Name: Easy Vegan Cheese Ball
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 8 h 30 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 (16-oz.) block extra firm tofu; 2/3 cup refined coconut oil; 1/4 cup water; 2 Tbsp yellow mustard; 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast; 1 Tbsp lemon juice; 2 tsp sea salt; 2 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1/2 tsp ground black pepper; 1 cup raw walnuts

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You will not believe how easy this vegan cheese ball recipe is! It uses simple methods and ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Not to mention, this vegan cheeseball has a killer cheesy flavor, mind-blowingly creamy texture, is omnivore-approved, and cashew-free!

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Can you truly call it a family holiday party if there’s not a cheese ball in the room? I think not!

For as long as I can remember, my Nana has always made the best cheeseball. My whole family looked forward to it year after year, and it was a safe bet you’d find at least one or two of her cheeseballs stored in each relative’s freezer at any given time.

So, obviously this was another super nostalgic recipe on my “must-veganize” list for years, and I am all sorts of pumped up to announce we’ve finally done it!

I made this vegan cheese ball for my family’s Christmas brunch a couple years back, and it was a huge hit! Even my Nana herself, whose recipe ultimately inspired this killer veganization, told me several times how much she enjoyed it which totally made my day because we all know Irish grandmothers never lie about a compliment. 🙂

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You will not believe how easy this vegan cheeseball recipe is! It uses simple methods and ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Not to mention, this vegan cheeseball has a killer cheesy flavor, mind-blowingly creamy texture, is omnivore-approved, and cashew-free! #vegan #appetizer #veganrecipes #tofu #plantbased #vegancheese // plantpowercouple.com

How to Make a Vegan Cheese Ball

Overhead shot of all the ingredients needed to make a vegan cheese ball: extra firm tofu, yellow mustard, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, sea salt, onion powder, pepper, refined coconut oil, olive oil, and water.

I LOVE how simple this vegan cheeseball recipe is! I legit threw it together with staples I always have in the kitchen (and I bet you do too). The methods are simple too. If you can use a food processor, you got this, friend.

The result will blow your mind with its flavor, texture, and general awesome-ness.

The first three steps to make a vegan cheese ball: Add the tofu, refined coconut oil, and flavoring ingredients to a blender and blend on high until the mixture is shiny.

The cheeseball is tofu-based (inspired by our BEST vegan feta recipe), so there’s no cashew-soaking required. You will need to press the water out of the tofu though.

Once that’s done, you’ll add the tofu to your food processor with some refined coconut oil. This gives the ball its shape and emulsifies to add a super creamy cheesy wonderfulness to the whole mixture.

Next, you’ll add a few seasonings and some fridge staples like yellow mustard and lemon juice. These give the vegan cheese ball that sharp cheddar-y flavor.

The three steps to shaping a vegan cheese ball: plop the dairy free cheese mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap, pull up on the edges of the wrap, and tie it with a rubber band to form a ball.

From there, you’ll wrap your ball in cheesecloth or plastic wrap and let it set overnight in the fridge! In the morning, you’ll unwrap and roll the vegan cheeseball in finely-chopped walnuts.

The last three steps for making a vegan cheese ball: Unwrap the dairy free cheese ball from the plastic wrap, reshape it with your hands, and coat it in chopped walnuts.

And finally, get ready to PAR-TAY!

This vegan cheeseball would be a GREAT recipe to make for the holidays, Super Bowl, or any party! Also, just a regular Tuesday because there is never a wrong time to make this vegan cheese ball. So, let’s do this!

If and when you make this vegan cheeseball, we totally wanna know about it! You can rate the recipe and leave a comment below, or we love when you tag us in your fun AF photos on Instagram. If you’re not already following along, we’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”.

Thanks, friends! We hope you love this recipe as much as we do. Enjoy! 🙂

Other Tofu Cheese Recipes:

Yield: 2 cheese balls

Easy Vegan Cheese Ball

Prep Time 30 minutes

Inactive Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the coating:

1 cup raw walnuts

Instructions

Press your tofu well and use your hands to crumble it into your food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. This will take a few minutes, and you may need to stop to scrape the sides of your blender often. You will know it's ready when the mixture turns from a cottage cheese-type texture to a thick and creamy texture.
Lay out 2 12-inch pieces of plastic wrap or cheesecloth and spoon 1/2 of the cheese mixture onto the center of each. Carefully lift all corners of the wrap or cheesecloth, gather them together, twist a few times, and fasten with a rubber band. Place each wrapped cheeseball in a small bowl and leave in the fridge overnight to set.
Measure and chop your walnuts. Add them to a shallow pie dish or something similar and remove the cheeseballs from the fridge. The cheeseballs will have hardened overnight and will be easier to mold. Before you open the wrap, use your hands to mold them into even spheres. Then, gently remove the wrap and place in the finely chopped walnuts. Use a butter knife to smooth the top / sides and carefully roll the ball gently to coat it on all sides with chopped walnuts.
Serve with crackers, grapes, apples, veggies, bread, and all. the. things. Enjoy!

Notes

Store any leftovers in air-tight containers in your fridge for 5-7 days or freezer for up to a month.

If you're making this recipe in your Vitamix, your tamper will be your best friend.

11 Comments

Karen says:

January 14, 2019 at 2:12 am

Is the coconut oil the solid or liquid one?

1. Brittany Roche says:
  
  February 16, 2019 at 2:39 pm
  
  Hi, Karen! All coconut oil is solid below 76F and melts to a liquid if the temperature is above 76F. You always want to make sure you melt your coconut oil before you measure and use it in recipes (especially something like this). The real key here is to make sure you are using a coconut oil labeled "refined" and NOT one labeled "unrefined" or "virgin". This will ensure you won't get any weird coconut taste in your cheese. Hope this helps! :)
  
2. Kat says:
  
  November 24, 2022 at 6:32 pm
  
  Not the fractionated (liquid) coconut oil. The regular "solid" stuff. :)
  
Heather Bertha Neame says:

May 28, 2019 at 5:21 am

wHAT IS A SUBSTITUTE FOR NUTRITIONAL YEAST WHICH CAN BE HOMEMADE. CAN I USE BREWERS YEAST AND CHANGE IT INTOI NUTRITIONAL YEAST? OR USE CASHEWS?

1. Brittany Roche says:
  
  June 6, 2019 at 6:40 pm
  
  Hi, Heather! If you don't have access to nutritional yeast, I would just leave it out. It will change the flavor slightly but should still be delicious!
  
Margaret Whitlock Clark says:

June 2, 2019 at 2:35 am

I made this for a picnic. Delicious! I used a little liquid smoke in one of the balls to make "smoked gouda" flavoring. I would scale back on the salt a little, or add to taste. Even omnivores really liked it, you can't taste that it's tofu.
★★★★☆

1. Brittany Roche says:
  
  June 6, 2019 at 6:41 pm
  
  Ooooh, what a great idea with the liquid smoke; that sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Margaret! :)
  
MrsJennyK says:

December 18, 2022 at 11:59 pm

I made this for a holiday party we threw. I didn't tell anyone, even my family, that it was vegan. It was a big hit!
★★★★★

1. Terrence Roche says:
  
  January 8, 2023 at 5:06 pm
  
  I always love hearing these stories! LOL! I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing that!
  
Shirley says:

November 8, 2023 at 4:03 pm

Can this be made without there coconut oil?

1. Terrence Roche says:
  
  December 4, 2023 at 4:28 pm
  
  Hi, Shirley. It's not recommended. The oil is not only what helps hold the finished product together firmly, but it also add a necessary texture and mouthfeel to mimic the cheese ball.

Easy Vegan Cheeseball

How to Make a Vegan Cheese Ball

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