My Gluten-Free Vegan Raw No-Bake Broccoli Balls are an easy and healthy recipe to make with only 9 clean, real food ingredients. They're the perfect plant-based snack ready in about 10 minutes that everyone will enjoy!
Real Vegan Method™ Recipe
This recipe is part of the Real Vegan Method™...a simple step-by-step way to move beyond processed vegan foods and become a confident Real Food Vegan.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Table of Contents
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Can Be Made with or Without a Dehydrator
- Versatile Plant-Based Snack
- Made With Only 9 Clean, Real Food Ingredients
Can Be Made with or Without a Dehydrator
The great thing about this recipe is you can make them two different ways:
- You can make them and roll them into bite-size balls, and because they are raw, enjoy them immediately. They have a softer and moister texture, but are delicious!
- You can put them in a dehydrator if you prefer a little crispier texture.
Versatile Plant-Based Snack
This raw food recipe for no-bake broccoli balls is so easy to make and it's also a great way to let your children help - especially making the balls!
While they would make a great side dish for a family meal, appetizer for a party or a super healthy snack, there are other ways you can enjoy the recipe.
For example, add the mixture to a piece of romaine lettuce and make a wrap, sprinkle the mixture over a salad, or use it as a dip with grain-free chips or crackers.
They're especially fun to dip in your favorite raw dressing or dip, and a couple of my favorites are this Raw Creamy Jalapeno Dressing and my Raw Spinach and Avocado Dip.
And, if you're loving these broccoli balls, I also have another healthy vegetable ball recipe that's really good too...my Clean Eating Vegan Sweet Potato and Pecan Balls, which are perfect during the holiday season.
Made With Only 9 Clean, Real Food Ingredients
My healthier plant-based version is made with clean, real food ingredients and is not only raw but vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, keto/low-carb (only 4 net carbs per ball), paleo-friendly, and made with Medical Medium® healing food ingredients.
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the healthy, real food ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to buy organic if possible.
- Broccoli
- Cashews
- Red Onion
- Jalapeno
- Garlic
- Avocado Oil
- Nutritional Yeast
- Ground Black Pepper
- Himalayan Pink Salt
How To Make This Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions
Here is how to make this recipe and I'll show you with step-by-step instructions below:
This is a really simple recipe to make (and your kids will love to help too!) and all you need is a food processor!
Step 1: Prepare the Broccoli
Firstly, de-stem your broccoli and cut it into bite-size floret pieces.
You don't have to get too crazy with this step because it's all going into the food processor but it will make it easier to process if the pieces are small.
- Process #1: Here you'll add the broccoli pieces and the cashews to the food processor and process until they are broken down into small pieces, but take care not to over-process.
- Process #2: Next, you'll add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and instead of processing them, this time you will pulse them about 30-40 times. You want the mixture to have a paste-like consistency.
Step 2: Adjust the Seasonings
Secondly, take a taste of the mixture and see if you want to add a little extra salt, garlic, nutritional yeast or jalapeno.
If you don't like spicy or will be serving these to children, you may want to leave out the jalapenos.
Step 3: Make the Balls
Thirdly, take out a spoonful of the mixture at a time and squeeze it together tightly in your fist and then shape them into a round ball shape with your fingertips.
Step 4: How To Store the Broccoli Balls
Lastly, store the balls in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions:
In my opinion, yes!
Let's compare the ingredients in this recipe with traditional broccoli balls that usually have dairy and/or meat in them:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Parmesan Broccoli Balls Ingredients: broccoli, Parmesan cheese, eggs, butter or margarine, sausage or ground meat, onions, salt, pepper
Gluten-Free Vegan Raw No-Bake Broccoli Ball Ingredients: organic broccoli, organic raw cashews, organic onion, organic garlic, organic extra-virgin olive oil, organic jalapeno, nutritional yeast, Himalayan pink salt
Typically, "broccoli balls" are baked or air-fried and can contain ingredients such as cheese, breadcrumbs, or eggs.
However, in my recipe, they are 100% vegan and gluten-free and they are not baked yet still have an amazing flavor.
Yes! My no-bake broccoli balls are a perfect snack for kids because they are in small bite-size proportions and easy to pack in a school lunch. You can even get them involved to help roll the balls!
Yes! If you decide to dehydrate the broccoli balls, just put them on a mesh tray and dehydrate them at 115 degrees for 10-12 hours, or until slightly "crispy" on the outsides.
The difference between the two?
The dehydrated ones will have more of a drier texture and will be slightly "crispier" and won't be as moist and sticky as the non-dehydrated ones.
They also won't have the same bright green color but are still raw and delicious!
Make sure you store them in an air-tight BPA-free container until ready to serve because they will get soft and mushy if left out at room temperature.
Karielyn's Expert Tips and Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Broccoli: You will need 2 ½ cups for this recipe which is approximately 1 ½ bundles of broccoli. When you cut off the floret pieces, try to remove as much of the stem as possible. Pack the broccoli florets into the measuring cup tightly.
Cashews: When you buy your cashews, make sure they are "raw" and not roasted and/or salted, which would affect the flavor.
Red Onion: I like to use the red onion variety, but you could also use a white or yellow onion. A ¼ cup will be approximately ¼ of a large onion. You don't have to spend a lot of time dicing the onion into small pieces because you will add it the food processor.
Garlic: Fresh garlic will work best in this recipe, but you could also add organic ground garlic in the amount of your preference.
Avocado Oil: This can be substituted with organic extra-virgin olive oil.
Jalapeno: This will give the broccoli balls a little extra flavor but if you don't like spicy foods or will be serving this to children, it can be omitted.
Nutritional Yeast: I added this ingredient to give the broccoli balls a "cheesy" flavor that is found in S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) broccoli balls. However, if you need this recipe to be 100% Medical Medium® Compliant, you will need to omit the nutritional yeast and can substitute it with organic hemp seeds.
Salt: I use Himalayan pink salt as my preference, but feel free to use a healthy sea salt instead. Additionally, I used ½ teaspoon of salt because I don't like my food too salty, but feel free to add more if you prefer.
Ball Size: You should be able to make approximately (10) small balls or (12) medium-size balls. The small balls are one-bite, and the medium balls are two-bites.
Struggling To Eat Vegan Without Relying on Processed Ingredients?
If you rely on packaged vegan food and ingredients or feel overwhelmed trying to eat healthier, this recipe shows how easy real food vegan meals can be...without sacrificing flavor or comfort.
The Method Behind All My Recipes
If you love clean, real food vegan recipes like this one, you'll love the method behind them.
The Real Vegan Method™ 14-Day Reset helps you:
- Move beyond processed vegan substitutes
- Cook with clean, real food ingredients
- Make plant-based eating simple + consistent
All my recipes - including this one- are based on the Real Vegan Method™.
Gluten-Free Vegan Raw No-Bake Broccoli Balls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups organic raw broccoli florets packed tightly
- 2 ½ cups organic raw cashews
- ¼ cup organic red onion
- 2 cloves organic garlic
- 1 tablespoon 100% pure avocado oil
- 1 organic jalapeno
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast*
- ½ teaspoon organic ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Add the broccoli pieces and cashews to a food processor and process until they are chopped into small pieces (approximately 20 long pulses) taking care to not over process.
- Add all remaining ingredients to the food processor and pulse approximately 20-30 times, or until everything is well combined and has a wet, crumbly consistency.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
- Take out a spoonful at a time, squeeze it tightly together in your fist, then shape them with your fingertips into small bite-sized balls.
- Option 1: Enjoy and refrigerate any leftovers.
- Option 2 (Dehydrator): Put the balls on a mesh dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115 degrees for approximately 10-12 hours, or overnight.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
More Healthy Vegan Broccoli Recipes
- "Cheesy" Broccoli Bites
- Lentil and Broccoli Bowl with Pumpkin Tahini Dressing
- Broccoli Alfredo with Creamy Cauliflower Sauce
- or my Real Vegan Method™ 14-Day Reset with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Bridgette Mitchell says
Hi are there other oils you recommend using other than avocado oil?
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Bridgette! My oil of preference is pure avocado oil, but you could always substitute it with another healthy oil such as organic extra-virgin olive oil or even hemp seed oil.
The only oil I would not recommend to use is coconut oil since it will harden when you store the balls in the refrigerator and might give them a strange texture.
Thanks for your question and I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Kelly says
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes! I'm looking forward to trying many of them.
(Just FYI, nutritional yeast is not medical medium approved.)
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Kelly! Thanks so much and I'm glad you're here!
You are correct - nutritional yeast is not a Medical Medium approved food 🙂
Because it's not, I made a notation in the recipe to omit the nutritional yeast to keep the recipe 100% Medical Medium compliant and provided a substitution recommendation of 1/4 organic hemp seeds.
Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the recipes!
Madison says
Hi, I'm really interested in trying these out! Do you have the nutritional information once prepared? Thanks!
Karielyn says
Hi there Madison! I just happened to be in the process of adding nutritional information on all my recipes...all 500+ of them lol! I moved this one up to the front of the list for you and it's all updated on the post. Just keep in mind it's just an estimate 🙂
Thanks for your question and I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
kathryn l m cano says
Hi there! is there a substitute for the nuts? my son is dairy/egg/nut /gluten free 🙂 Thank you in advance!
Karielyn says
Hi there Kathryn! I haven't made them without the cashews, but I would try substituting with either hemp seeds (will give extra protein!), sesame seeds (will give extra calcium!) or sunflower seeds (if he can have seeds). If he can't have any of those maybe some gluten-free breadcrumbs would work.
And worst case, you could try making them without the cashews or any substitutions and just serve it as a dip or spread. The mixture may not hold together to form a ball shape, but it's really good just eating it with a spoon.
Thanks for the question and I hope you are able to make them 🙂
Mel says
Can I sub something for the nutritional yeast? It gives me migraines
Karielyn says
Hi there Mel! Yes...you can substitute the nutritional yeast with 1/4 cup organic hemp seeds.
I haven't tested this but you could try organic gluten-free bread crumbs which should work too.
Thanks for your question and I hope you get to enjoy the recipe 🙂
Shannon says
My husband is on a raw diet now so I tried these, they are really good! I had to substitute almonds for the cashews and omit the onion due to allergies but they are delicious. Thank you for the recipe. 😀
Karielyn says
Hi there Shannon! I'm so glad to hear that you and your husband enjoyed the recipe and thanks for sharing the tip about substituting the cashews with almonds...that was very helpful!
I appreciate you trying out the recipe and taking the time to let me know you both liked it 🙂
Low carb momms says
Just made these and they are A-MAZ-ING! Didn't even make it into balls, just ate it with a spoon. Will definitely dehydrate next batch. Thanks for a yummy healthy snack.
Karielyn says
Hi there! I'm so glad to hear you liked them...and I have ~definitely~ eaten my share with just a spoon because I couldn't wait to roll them into balls lol!
Thanks for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it 🙂
Kait says
Mmmm! These look great! Any substitute suggestions for the jalapenos? I have wimpy taste buds;)
Karielyn says
Hi there Kait! You could leave out the jalapenos, I just added them for extra flavor. Feel free to add something else in it's place like extra onions, garlic, etc.
Thanks for the question and I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Jo says
Just made these and I think they are delicious!
Karielyn says
Hi there Jo! I'm so glad to hear you enjoy them! Thank you so much for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you liked them...I really appreciate it 🙂
Charlotte fitzhardinge says
I'm sorry...but there is no way these can taste good.
Karielyn says
Hi Charlotte, I'm sorry...but you're wrong! Yes, they can, and do, taste good. I actually made these again today since I had a huge bag of organic broccoli from Costco and they are amazing! Maybe you should give them a try before leaving a comment with no merit 🙂