This festive Vegan Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball is so easy to make and is the perfect holiday appetizer! Bonus: Can be made ahead of time! Only 4 ingredients.
Get ready to wow your guests with this delicious Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball! No one would guess it’s completely vegan, and the best thing for you is it’s really easy to make with just 4 ingredients.
It’s the perfect snack or appetizer for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other festive get-together. It’s naturally gluten free as long as you serve it with gluten free crackers, and it can be made a few days ahead of time!
If you are new to the whole dairy free thing you might be missing cheese, and I am here to help you out! You might also be interested in making some nacho cheese, queso, mozzarella or parmesan, all vegan. When I went vegan a decade ago, cheese was the thing I missed the most! But now I don’t miss it at all.
Easy Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball
Making this cheese ball couldn’t be easier! (See recipe card below for full amounts and instructions)
- Mix vegan cream cheese with chives, then add cranberries and pecans.
- Line a bowl with a clean tea towel, scoop the cheese into the middle of the towel.
- Gather the corners of the towel, and gently twist the top. (Or use plastic saran wrap)
- Refrigerate for at least an hour, then roll in cranberry-pecan-chive mixture.
Make ahead option
Besides the fact that this cheese ball tastes amazing, another benefit is you can make it ahead of time, freeing you up the day of the holiday/party/get-together to focus on other things.
Make the cheeseball up to 3 days ahead of time. You can either refrigerate the ball of cheese before coating in the cranberry-pecan mixture, or coat it and refrigerate it, covered in plastic wrap until ready to serve.
Want more vegan appetizers?
- My other Vegan Cheese Ball recipe
- The Best and Easiest Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
- 5 Ingredient Vegan Queso Dip
Vegan Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 16 ounces vegan cream cheese (2 containers, I used Miyokos brand)*
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons chopped chives or green onions
- 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, divided
- 1 1/2 cups toasted chopped pecans, divided
Instructions
- If you have raw pecans, toast them in the oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chopped pecans on a baking sheet and and bake for about 7 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Add the vegan cream cheese and 1/4 cup chives/green onions (save 2 tablespoons for coating the ball) to a large bowl. With a hand mixer, beat them together until combined.
- Mix in 1 cup of the cranberries and 1 cup of the toasted pecans, leaving 1/2 cup of each for coating the outside of the ball.
- Place a clean tea towel in a small-medium sized bowl. Using a spatula, scoop all of the cheese into the bowl. Gather the corners of the towel and gently twist the top. You could also simply wrap it in plastic saran wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
- When ready to serve, combine the rest of the cranberries, pecans and chives/green onions on a flat surface such as a cutting board. Unwrap the cheese ball and roll it gently in the mixture to coat.
- Serve with crackers, pita chips or vegetables and enjoy!
Notes
- I used Miyokos brand of vegan cream cheese for this recipe, but another brand would work fine such as Trader Joe's, Tofutti, Kite Hill and more. You could also use my Homemade Vegan Cream Cheese. 1 recipe will be enough.
- Store the cheese ball in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Hi…looks great…can I freeze it?
Hi Cindy. I haven’t tried freezing it, however, I’m sure that would work. Enjoy!
We hosted a huge family gathering. Everyone LOVED this!! It’s a keeper!
Made this last night for a group of family members. It is so good and so flavorful!!!
Hi Dara. I appreciate your wonderful review! I’m glad everyone loved the cheese ball! Thank you!
Made this for a work holiday luncheon and everybody loved it! They all knew it was vegan and one even asked for the recipe. There was a little leftover so took the rest home for my omni husband who also loved it and keeps asking me to make it again. Making it again this weekend for him and the rest of my family. Thank you, so delicious!
You are welcome, Elisha! I’m thrilled the cheese ball was a hit! Thank you for sharing your fabulous review and feedback! I love this recipe anytime, however, it is especially perfect during holiday season!
SO GOOD! I was skeptical, not going to lie. I made it as part of a vegan charcuterie board for a non-vegan get-together and it was a hit! Everyone loved it and we had leftovers (this recipe makes a large ball) which I just put back into the empty cream cheese container and have been snacking on it for a couple of days. This (along with your AMAZING sausage rolls) will be my go-to for all the holiday parties!
I’m thrilled to hear it was a hit! I’m so glad you gave this a try and thank you for your wonderful review. 🙂
Lovely flavors and super easy to make! I did half walnuts and it was delicious, as all of your recipes always are!
Hi again! I sure do appreciate your wonderful feedback on my recipes! I’m so glad you are loving them! I love this divine cheese ball, and am glad you love it as well! Thank you for your great comments and review!
I used Miyokos cream cheese and it turned out incredible!
Hello again Cassie! I am just thrilled to hear that you are enjoying the cheese ball recipe! I love this one for gatherings! You have been a busy baker! Thank you very much for sharing your great feedback!
I’ve made this twice recently with pistachios instead pecans, and it was a huge hit! One day I’ll have to try it as written, but I imagine it would be good with just about any nut. I used tofutti, and other than being a little hard to mix at first, it worked well.
I’m glad you loved the cheese ball, Leah! It sounds delicious with pistachios! Thank you for your fantastic feedback!
This was amazing! I halved the recipe for a small Thanksgiving. I used TJ’s vegan cream cheese, and it was just perfect. The flavors go so well together and no one could believe it was dairy free! Thank you for the recipe.
You are welcome! This is a favorite at my gatherings! I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks for your great feedback!