By Debra Maslowski
A lot of vegans enjoy the taste of cheese, but don’t want to ingest animal milk. That’s why this simple, quick, and delicious vegan cheese recipe is great.
I was raised on a dairy farm, so it comes as no surprise that I LOVE cheese. For some, cheese isn’t an option, but they still want the taste. That’s why I love this recipe.
And if you’re trying to watch your sodium, this vegan cheese recipe is much lower in sodium than real cheese.
Vegan Cheese Recipe Ingredients
The base for vegan cheese is made from cashews. When cashews are soaked in water it creates a milk-type substitute. With the addition of some agar agar (a vegan gelatin substitute), you get a cheese-like substance that tastes amazingly like those cheese balls found in many grocery store delis.
Vegan Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews (find organic raw cashews here)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast (find organic nutritional yeast here)
- â…› teaspoon stevia leaf powder (find organic stevia powder here)
- 1 clove garlic
- juice from one lemon
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (find organic turmeric here)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder, optional (find organic cayenne here)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (find unrefined sea salt here)
- ¾ cup filtered water (find the best water filtration systems here)
- 1 Tablespoon agar powder (find it here)
- ¾ cup filtered water (for step 2)
Instructions
- The first step in the vegan cheese recipe is to blend the first 9 ingredients together until there are no lumps. Set aside and move to the next step.
- In a saucepan, combine agar agar and ¾ cup water. Bring to a simmer, making sure all of the agar agar is incorporated. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn off heat and add cashew mixture from Step 1, stirring well. Once thoroughly combined, pour into a mold. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, un-mold and use as you would any other cheese ball. Store in refrigerator and use within a week.
Notes
Make this vegan cheese recipe your own! Try different flavors by adding fresh basil, or oregano or even sun-dried tomatoes. You can also roll the entire cheese ball in crushed almonds, chopped cashews, parsley, or just leave plain.
This “cheese” will also slice and grate well, but will not melt like regular cheese.
Do you have a vegan cheese recipe? If so, tell us about it!
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