Smoky Jalapeño Ranch Vegan Cheese Ball
Serves 6
10 mins prep
0 mins cook
240 mins rest overnight or for at least
10 mins total
A flavor bomb of an appetizer to blow the minds of cheese lovers everywhere. This easy smoky jalapeño ranch vegan cheese ball is the perfect party addition!
Coating (optional):
Christmas tree décor (optional):
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You can use the jalapeno fresh or sautéed. If sauteeing it, just use a touch of broth or oil to sauté until it softens and begins to get brown on the edges, but is still nice and green.
Grind the cashews in a food processor until you get a fine powder. You are grinding them dry, not soaked.
Add the vinegar, lemon, salt, liquid smoke, garlic powder, onion powder and mustard powder and blend until you get a smooth paste, scraping the sides as you go.
Add the parsley, minced onion, dill, pepper and jalapeños and pulse to incorporate. The reason you want to add them now is so they don’t get fully blended into the mixture.
Now scrape out the mixture and place it in cheese cloth, a tea towel or just any piece of cloth. Wrap it up into a ball and rubberband it. If you are making a tree, then wrap it into a more cone shape, twist the top and secure there. See the post for photos.
Put it in a mesh strainer and then put that over a bowl (see photo in the post on this too). Place it in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours, but overnight is best. This will help draw out the small amount of moisture that is in the cheese, firming it up a bit. You don’t have to use a strainer but that helps keep it’s shape.
Now, if you simply can’t wait and must eat this now, or just don’t want to deal with cloth, then you can definitely eat this as more of a spread.
Once set, coat with topping of choice, I used crushed crackers, breadcrumbs and chopped parsley and dill.
If making a tree, then roll it in finely chopped herbs of choice. Set it upright on a plate. Then decorate with whatever you want. Stick in slivered almonds and/or skinny pretzels for branches. Use chopped veggies or fruit for the ornaments. And sprinkle with breadcrumbs at the end for a snowy effect. See the photo in the post on how I did mine!
Serve with crackers and veggies!
The cheese ball will soften the longer it is out of the fridge, but the flavor remains great!
