Vegan cheese balls holiday wreath

Here’s a holiday appetizer that looks fancy but is so easy to make.

You make a simple tofu cheese in the food processor, roll it into balls, and finish with your choice of toppings.

It’s great for holiday parties, Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day to serve between presents and dinner.

Who knows? Santa might even prefer it to a platter of peanut butter oatmeal cookies and almond milk!

In this post:

The tofu cheese is on the mild side, which really lets the toppings shine!

It is made with the same base as my tofu ricotta recipe. It’s easy to roll into balls and form into edible ornaments for the wreath.

For the cheese

Super firm tofu: Super firm tofu comes in vacuum-packed packages. Because it’s not stored in water, it doesn’t need to be pressed first. Super handy!

For this recipe, you’ll need a 16-ounce package. I usually buy it at Trader Joe’s. You can also find Wildwood brand at natural grocery stores.

(If you only have access to water-packed tofu, check out the notes section of the recipe card for instructions on how to use it.)

White miso paste: This fermented soybean paste can be found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. It’s often near the tofu.

It adds wonderful umami flavor.

Lemon juice: Lemon juice adds tang to this tofu cheese. I always recommend freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Nutritional yeast flakes: Nutritional yeast flakes are the vegan’s secret to cheesiness.

You can often find this inactive yeast in the health market or near bagged flour. I usually buy mine from Trader Joe’s. It’s about $2.99/package.

(You can see a picture of it in my post on favorite Trader Joe’s vegan products.)

Occasionally you’ll find it in the bulk bins of natural grocery stores as well, which is handy when you don’t want to commit to a full bag.

Tahini: The cheese gets nutty richness from tahini. Tahini is like peanut butter but made with sesame seeds.

Look for it with other nut butters at the grocery store or near the Mediterranean ingredients.

For the toppings

• Roasted pistachios
• Fresh dill
• Chives
• Dried cranberries
• Fresh rosemary

Here’s how to make the recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Put the following into a food processor:

• Super firm tofu
• White miso paste
• Nutritional yeast flakes
• Lemon juice
• Tahini
• Salt

Process at a low speed until smooth, stopping occasionally to stir & scrape down the sides.

Once it is evenly incorporated, use your hands to scoop out handfuls of tofu cheese and roll them into balls.

Feel free to vary the sizes. It adds interest to the wreath. You can go as small as marble or as big as a tangerine.

Next, lay out your chopped toppings on separate plates.

Here are the toppings I used:

• Pistachios – chopped in the food processor until crumbly like pebbles
• Chopped fresh dill
• Minced chives
• Dried cranberries

Roll each ball in one of the toppings, varying them as you go. (One topping per cheese ball.)

Once finished, put the vegan cheese balls onto a round platter or serving tray that’s been lined in a circle with fresh rosemary and dill.

You can make this wreath your own by varying the cheese ball toppings.

Here are some more topping ideas:

• Nuts & seeds: Crushed peanuts, almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or your favorite trail mix
• Fresh or dried fruits/vegetables: Raisins, dried blueberries, sun-dried tomatoes, dried currants, or pomegranate seeds
• Fresh herbs: Rosemary, oregano, basil, or cilantro
• Get extra cheesy or meaty: Chopped & browned seitan bacon and/or grated vegan cheese

Absolutely!

The vegan cheese balls are already gluten free and oil free. So the key is making sure you use gluten free and oil free toppings & crackers.

Yes!

If you’d prefer a soy free cheese, use my almond cheese balls recipe instead.

The almond cheese is made with a base of blanched almonds. It has a lovely tangy flavor from olive brine, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil.

Just skip the part of the recipe where the balls are breaded & fried. Instead, roll them into various sizes & finish them in your choice of toppings.

Keep in mind that while tofu cheese can be used right away, the almond-based cheese needs time to firm in the refrigerator before rolling into balls. Plan accordingly.

Because of the garlic in the almond cheese balls, I’d recommend sticking with savory toppings like chives, dill, and pistachios. Sweet fruit flavors won’t pair as nicely.

This mildly flavored cheese goes well with any number of charcuterie-style accoutrement.

Serve it with any of the following:

• Crackers
• Toasted crostini
• Toasted bagels
• Sliced vegetables
• Pickles
• Olives
• Pear or apple slices
• Vegan deli slices
• Candied pecans

If you have more tofu cheese than you need for the wreath, use a few balls to build a vegan snowman cheese ball. It works perfectly alongside the wreath for a festive holiday appetizer spread.

Leftover tofu cheese is also delicious smeared onto bagel sandwiches or used in lasagna.

Yes!

This is a great appetizer to make ahead of time. It keeps well in the refrigerator in a covered container for about 4 days.

I recommend storing like flavors together. So keep all of the dill-covered cheese in one container, pistachio-covered in another, and so on.

The nuts may soften a little and lose some of their crunch over time. But the flavor is still nice.

The dried fruit also tends to soften a bit over time because of the moisture in the cheese.

📖 Recipe

Vegan cheese balls holiday wreath

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 2 votes

Here's a fun holiday appetizer for parties and Christmas gatherings! This festive wreath is topped with tofu cheeseballs. They're rolled in toppings like pistachios, dill, chives, or cranberries. Serve with crackers.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: christmas food idea, holiday party food, holiday recipe

Ingredients

For tofu cheese

• ▢ 16 ounces super firm tofu in vacuum packaging
• ▢ 4 teaspoons white miso paste
• ▢ ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons tahini
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

For the toppings and wreath

• ▢ ¼ to ½ cup roasted pistachios broken down until crumbly in food processor or finely chopped
• ▢ ¼ to ½ cup fresh dill chopped, plus more for decorating wreath
• ▢ ¼ to ½ cup chives chopped
• ▢ ¼ to ½ cup dried cranberries
• ▢ .75 ounces fresh rosemary sprigs

Instructions

To make the tofu cheese

• ▢
  Use your hands to crumble super firm tofu into food processor in chunks. Then add white miso paste, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice, tahini, and salt.
• ▢
  Process at a low speed until everything is evenly incorporated. Stop a couple times to scrape down the sides, so that all of the ingredients get mixed together. Keep blending until totally smooth. (With my food processor, I know it's ready once it forms into a ball inside of the machine.)

To make the cheese balls and wreath

• ▢
  Now it's time to form the cheese balls. Use your hands to scoop out handfuls of tofu cheese. Roll them into balls. Vary the sizes as you go. They can be as small as a marble, as large as a tangerine, and anything in between.
• ▢
  Put the toppings of pistachios, dill, chives, and cranberries on their own separate plates. Roll the cheese balls in the separate toppings. (Just one topping per ball.)
• ▢
  On a circular serving tray or platter, place fresh rosemary sprigs and dill around the outer edges to form a wreath. Scatter the cheese balls across the wreath, as if they were ornaments. Serve with crackers.

Notes

You can find vacuum packed super firm tofu at Trader Joe’s, or in natural grocery stores sold by Wildwood. 

If you only have water-packed tofu, you’ll need to press it first. You’ll likely need about a package and a half of the water-packed variety, because the water-packed kind comes in smaller packages. (Water packed tofu is generally 14 ounces in comparison to 16 ounces of super firm.) And some of the weight is water, which will be removed with draining and pressing. 

I don’t recommend silken tofu for this recipe. It’s soft and won’t give you the bulk you need for forming the snowman.

If you’d prefer a soy-free option for the cheese balls, use my almond cheese balls recipe instead. Keep in mind that recipe needs to be refrigerated before forming into balls, and plan accordingly. (Just skip the part of that recipe where the balls are breaded and fried.) 

To keep the cheese balls gluten free and oil free, use gluten free & oil free toppings and crackers.

You can use either salted or unsalted pistachios, but salted is my preference.

When breaking down the pistachios, I like to use a clean food processor, and pulse it several times until the pistachios have the texture of pebbles. If you don’t have a food processor, chopping them finely with a knife works too.

These cheese balls can be made ahead of time. They will last about 4 days in the refrigerator. The pistachios and dried cranberries will soften a little over time, because of the moisture in the cheese.

I recommend storing the cheese balls by the type of topping in their own sealed containers in the refrigerator, so that they don’t transfer flavors. 

There are endless options for toppings. See the above blog post for more ideas.

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Nutrition

Calories: 99kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 295mg | Potassium: 194mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 189IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg