Go Back
Vegan cheese ball
Print Recipe
4.98 from 44 votes

Vegan Cheese Ball

This vegan cheese ball is seriously delicious. It's creamy, super cheesy and packed with flavor. The perfect appetizer for parties!
Prep Time25 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Gluten-Free, Savory
Cuisine: Vegan
Diet: Vegan
Servings: 8
Calories: 166kcal
Author: Alison Andrews

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g) Soaked in hot water for 1 hour
  • 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
  • 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
  • ½ Tbsp White Miso Paste
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • ¼ tsp Paprika
  • ⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 Clove Garlic Crushed
  • 1 Tbsp Water
  • 1 Tbsp Fresh Basil Chopped
  • 2 Tbsp Fresh Chives Divided
  • ¼ cup Crushed Roasted Salted Almonds

Instructions

  • Place the raw cashews into a bowl and pour over boiling hot water from the kettle. Leave them to soak for an hour.  
  • Drain the cashews and add to the blender along with lemon juice, coconut oil, miso paste, salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, crushed garlic and water and blend until smooth. 
  • Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in fresh chopped basil and 1 Tbsp of chopped chives. 
  • Line a small bowl with plastic wrap and spoon the mixture into the bowl. Twist the plastic wrap to seal it, creating a ball shape. 
  • Place the bowl with your cheese ball into the freezer for 1 hour to set. 
  • While the cheese is setting, crush roasted and salted almonds and place them into a wide bowl. 
  • Add the remaining 1 Tbsp chopped chives and mix in with the crushed almonds. 
  • After 1 hour remove the cheese ball from the freezer and gently remove the plastic wrap. 
  • Gently roll the cheese ball in the crushed almonds and chives, making sure the ball is evenly coated. 
  • Return the cheese ball to the small bowl that it set in and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until you're ready to serve. 
  • Serve with crackers, breads, veggies or tortilla chips. 

Notes

  1. Soak the cashews: The reason you must soak the cashews for this recipe is because the cheese is very thick. There isn't much water added because a thick consistency is needed so that it will set. Soaking the cashews makes it much easier to blend. 
  2. If you're allergic to cashews then you could try this recipe with slivered or blanched almonds. Soak them first just the same way you would the cashews. The texture will be different but it would still be delicious.
  3. Coconut oil: You can use either virgin coconut oil or refined coconut oil (odorless). Don't substitute a different oil, it must either be coconut oil or, if you have an allergy or avoid oils, then omit it entirely. 
  4. White miso paste: If you don't have miso paste on hand then you can substitute this for tomato paste or tahini or soy sauce. 
  5. Nutritional Yeast: This adds to the cheesy flavor but if you're allergic or can't get hold of it, then simply leave it out. 
  6. Make Ahead: This is a great recipe to make up ahead of time. Just make it and then keep it stored in the fridge for a day or two until you're ready to serve. 
  7. Storing and Freezing: Leftover cheese will keep in the fridge in a covered container for up to a week. It is also freezer friendly for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge. 
  8. Prep time: This is for hands on time only and doesn't include time spent soaking the cashews (1 hour) and chilling in the freezer (1 hour) and fridge (30 minutes).

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 7.5g | Protein: 4.8g | Fat: 13.9g | Saturated Fat: 4.4g | Sodium: 182mg | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugar: 1.5g