This Vegan Cheese Ball with Rosemary and Cranberries is the star of the appetizer table. Spread it on crackers, celery or rounds of sourdough bread.
I started making this years ago when I first started with a vegan diet and really missed cheese. It was so creamy and cheesy and satisfying and it was something that I could take to parties and know that I would have something to eat among all the party foods that I no longer wanted to eat.
The original recipe (I don’t remember where I found it or I’d give a shout out to whoever developed it) had oil in it, so when I stopped using oil I knew I wanted to try to make it work without that unhealthy oil. With some adjustments, it worked beautifully.
***Edited 12/30/19…Today I heard from the blogger (Melissa from The Stingy Vegan) that the original recipe came from. When I made the original post I had only had a handwritten recipe given to me a year or so ago by someone with no credit to the author. I have altered the recipe by removing the oil and increasing the nutritional yeast. Here is a link for the original recipe. https://thestingyvegan.com/cranberry-rosemary-vegan-cheese-ball/
Check out her blog for great recipes on a budget!
***Keep in mind that this is still a high-fat food and shouldn’t be a regular part of your diet if you are working on losing weight or dealing with diseases like diabetes or heart disease.***
I recommend making this a day ahead to give it time to get firm in the refrigerator. It can be made the same day and firmed in the freezer for a shorter time though.
The cashews should be soaked for several hours (I recommend overnight) or soaked in very hot water for a couple of hours.
I buy a 5 lb bag of these cashew pieces and keep them in the refrigerator. If you buy through my link, I will receive a few cents at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I use myself.
After soaking and draining the cashews, add them to a high powered blender. I use a Vitamix. Add all the other ingredients except the rosemary, cranberries, and walnuts.
Blend on low and use the tamper to push the ingredients into the blades. You’ll need to stop often and scrape down the sides of the blender. Keep blending, increasing the speed to high. Continue to stop and scrape and restart. It will take some time to get everything blended down to a smooth paste.
Once you have a smooth paste, add in the rosemary and cranberries and pulse a few times to mix it all together.
Line a small bowl with plastic wrap (I wish I could find something else to use, but so far nothing else has worked as well).
My bowl is about 2.5″ deep and 5″ wide.
Scoop the contents of the blender into the lined bowl. I use a silicone “spoonula” to get it all out of the blender. Mound it up.
Pull the plastic wrap up and over the top as smoothly as possible and twist it to seal. Isn’t he cute?
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight or if you are in a hurry, you can put it in the freezer for about 2 hours.
Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan until they are aromatic. Allow them to cool completely before chopping.
Chop the walnuts (or pistachios) in a food processor by pulsing. Put the chopped nuts in a shallow, wide bowl.
Remove the ball from the refrigerator and carefully peel the plastic wrap down. Keep the plastic wrap on the bottom and place it in your palm and turn it upside down into the shallow bowl filled with the chopped walnuts. Peel the plastic wrap off and gently roll the ball in the nuts to cover.
Place it on a tray surrounded by crackers, bread rounds and/or celery. Try not to eat the entire thing all by yourself!
- 2 cups raw cashews (soaked overnight or soaked in hot water for a couple hours)
- 1/3-1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp white miso paste
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (about 1-3 tsp minced)
- 1/2 tsp salt optional
- 1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely minced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts or pistachios, finely chopped Use any nut or seed of your choice
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Soak cashews, either overnight in the refrigerator or in hot water for at least an hour.
Drain and add to a high powered blender.
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Add nutritional yeast, lemon juice, miso, garlic, and salt (if using). Start blender on low and use the tamper to push the ingredients into the blades.
Stop and scrape down the sides of the blender and push everything into the blade area. Blend and stop and scrape as necessary.
Continue to blend, increasing the speed until you have a very smooth mixture. (See pictures in my blog post)
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Add chopped rosemary and cranberries. Pulse a few times to incorporate the rosemary and cranberries.
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Line a small bowl (approximately 2"-3" deep and 4"-5" wide) with plastic wrap, using enough to drape over the edges and wrap up and over the cheese ball when done.
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Scrape all the cheese out of the blender and spoon into the lined bowl. (See pictures in my blog post)
Smooth the top of the mounded cheese and wrap the plastic wrap up and twist it at the top.
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Place in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) or place in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up.
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While cheese firms, toast the walnuts (or whatever nuts/seeds you are using) in a dry frying pan over medium/high heat. You'll know they're done when the start to smell nutty and begin to dry out a bit.
Cool and chop finely, either with a knife or in a small food processor. I like to get them chopped to about the size of a grain of rice.
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Carefully unwrap the cheese ball and drop into a shallow bowl full of the chopped nuts. Using your hands, gently roll until all surface is covered in chopped nuts. If it's really sticky, use the plastic wrap on your hand to gently shape into a nice ball.
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Place on a platter and surround it with crackers. Celery is another tasty way to serve this.
You saw the recipe on my blog The Stingy Vegan. I would appreciate accreditation and a link back to my origional recipe here, thanks : https://thestingyvegan.com/cranberry-rosemary-vegan-cheese-ball/
Thank you! I had only had a handwritten recipe given to me by someone else and didn’t know where that person had found the original recipe. I’ve added your link and credit to my recipe post. I appreciate your reaching out and letting me know that the original is yours.