This vegan cheese ball is made with creamy cashew cheese flavored with maple syrup and Dijon mustard, rolled up and covered with a crunchy pecan crust.
I’ve wanted to do a vegan cheese ball (cheez ball?) post for a while. I thought it would be fun, as there’s lots you can do with cashew cheese. I was also sure I could create something at least as tasty as any dairy cheese ball.
And well, I’m not going to lie, I just wanted to create a post with “cheese ball” in the title. I told my husband this and his response was “If I ate nothing but your cooking, you’d already have one of those in your life.” The fact that he would even say such a thing confirms the statement’s accuracy.
Anyhow, I when it comes to spreadable cashew cheeses, I’ve gotten to the point where I simply open up the refrigerator and scan the door shelves for flavor inspiration. Last time I did this I spotted maple syrup and Dijon mustard. Perfect for a holiday vegan cheese ball.
Maple and Dijon are plenty festive if you ask me. For the nut crust, which is a cheese ball essential, I went with pecans for their mild sweetness, which complimented my cheesy flavors perfectly.
Maple Dijon Vegan Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, rinsed and drained
- 3 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Place the cashews mustard, nutritioal yeast, coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Transfer the mixture to a sheet of plastic wrap. Gently wrap plastic around mixture and press it into a ball shape. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Gently peel away plastic wrap and transfer the ball to a plate. Press pecan pieces into the surface, reshaping gently as needed.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with crackers, bread or veggies.
This cheese ball looks fabulous. Such great flavours. I’m hosting a wine and appetizer Christmas party this weekend and I’m definitely going to make this cheese ball to put out. Thanks for the awesome recipe! :)
What would you advise besides coconut oil? I am allergic and I hate the taste.
You could omit the oil – the texture just won’t be quite as smooth. The other option is to sub a neutral flavored vegetable oil like grape seed, though the end product will be a bit softer, since the coconut oil helps it firm up a bit when chilled. If it’s too soft to roll you could always just put it into a dish and serve it as a spreadable cheese. Enjoy!
Or maybe a shortening like Trex?
I’ve never worked with Trex, but I think most shortenings would work. :)
boy I am going to make this for Thanksgiving, what kind of crackers are you using?
Those are Trader Joe’s Golden Rounds, which is pretty much their version of Ritz. :) I *think* Ritz are vegan too, so you could probably use them too. I hope you enjoy this!
So I made this last night in preparation for today, Thanksgiving. 1) I have never made a cheeseball and 2) I followed your instructions and ingredients exactly. Let me say that it is very difficult not to eat the entire thing already because the flavors go more amazing together than I imagined! And it’s vegan!! I think my guests will be pleasantly surprised. Happy holidays!
Yay!! I’m so glad you like it! I hope it was a hit! :)
Hi Alissa:) this sounds and looks amazing, def want to give it a try! is the yeast a must? i am allergic to it.
thx x
Hi Najomi! The yeast adds cheesy flavor, so if you leave it out you might need to include something else to make up for it. I’m not sure what would work though – maybe give it a taste test and if you think it would work try adding some garlic powder, onion powder, or even a squeeze of lemon juice. Please let me know how it works out if you give it a try!
I suspect pine nuts might make an alternative to nutritional yeast. Definitely much more expensive, and I wouldn’t know how much to use, but they do have a cheesy flavor.
Interesting! I’ll have to give that a try! Thanks for the tip!
Hi Alissa. sorry for the late reply. i tried your recipe without the yeast and it was soo good! :) i didn’t add anything else. all my non-vegan friends demolished it and wanted to know what cheese it was LOL
That’s awesome!! I’m so glad it was a hit!
you could try white miso paste for the cheesiness…..
OMG! This stuff is addictive!!! You hit it out of the park with this one Alissa! I can’t imagine my non-vegan friends turning their nose up at this. :) Thanks once again!
Yay!! I’m glad you like it!! Thanks Kelly!
How far in advanced can this be made? Would 2-3 days be too early?
Thanks!
2 to 3 days should be fine if you store it in the fridge. If you want to keep it around longer I’d recommend freezing it. :)
Hi there! This looks amazing and I want to make it for Christmas! I am having a hard time finding whole grain Dijon. I can find regular Dijon and stone ground mustard, but not sure which to use…what brand and variety did you use? Thank you! :)
I think either would be fine, but I’d go for the regular Dijon – the flavor goes really nicely in this. Enjoy!!
Hello from the Netherlands. I made the cheese yesterday and it is delicious.
Genevieve
I’m glad you think so! Thanks Genevieve!
I want to make this today but don’t have raw cashews- will roasted work?
Kate
I don’t recommend using roasted – they have a much stronger flavor than raw and I’d be afraid your cheeseball would turn out tasting like nuts instead of cheese.
I made this recipe to take as a hostess gift when I first started plant based- and NO ONE knew it wasn’t CHEESE .
Of course had to warn people about the Nuts in case of allergies.
This is my Go To contribution to dinner parties we attend.
Sooooooooooooooo good – thank you so much.
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!
This is the first recipe I’ve tried from your site, and it is delicious! I scaled the recipe to use only 1 C. of cashews (I am doing several different cheese balls) for Thanksgiving and added 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary to the cashews before blending. The flavor is amazing — thank you!
Oh, rosemary sounds like a delicious addition! I’m so glad you enjoyed this! Thanks so much Alicia!
This was really yummy. I was surprised how much I liked it. It is much better once it is room temperature rather than right out of the fridge
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks Bridgette!
I made this, my first vegan cheese ball, yesterday and it was awesome! It was a big hit at the party I brought it to, everyone loved the dijon flavor. I don’t think people would know it’s vegan if you didn’t tell them – and I never say that about vegan cheeses! I don’t have a food processor but I did manage with a blender, I just soaked my cashews for 24 hours. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it! And good to know it works with a blender – I get questions about that from time to time.
Sometimes I pass on recipes that don’t have a blender option, so I wanted to make sure nobody missed out on this just ’cause they don’t have a food processor. I’m so glad I decided to try this one! 🙂
Very very tasty and very very easy!! Took this to a vegan club dinner party and it was a big hit!
Found the flavor improved even more as it aged. Do you think one can freeze this (before the pecans)?
I can see the possibilities here with different flavorings. Thanks!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It freezes very well! I usually freeze mine with the pecans and all, but you can certainly add them after it thaws if you prefer.
I tried this recipe and I think I may have done something wrong. Is it possible to over process? I wanted the texture to be smooth so I processed the ingredients until I was satisfied with the texture. I followed the recipe exactly but the consistency is very soft. Is this normal? I made the mistake of rolling the cheese onto pecans which didn’t coat the outside very well. I should have placed them on like the recipe states. I added smoked paprika to the top with pecans as well and put it back in the fridge. I hope it hardens up somewhat, otherwise I guess it will be a tasty soft dip that looks like a train wreck. LOL
Is it still soft after chilling? If so it sounds like you might have mismeasured something. Or did you substitute a different type of oil for the coconut? It needs to be coconut in order to firm up. Here’s a video from my facebook page that will hopefully give you an idea of the consistency. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1861014630660940 I hope it works out!
I want to make this but I don’t eat cashews! What do you think could be an appropriate substitute? Hulled almonds , sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds?? Thanks :)
Sunflower seeds might work if they’re raw – I haven’t experimented much with them, but readers tell me they work as a cashew sub. Macadamia nuts would also probably work if they’re available. Enjoy!
Another keeper! Your recipes are RELIABLY yummy! Great NYE cheeseball!
Yay! Glad you like it! Happy New Year!