Name: Easy Vegan Cheese Ball Recipe
Prep time: 8 h 15 min
Total time: 8 h 15 min
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 1 cup almonds (We use Sunfood); 3 cups water (for boiling); 1/2 cup filtered water (for blending); 1/4 cup nutritional yeast; 2 cloves fresh garlic; 2-4 tablespoons lemon juice, as desired; 1- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh herbs, finely chopped (we used 1 tsp each sage, thyme, and rosemary); 1 tablespoon olive oil (or oil of choice); 1 1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt; Black pepper, if desired; Collander; Cheesecloth; Blender; Baking sheet and a silicone mat or parchment paper

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This vegan cheese ball recipe is perfect for all of your vegan charcuterie board needs! Learn how to make this vegan cheese with just 7 simple ingredients and minimal prep work. It’s creamy, spreadable on your favorite crackers, and bursting with flavor. Add this one to your next holiday menu!

Vegan Baked Almond Cheese Ball Party Platter

What is vegan cheese made of?

Vegan cheeses can be made from various ingredients but are always made without animal byproducts, such as casein proteins from dairy milk. Instead, vegan cheeses are innovative and are often made rich and creamy with cashews, almonds, soybeans, potatoes, carrots, and oils. They are sometimes thickened into spreadable, sliceable vegan cheeses with ingredients like tapioca starch, arrowroot powder, flaxseed, and agar agar.

Vegan cheeses get their tang and cultured flavor from acidic ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar or even from being left at room temperature to ferment, like our Vegan Cream Cheese recipe.

If you’re looking for more easy vegan cheese recipes to try using the above ingredients, you’ll love some of our top vegan cheese recipes:

Ingredients You’ll Need

Baked Almond Cheese Ball Ingredients on Wood

Almonds: Many homemade vegan cheese recipes use cashews (including our herbed cashew cheese spread!), but we wanted to switch it up and make a version using almonds. It’s equally as “cheesy” and makes the best, spreadable vegan cheese. We developed this recipe using the raw and organic heirloom almonds from our friend’s at Sunfoods, but any raw almonds will work here.
Nutritional yeast: Adds a cheese-like, umami flavor to the cheese without dairy. Note that nutritional yeast and regular yeast or brewer’s yeast are not the same. Look for nutritional yeast near the spices or baking items at your local health food store.
Garlic: Using fresh garlic will yield the most flavorful vegan cheese recipe, but if you are out, try ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
Lemon juice: Essential for adding acidity and “tanginess” to the cheese, similar to the flavor you’d taste in a cultured vegan cheese. We highly recommend using fresh lemon juice over pre-bottled.
Fresh herbs: Fresh herbs are much more flavorful than dried herbs and will make this baked vegan cheese flavorful and aromatic. Similar to the garlic, if necessary, substitute 1 ¼ teaspoon of dried herbs. You could use ½ teaspoon sage, ½ teaspoon thyme, and ¼ teaspoon rosemary.
Oil: Oil helps make this vegan cheese flavorful, moist and spreadable. We used olive oil, but another neutral oil, such as vegetable oil or refined coconut oil, would work well.
Salt + pepper: Cheese is naturally savory, so a pinch of salt goes a long way in making a flavorful homemade cheese. Pepper is optional but helps balance the savoriness with a bright, spicy pop!

Equipment Needed

How to Make Vegan Cheese

Boil the almonds. In a medium pot, 3 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, add in the raw almonds and boil them for 1 minute. After 1 minute, immediately drain the almonds using a colander or fine mesh strainer.
Rinse and cool the almonds. Rinse the boiled almonds with cold water to cool them down, then transfer them to a small bowl.
Peel the almonds. Using your fingers, gently squeeze the brown skin off of the almonds. Continue this process until you have skinned the almonds. Discard skin. The boiling process should make the skin easy to remove. Watch us make this vegan cheese recipe and see how we remove the skin!
Blend the vegan cheese ingredients until smooth. Place the peeled almonds into a high-speed blender along with the filtered water, nutritional yeast, fresh garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper, if desired. Blend until completely smooth.
Wrap the vegan cheese in cheesecloth. Place a triple layer of cheesecloth over a fine mesh strainer, then place the strainer over a large bowl. Transfer the cheese mixture from the blender into the cheesecloth.
Tie the cheesecloth into a “ball.” Tie the ends of the cheesecloth to form a “ball” of cheese, then tie the cheese “ball” to a large spoon or spatula so that it is hanging on the handle of the spoon. Place into a tall jar or even a clean blender. Again, watch us make our vegan cheese ball to see this process visually!
Strain the vegan cheese for 8-12 hours. Place the tall jar or clean blender with the cheese hanging inside into the refrigerator and allow to strain and set for up to 12 hours.
Bake the cheese. The following day (or at least 8 hours later), remove the cheese from the cheesecloth and gently form the almond cheese into a vegan cheese ball, as needed. Place the cheese on a lined baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes or until a golden “crust” forms.
Cool and serve. Remove the vegan cheese ball from the oven and let it cool. Serve immediately, as desired.

Cheesecloth Substitutes and Recipe Variations

Cheesecloth Substitutes: No cheesecloth? No problem. Practically any other thin, breathable cotton fabric will work well. Try a clean, thin tea towel, a flour sack, a nut milk bag, unused pantyhose or tights, medical gauze, muslin cloth, or even a coffee filter. Get resourceful!
Blender substitution: A food processor can work for making vegan cheese, but keep in mind it may not be as smooth and creamy.
Almond substitutions: Raw cashews will work, or if you are allergic to nuts, try sunflower seeds as a substitution. Both of these alternatives will not require the peeling step that almonds do.
Garlic substitutions: If you have leftover roasted garlic, that would work incredibly well here and make this spreadable vegan cheese so flavorful.

Serving Suggestions

This vegan cheese ball makes an amazing addition to any vegan charcuterie board or vegan holiday party platter and makes a delicious snack or vegan appetizer. Serve alongside your favorite crackers, bread, fruits, vegetables, and trail mix. We personally love celery sticks, carrot sticks, apple slices, trail mix and more. You may love our oven-baked chia veggie crackers,Baked Vegetable Chips, or check out our extensive snacks archives for hundreds of vegan snack recipe ideas!

Should vegan cheese be refrigerated?

Yes! Just like regular dairy cheese, it is best to store this vegan cheese ball recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This cheese will keep for up to 5 days.

We have not tested freezing this vegan cheese ball and are unsure how it would hold up upon defrosting. From experience, freezing could change the texture and make it grainy.

More Vegan Appetizer Recipes You May Enjoy:

Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!