Vegan Cheese Ball With Beer-Soaked Cashews

A vegan cheese ball coated in nuts and tempeh bacon.

Vegan Cheese Ball With Beer-Soaked Cashews

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

soak and chill time 3

Total Time 3 50

Servings:10 servings

Author: Lori Rasmussen, My Quiet Kitchen

This vegan cheese ball is tangy, rich, and creamy, and coated in an irresistible blend of smoky tempeh and nuts. But the best part is the secret ingredient that gives it an authentic, fermented flavor, making this the perfect vegan cheese ball for parties and gatherings year-round!

Ingredients
US Customary | Metric

For the Cheese Ball:

2 cups raw cashews
12 ounces India Pale Ale or your favorite hoppy craft beer
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar plus 1 teaspoon, divided
¾–1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon white miso
1 tablespoon refined coconut oil, optional - The consistency will be softer without it

Coating:

½ package Lightlife smoky maple tempeh, optional - yields about ⅓ cup chopped
⅓ cup raw or lightly toasted walnuts, chopped - if omitting tempeh, double the amount of walnuts

Serving suggestions:

crackers & pretzels
sliced apple and pear - Toss with lemon juice to prevent browning
raw veggies, such as carrots, celery, and bell peppers

Instructions

Pulse cashews in food processor three or four times into a rough chop. Transfer cashews to a small bowl and cover with approximately 10 ounces of beer. Refrigerate remaining beer. Let soak 2 hours.
Drain cashews well. Add to a food processor along with the nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon vinegar, ¾ teaspoon salt, smoked paprika, miso, oil, and 1 tablespoon of the reserved beer. Process until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. This may take a few minutes. Taste the cheese and add more salt and vinegar if desired, but keep in mind the tempeh bacon will add some saltiness.
Line a small bowl with a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap around the cheese ball. Scoop cheese into the bowl and let cool, unwrapped, in the freezer for 10 minutes. Once cool, wrap completely and use your hands to form it into a smooth ball. Freeze for an additional 30 to 40 minutes.
While the cheese cools, if using tempeh bacon for the coating, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut the tempeh strips into thirds and place in a single layer on a parchment- or silpat-lined pan. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping at the halfway point. Let cool then chop into bits.
Just before serving add the coating ingredients to a medium-sized bowl. Remove the cheese ball from the plastic wrap and roll in the coating until fully covered. Serve with your favorite crackers, chips, fruits, and veggies. Store leftover cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Notes

The cheese tastes great next day, which makes it a perfect make-ahead appetizer for a party or holiday meal. Store it in the refrigerator, without the coating, wrapped in plastic, for up to 2 days before coating and serving.

If you don't want to use tempeh bacon in the coating, plain chopped walnuts or sliced almonds also work well.

Due to the higher moisture content of this cheese, a pretzel coating works only if the cheese ball will be consumed immediately. Otherwise, the pretzels get soggy after 1 to 2 hours.

Nutrition