simply layering slices of bologna with seasoned cream cheese, you’ll create a structure that looks quite a bit like a cake. Serve with crackers or toast.

What Does Bologna Cake Taste Like?

This simple dish is surprisingly tasty. Onion powder adds lots of flavor to the creamy and salty cream cheese, which is then paired with meaty bologna. It’s a tasty topper for crackers or toast.

Ingredients You’ll Need 

• Bologna: Use your preferred variety of bologna for this recipe. You can also substitute bologna for another cold-cut deli meat such as salami or ham. Most varieties of thicker sliced deli meat should work for this recipe. 
• Cream Cheese: Make sure to soften your cream cheese before cooking. 
• Onion Powder: Onion powder adds flavor to your cream cheese to make the finished product even tastier. You may also use garlic powder or Italian seasoning blend.
• Optional cheese whiz: For decorating.

How To Make Bologna Cake

1. Mix together the room temperature cream cheese with onion powder.

2. Take one slice of bologna from the package and pat dry with paper towels. 

3. Place it on a plate.

4. Then spread about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture between each layer. Repeat until you use up all the bologna slices.

5. Spread more cream cheese mixture onto the side of the bologna cake. 

6. Decorate the cake with an optional cheese whiz.

Pro Tips

• Make sure cream cheese is soft before mixing: You’ll need room temperature, soft cream cheese for this to work. Remember, cream cheese is like the icing on the bologna cake, so it needs to have a soft, smooth consistency in order to spread neatly. 
• Pat dry bologna slices: Deli meat is often wet or damp when taken out of its packaging. For best results, use a paper towel to pat dry the slices. 
• Use an offset spatula: An offset spatula is longer and narrower than a regular spatula. These baker’s spatulas are the ideal shape for neatly shaping the cream cheese on your cake.

How To Serve Bologna Cake?

It couldn’t be easier to enjoy this appetizer! Simply cut a thin slice, just as you would with a regular cake. Spread the cream cheese on crackers or toast, along with a piece of meat.

How Do You Eat Bologna?

Bologna can be eaten on its own, straight out of the package. It can also be served with crackers, in sandwiches, wrapped around sausages or baked with a brown sugar glaze.

How To Store Bologna Cake

Leftover bologna cake can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Simply wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. If you’d like to store it beyond 4 days, you can also store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

How to Store it in The Freezer

• Use plastic wrap to tightly wrap up the cake. 
• On a large sheet of foil, use a marker to label the cake, including the use-by date.
• Use the foil to wrap the bologna cake.
• Transfer the wrapped cake to a freezer-safe container and store for up to 2 months.
• Although your bologna cake will be safe to eat beyond the 2-month mark, it may not have the best flavor. We recommend consuming it within a month. 
• When you’re ready to have the leftovers, transfer the cake to the fridge to allow it to defrost. It should be fully thawed within a day.

FAQs

Is Bologna Cake A Southern Thing?

Bologna cake is a traditional southern recipe, typically served as an appetizer. 

It’s made using several layers of bologna slices between layers of a flavorful cream cheese frosting. The finished product looks very much like an actual cake, but there’s nothing sweet about it. This savory appetizer is often served at southern potlucks or get-togethers.

Where Did Bologna Cake Originate?

Legend has it that bologna cake started out as a joke. When people realized that it was actually quite tasty, it became a fixture at southern dinner parties and events. 

Is Bologna Cake Bad for Your Health?

Deli meats like bologna are highly processed and contain lots of sodium, fat and preservatives. Cream cheese is pretty high in calories with very little nutritional value. Given its ingredients, we’d recommend enjoying bologna cake as an occasional treat.

What’s the Healthiest Bologna to Eat?

If you’re looking for a healthy bologna option, try the Beef Bologna from the U.S. Wellness Meats brand. It’s made with flavorful grass-fed beef and contains no nitrates, additives or excess sodium. This brand of bologna is soy-, dairy-, and gluten-free.

More Recipes To Try

• Blooming Onions
• Crispy Burger King Onion Rings
• Japanese Spring Rolls (Harumaki)

If you tried this recipe, let me know how your Bologna Cake turns out in the comments below!