Vegan Cheese Ball
This easy vegan cheese ball is the perfect addition to any dairy-free cheese board! Made with tofu, seasonings, and fresh herbs, this creamy cheese spread will be the hit of your holiday party.
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This rich and creamy vegan cheese spread is always a hit at parties, potlucks, holiday events, and game day celebrations. Even non-vegans love this herbed cheese ball!
Why you’ll love this recipe
This tofu cheese ball is easily made from a few simple ingredients in just minutes. Make it a day or two ahead of your party for an easy appetizer that you can place on your vegan charcuterie board with some vegan smoked gouda, vegan goat cheese, or some sliced vegan cheddar.
Add some vegan deli meat like vegan salami, vegan summer sausage, and vegan pepperoni and you’ll have a gourmet spread.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Tofu – This is the base of the cheese ball. You will want to use firm or extra firm water-packed tofu. I don’t recommend silken tofu for this recipe since it is not as firm.
- Refined Coconut Oil – this makes the tofu cheese firm and helps it to hold the shape of a ball. It also makes it super rich and creamy. You can use unrefined coconut oil, but it will have a coconut taste.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – for a little tanginess and to give it acidity to emulsify.
- Lemon Juice – this also adds a tang to the cheese. Use more for a more sharp flavor or less for a less sharp cheese flavor.
- Sea salt – for flavor. You can reduce the salt for a lower sodium option, but I would not reduce it more than half or it won’t taste as authentic.
- Nutritional Yeast – for a cheesy/umami flavor. You can omit this if you don’t have any. A splash of soy sauce or a teaspoon of miso paste will also give it an umami flavor.
- Garlic – for flavor. I like to blend fresh garlic cloves with the tofu, but you can also use garlic powder.
- Fresh Herbs – for flavor. I like to use chives, green onions, parsley, basil, oregano, or thyme.
- Chopped Nuts or Herbs – for rolling the cheese ball in before serving. You can use chopped pistachios, walnuts, almonds, or any other nut that you like. I like to pair these with chopped cranberries or craisins for a pretty red color. You can also use vegan bacon bit and chopped herbs like chives or parsley.
Helpful tools
- Food Processor – to bend up the tofu cheese. You can also use a regular blender, but I find that you have to stop and scrape the edges many times to get it to blend completely.
How to make a vegan cheeseball
A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.
Step 1 – Drain and press a block of tofu, getting out as much liquid as possible.
Step 2 – Add the pressed tofu to a food processor along with 2 cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, then blend until combined.
Step 3 – Add 1/2 cup of hot melted coconut oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, then blend again for 1 minute until the mixture is very creamy. Scrape the edges with a rubber spatula and blend again making sure everything is incorporated.
Step 4 – Add 4 tablespoons of fresh chopped herbs and pulse a few more times to mix them in.
Step 5 – Line 2 small bowls with plastic wrap and put 1/2 of the cheese mixture in each bowl. form into a ball and wrap it so that it’s airtight. Place in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set completely.
Step 6 – Chop 1/4 cup of pistachios, 2 tbsp cranberries, and 2 tbsp fresh parsley (or any other nuts and herbs that you wish) and put them on a plate. While the cheese is still wrapped, reshape it if needed, then remove the plastic and roll in the nuts and herbs until completely coated.
Step 7 – Serve this plant-based cheese ball with some vegan crackers or crusty bread. For a gluten-free option, serve with homemade quinoa crackers.
Pro Tips
- This vegan cheeseball works best if made a day ahead so that the flavors are allowed to bend and the ball sets firm.
- For a sharper cheese add 1 tablespoon of tahini plus an additional teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 extra tablespoon of nutritional yeast.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika for a smoky cheese flavor.
How to coat the cheese ball
Nuts, seeds, and herbs are traditional for the outside of a cheeseball. You can get creative and chop up the things that you like with cheese and crackers.
Make it nut-free– My favorite way to make a nut-free vegan cheese ball is to coat it in vegan bacon bits and chives. This bacon and chive cheese ball also looks festive for Christmas time.
Storage
Keep the vegan cheeseball tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months, but I find that it gets a slightly grainy texture after freezing.
More vegan cheeses
If you are interested in learning how to make more easy homemade vegan cheeses, check out all of my vegan cheese recipes on the blog or my cookbook, “The Ultimate Guide to Easy Vegan Cheese Making.”
- Healthy Veggie Cheese Sauce
- Vegan Pepper Jack
- Melty Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Halloumi
- Tofu Ricotta
- Tofu Cream Cheese
- Vegan Provolone Cheese
- Cheesy Vegan Sauce
Vegan Cheese Ball
Ingredients
For the plain cream cheese:
- 1 14 oz package extra-firm tofu, (water-packed)
- 2 cloves garlic, (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup refined coconut oil, melted
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons chives, or other fresh herbs
Equipment
Instructions
- Drain and press a block of tofu, getting out as much liquid as possible.
- Add the pressed tofu to a food processor along with 2 cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, then blend until combined.
- Add 1/2 cup of hot melted coconut oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, then blend again for 1 minute until the mixture is very creamy. Scrape the edges with a rubber spatula and blend again making sure everything is incorporated.
- Add 4 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs and pulse a few more times to mix them in.
- Line 2 small bowls with plastic wrap and put 1/2 of the cheese mixture in each bowl. form into a ball and wrap it so that it’s airtight. Place in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set completely.
- Chop 1/4 cup of pistachios, 2 tbsp cranberries, and 2 tbsp fresh parsley (or any other nuts and herbs that you wish) and put them on a plate. While the cheese is still wrapped, reshape it if needed, then remove the plastic and roll in the nuts and herbs until completely coated.
Notes
- This vegan cheeseball works best if made a day ahead so that the flavors are allowed to bend and the ball sets firm.
- For a sharper cheese add 1 tablespoon of tahini plus an additional teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 extra tablespoon of nutritional yeast.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika for a smoky cheese flavor.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
Such an absolutely delicious recipe! I ate the leftovers spread on a toasted Bagel over the next couple of days and that was even better! I have now made a second batch just with canola oil so it doesn’t set as firm and that’s what I put on my Bagels.
So happy that you like the recipe, Lindsay. It is very similar to my tofu cream cheese recipe that we love on bagels. It’s a great ideas to use canola oil to make it easier to spread when cold.
You have amazing recipes! I’ve been tempted to make ‘non-soy’ tofu and curious if you have tried other forms, like lentils or chickpeas (‘Burmese’ tofu). I use store-bought soy tofu and haven’t yet made other versions. I’d love to read your reviews testing various tofu and comparisons – your knowledge on ‘how they work’ in a recipe provides a lot of information. Thanks for this, I’m going to try it as a ‘snack meal’ – when I grab crackers, dips, cheeses, salsa or hummus and call it ‘supper’. 🙂
I’m so happy that you like my recipes! I have a recipe for Burmese tofu on my blog. It’s delicious, however, I don’t think you can use it to replace the tofu in this recipe. (Not sure if that is what you were wanting to do.)
Amazing recipe, thank you!
You’re welcome! 🙂
Can the coconut oil be substituted with anything?
Hi Monica, your cheese ball sounds great & I would love to have one, but I can’t have any type of oils. I was wondering if you knew what I could replace the oil with. I am whole food plant based, no animal products period, no oils or sugar either, which limits a lot. I wonder if adding a thickener would be enough to replace the oil? I don’t suppose you would know? Thanks
You could probably replace the oil with very thick cashew cream (if you are allowed cashews).
I have not made this yet but what can I use insread of coconut oil ?
The oil is important to make it creamy and hold the ball together. You could use cashew cream instead of the oil, but it will probably won’t hold its shape as well. You could serve it in a small dish as a cheese spread though.
I can’t have coconut oil either, can you use olive oil?
You can use olive oil, but it won’t set as firm, it will be a softer spread.