Can you believe I have never actually had a cheese ball until I made my first vegan cheese ball just the other day? True story.
So let's see, what are the cheese ball requirements. Smooth and creamy, check. Flavourful and addictive, check. Festive colours, check. Easy to make (and can be made ahead of time), check. Want to devour the whole thing immediately, double check. Welcome Cranberry & Thyme Vegan Cheese Ball, you are my new favourite addition to the appetizer table.
So it's true, I am new to the world of cheese balls. I experimented with one for my family Christmas the other day, and while it turned out pretty darn tasty, it somehow seemed to absorb the colour of the pecans I used and turned kind of a pâté brown. Yuck.
Then when I went to sample some, a family member warned me not to eat it because it was meat. Haha! Regardless of the funny colour, the whole thing was devoured, and considering there are only 3 vegans in my family of 44 people this year, that means a lot of omnis were digging it too (and thinking it was meat apparently).
So I knew I had something, I just had to improve it. A little experimenting in the kitchen, skip the pecans and welcome to this ridiculously good cheese ball love. The colour is a creamy soft yellow with little specks of green thyme throughout, and the cranberries on the outside make it super pretty. No yucky brown going on here.
The flavour took several steps up too. The combo of the cashews and coconut oil make it so smooth and creamy, it's kind of ridiculous, and lemon, miso paste, and nutritional yeast add a gorgeous zing of flavour. Agh! I want it now. I am just so totally into it, and really had to fight myself from polishing off this entire ball mid photoshoot.
So let's get making this vegan cranberry & thyme cheese ball! You can either boil the cashews for 10 minutes or soak them for about 4 hours until they are nice and tender. Then just drain the cashews and add to a food processor along with the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, coconut oil, white miso paste, garlic, and salt.
Blend until very smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Now add the thyme leaves and blend to combine. Cheese done. See, so easy peasy.
Line a small bowl with plastic wrap, and scoop the cheese mixture into the bowl. Gather up the sides of the plastic wrap and twist to form a ball. Let the cheese ball firm up in the freezer for about an hour, or for a couple of hours in the fridge.
Then it will look something like this. The magic of coconut oil, ooooh ahhhh.
Remove the now firm cheese ball from the plastic wrap, and press the cranberries onto the outside of the ball. You can try to do this with handfuls of cranberries, but I found it easiest to just take my time and press in one cranberry at a time. It really didn't take that long.
Tah dah! If your ball is kind of a funny shape, you can lightly pat it into a rounded shape. Serve it right away, or just store it covered in the fridge until you are ready to serve. You can definitely make this ahead of time. Garnish with thyme sprigs and serve with crackers.
Cranberry & Thyme Vegan Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons white miso paste
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- You can either boil or soak the cashews. To boil the cashews: add the cashews to a small pot, cover with water, and boil for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. To soak the cashews: add the cashews to a bowl, and cover with water. Let soak for 4 hours or longer until tender.
- Drain the cashews and add to a food processor along with the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, coconut oil, white miso paste, garlic, and salt. Blend until very smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Add the thyme leaves to the food processor and blend to combine.
- Line a small bowl with plastic wrap, and scoop the cheese mixture into the bowl. Gather up the sides of the plastic wrap and twist to form a ball. Let the cheese ball firm up in the freezer for about an hour, or for a couple of hours in the fridge.
- Remove the now firm cheese ball from the plastic wrap, and press the cranberries onto the outside of the ball. You can also lightly press the ball to get a rounder shape if desired. You can serve it right away, or keep the cheese ball covered in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Garnish with thyme sprigs and serve with crackers.
Nutrition
Bon Appetegan!
Sam.
J.P. says
Hi Sam,
It's the first time I feel compelled to write a comment on a food blog. At last, I've finally found a vegan cheese I like! I just had some tonight on crackers and with a glass of wine - perfect. Your recipes in general are genius (I've made many)! I loooove your cottage cheese and make it regularly and your mac n cheese powder is also amazing, oh, oh, and your tofu bites - oh those tofu bites! Can't stop eating them if I make some (maybe I need to go write a review with those recipes too?). Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and your delicious recipes.
From a fellow Canadian living in the UK.
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you so very much, J.P.! So flattered you took the time to leave your first ever comment on a food blog!! Thrilled you are enjoying my recipes so much 🙂
Stacy Sharp says
Sam, This looks soooo good. We have cashew allergies. Is there something else we can use as substitute? Sometimes white beans or sunflower seeds have worked but I am curious about your ideas. Thanks.
Sam Turnbull says
Blanched almonds or macadamia nuts should work well. 🙂
Stacy says
Thank you for answering so quickly. I’ll try it this weekend.
Tina says
Sam, have you tried making this without the miso paste? Or is there a substitute you might recommend?
Sam Turnbull says
Miso paste is key for an aged umami cheese taste so I would recommend it. Enjoy!
Jo says
Hi Sam
Just letting you know that I tried this with tahini instead of miso paste (as that's what I had available at the time). Definitely need to up the fresh herb content if you go this route, but didn't affect the texture so will be making it again 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing this with us x
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Andi says
Dear Sam, I just discovered your site and I'm already hooked. I heard that coconut oil has a lot of saturated fat, more than butter and crisco, and should be avoided if you have high cholesterol (like I do). Any recommendations for substitute? canola oil maybe or safflower?
Sam Turnbull says
Welcome, and thank you so much, Andi! Unfortunately, this cheese ball relies on the unique properties that coconut oil has, being solid at room temperature, to hold the cheese together. So there isn't really a substitute here, and I would recommend trying a different recipe instead. You can check out all of my recipes that are completely oil-free here.
Erica says
I made this recipe yesterday to serve some friends who were coming over, and it was great! I have tried making cashew cheeses before, and they usually came out like a dip rather than a cheese ball. This one was easy to make and definitely held its form. Everyone loved it, and I was the only vegan in the bunch! Thanks for the great recipe! I look forward to trying more of your recipes in the future! ☺️
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!! So happy you and everyone else loved it so much, Erica 🙂
Jordi says
This sounds amazing!!! Definitely going to try this. I may try using chives instead of thyme, only because I have a chive obsession. Any suggestions on what would be good for the exterior to compliment chives?
Sam Turnbull says
You could try almond slices. 😉
AGEN SBOBET Terbesar says
Hey there! I'm at work browsing your blog from my new
iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog
and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the superb work!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww wonderful, So happy you're enjoying it 🙂
Jen Simas says
THIS RECIPE IS GOOOOOOOOOOOLD!!!!! What a hit! I’ll have to make variations of this every week I think DELICIOUS!! Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
Hahahaha! Love it! Can't get a better review than that! Thank you so much, Jen. 🙂
Kate says
This one was one of my starter dishes yesterday and my family didnt even realise until I told them that it was vegan <3 I didn't have white miso so used genmai miso and it was delicious, just a darker colour then yours. I also made your vegan ricotta to go with your olive and sundried tomato tapenade and my family loved it. I'll definitely use this recipe again in future, I've already had friends who spotted it on my IG asking me to make it for them. I hope you have a great Christmas 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Oh awesome!! I served it too and it was a hit with my fam as well. Thrilled you loved it, Kate 🙂
Beth says
Mixing this up Christmas Eve. We are a bit of an omni / vegetarian family...with vegan leanings. I am sure everyone will enjoy this. The leavings in the food processor are delicious. 🙂 Can't wait to dress it up with cranberries. 4 stars for prep. Will see about flavour with the family, Christmas Day.
Sam Turnbull says
I hope you and everyone loved it Beth 🙂
Wanda says
Amazing. I see from all the comments that this recipe was posted years ago, but I'm a new baby vegan within the last couple months and I tried it for the first time tonight. It almost didn't make it into the bowl to get cold because I couldn't quit sampling as I transferred it from the food processor. Luckily the rest of the family will get a small amount tomorrow when I serve it. Yum. And beautiful. Thank you, Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! I see you are enjoying many of my recipes, Wanda. Amazing! Congrats on your new veganism and welcome to my blog 🙂
Wanda says
Right you are, Sam! It seems like every day I am eager to try a new recipe. If I could just retire from my job I could play all day in the kitchen. Thank you so much for all your efforts and your delicious contribution to our lives. Your new cookbook is sitting under the tree right now - a present to myself. :)) Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Sam Turnbull says
Oooh lovely! Merry Christmas! 🙂
Maria says
I am a professional chef and I made this at a large event for 700 people, then brought some to my mom who has many allergies. Everyone, meat lovers and vegans alike LOVED this. The miso is hat key ingredient to make it have an "aged" taste like cheese. Spot on recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!! Thrilled you love it so much, Maria. It's one of my favourites too 🙂
Vicky says
Can you use double layered cheese cloth instead of plastic wrap and refrigerate it?
Sam Turnbull says
You could try but the cheese might be a bit too liquid before it sets so it might seep through and be difficult to remove.
Matt says
This looks great, but I have a brother who is allergic to coconut. What, if anything, could I substitute in its place?
Kenia says
Coconut oil is just to make it firm. Use agar agar instead! 🙂
Matt says
Thanks! I’ll try that and see what happens, but it sounds like it wouldn’t quite work here. ♂️
Sam Turnbull says
Unfortunately no, the coconut oil is key in this recipe as it has the unique quality of being firm at room temperature which is what helps this cheese hold together.
Matt says
Thank you! I’m bummed, but I can make it for other occasions where my brother isn’t around. I want everyone to be able to enjoy what I make this weekend.
Amy says
Hello! Just wondering if Yellow Miso paste can be substituted for the White Miso paste and how the flavor would compare. Thanks so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Amy. Yes, it can. Yellow miso paste will change the colour of the cheese, and it also has a bit more of an earthy taste. I am sure it would still be yummy tho. Enjoy!
Joanne Love says
I made this yesterday. It's my first attempt at making a vegan cheese ball. It worked and it's beautiful.
Thank you 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Thrilled you loved it so much, Joanne 😀
Vesna says
I made this for Thanksgiving. My very first nut-cheese! I always thought that making vegan cheese would be messy, difficult, and complicated, but the truth is quite the opposite! I feel that a whole new world has opened up for me. I was pleased to see that people liked this cheese a lot. I thought it was good too and I will make it again - the only thing that bothered me a bit was the mild coconut taste, but other that that it was delish. And it looked very artisanal 😉
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! So happy you enjoyed it. To avoid any coconut flavour make sure you use a refined coconut oil which doesn't taste of coconut 🙂
Stephanie Knowles says
I made this about a month ago and loved it. It's a beautiful centrepiece for a snack table, I almost didn't want to eat it because it was so pretty! I'm glad I got over that though because it tastes amazing! So creamy and savoury! We quickly realised though that it's pretty filling and there was no way I was going to get through it in a few days so I froze half. Just had the rest of it today and it was exactly as delicious as it was when I first made it. So I can confirm it freezes well for a month at least, cranberries and all. Just thaw at room temp or even in the fridge, though that takes longer and who wants to wait?! Thanks for this wonderful recipe Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy you enjoyed it so much, Stephaine. Great to know that it freezes well too! 🙂
Maureen Cram says
Thanks for the info on freezing. I have someone who wants me to make this for her for Christmas so I wanted to freeze it for her. We don't have cheese balls in South Africa so this will be an interesting centrepiece for her!
Lizzie Violet says
I made this recipe as part of an all Vegan hot appetizer feast for my fella's birthday and it was a HUGE hit. Because we had a large crowd coming, I doubled the recipe and it was gobbled up. I love that is can be customized. I didn't have fresh thyme but did have chives. Next time, I may coat it with nuts or a different dried fruit. I also love that it can be used as cream cheese. So amazing! Thank you for always being an inspiration.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! So happy you and everyone else loved it! Thanks for the lovely comment, Lizzie. -Comment of the day! 🙂
Jami McWade says
Made this up last night. It was so easy and tastes great. Being the only vegan in my family for just over a year now and I can't wait to share this with my carnivorous family today!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! I hope everyone loves it 🙂
Jami McWade says
Everyone loved it. Thanks again Sam.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! You're most welcome 🙂