How Do They Make Vegan Cheese

What Do Vegans Use For Cheese

Soy, pea, cashews, coconut, or almond cheese is one type of vegan cheese that is made from plant-based ingredients. Nondairy versions of cheddar, gouda, parmesan, and melavian cheeses are the most commonly used vegan cheeses.

Plant-based cheese such as soybeans, peas, cashews, coconut, and almonds can be consumed by vegans. Cheddar, gouda, parmesan, melrose, and cream cheese are just a few of the popular vegan cheeses. Despite the fact that non-dairy or vegan cheese products are free of dairy and soy, they frequently contain highly processed ingredients. Some of our favorite vegan cheeses are simple to make at home. Cashews, refined coconut oil, tapioca flour, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice, liquid smoke, and garlic powder are all you need to make it. If you want a vegan alternative to parmesan cheese, you can substitute cashew butter. Many people, particularly those on a tight budget, are making vegan cheese.

In most recipes, raw cashews, coconut oil, Mesophilic culture, penicillium, sea salt, and Mesophilic culture are all used. All of the ingredients youll need to make delicious and tasty vegan cheeses are listed below, making it simple to get started. Whether you are sensitive to dairy, lactose intolerant, or want to be more health conscious, vegan cheese is a great alternative to dairy and other dairy products. Please consider contacting our knowledgeable team at your local cheese factory to learn more about our vegan, organic, and non-GMO cheeses.

Common Questions About Vegan Cheese:

What is vegan cheese?

Traditional cheese is made from animal milk whereas vegan cheese is made from various nuts, seeds, soy, tapioca, oils, or other ingredients. In this recipe, the base of the cheese is made from raw cashews. See the recipe notes for other variations.

What is vegan cheese made of?

Raw cashews, refined coconut oil, olive brine, garlic, and salt. You can also optionally add in chopped fresh herbs, lemon zest, coarsely ground black pepper, or crushed red pepper flakes to jazz it up a little! Raw cashews are the base of the cheese which will make it smooth and creamy. Refined coconut oil will add richness and also make the cheese firm up in the fridge. Olive brine adds an aged tang to the cheese, and garlic and salt are flavor enhancers.

How to use this vegan cheese?

This quick & easy vegan cheese is best enjoyed as a snack. Serve with crackers or bread, spread the cheese on top, and enjoy! It’s also fantastic dolloped onto a fresh bowl of pasta, crumbled over roasted vegetables, spread onto toast and topped with jams or fresh fruit, add to a salad, or amp up your vegan cheeseboard.

What Makes Vegan Cheese Taste Like Cheese

Nutritional Yeast and Vegan Cheese Nutritional yeast adds to vegan cheese’s taste and textureyou’d be surprised how much of a food’s taste is linked to its texture. This ingredient imparts that signature ‘cheesy’ flavor to vegan cheese and is especially important for cheeses that do not undergo an aging process.

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What Are The Best Brands Of Vegan Cheese

We reached out to vegan cookbook author Dreena Burton of Plant Powered Kitchen and The Colorful Kitchen blogger Ilene Godofsky Moreno to find out their recommendations for the best vegan cheeses on the market. Heres what they said:

Vegan Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan substitutes vary from simple shakers made with blends of nutritional yeast and nuts by companies like Parma to more authentic-looking shreds and wedges from Violife, Burton says.

Vegan Mozzarella Cheese:Miyokos Kitchen Fresh Italian-Style Vegan Mozz is the real deal, Moreno says. The texture is eerily similar to traditional mozzarella, and its delicious fresh in a caprese salad or melted on pizza. Burton agrees that Miyokos Kitchen makes a terrific mozzarella substitute.

Vegan Cheddar Cheese: Morenos go-to Cheddar is Daiya Cheddar shreds: It gets super melty when grilled in a sandwich or mixed into pasta. Other good brands of melty vegan cheeses, according to Burton, include Follow Your Heart and So Delicious.

Vegan Ricotta Cheese:Kite Hill has nailed the unique texture of ricotta cheese, Moreno says. My mom recently started swapping out the traditional ricotta in her famous lasagna for Kite Hills vegan version, and no one in my family could even tell the difference!

Vegan Cream Cheese:Toffuti and Go Veggie are among the best companies offering soy-based cream cheeses, says Burton, who also recommends trying out artisanal nut-based cream cheeses.

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Firm Or Meltable Cheese

First, you will also need to decide if you want a firm sliceable cheese or a softer cheese that will melt and stretch when heated. .

• The firm version is best for slicing for eating plain or on crackers.
• The meltable version is best for cheese that you can melt on pizza, use in grilled cheese sandwiches, or quesadillas. The only difference between the two versions is the addition of tapioca starch and the reduction of agar agar to allow it to melt and stretch better.

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This New Vegan Cheese Made From Microalgae Is Packed With B12

Theres no shortage of vegan cheeses available now, but this new plant-based alternative contains a superfood ingredient: microalgae. Developed by Singapore-based Sophies BioNutrients and the US ingredient giant Ingredion, the new dairy-free microalgae cheese not only tastes tangy and melts like the real deal, but is also loaded with vitamin B12.

The latest innovation in the plant-based dairy space is a microalgae-based cheese alternative, which just debuted on Wednesday by Sophies BioNutrients and Ingredion Idea Labs. The two companies collaborated to co-develop the product, which contains Sophies dairy-free, allergen-free milk made from microalgae that was first unveiled in May.

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The Different Types Of Vegan Cheese For Pizza

What are the best vegan recipes for pizza? Some vegan cheese is made with soy, nuts, vegetable oils, and a wide range of natural ingredients like peas or arrowroot. Some people believe vegan cheese is healthier than cheese, and it may lower your risk of heart disease because it has a lower fat content. What is vegan cheese for pizza? Pizza can be made with a wide variety of vegan cheese options. Miyokos Creamerys Cashew Milk Mozzarella has a wet consistency that is unique among other vegan cheese products. Shrink-wrapped squares are the most convenient way to get your dairy shreds. What type of pizza can I make without cheese? Every vegan can use nutritional yeast in their back pocket as a substitute for vegan cheese. The flavor is nutty, rich, and salty, and it bears some resemblance to parmesan. This can also be accomplished by using vegan cheese sauce.

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Plant Based Cheese Flavourings

Fortunately, there are hundreds of ingredients that can be added to vegan cheese to create a sensation of the taste buds. Some of the most popular flavourings and additions include:

With vegan cheese, we are still in the early days of development in comparison to traditional cheese.

There are no strict rules on how a certain cheese must be made, which means that producers can get creative and trial new ways of doing things to create new and innovative products.

Nutritional Yeast And Vegan Cheese

Nutritional yeast adds to vegan cheeses taste and textureyoud be surprised how much of a foods taste is linked to its texture. This ingredient imparts that signature cheesy flavor to vegan cheese and is especially important for cheeses that do not undergo an aging process. On top of that, nutritional yeast is a great dietary supplement that can help to ensure your vegan cheese is as nutritious as it is tasty.

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Can I Freeze Cashew Cheese

Absolutely! I love the fact that cashew cheese can be frozen. It makes it easy for me to double the recipe below, enjoy one batch now, and freeze another batch for later on.

Having cashew cheese thats ready-to-defrost means that I can whip up creamy vegan pastas, savory toasts, enchiladas, quesadillas, and cheese-studded salads at a moments notice.

I use cashew cheese as a meal hack in lots of different ways. My latest favorite is to warm up marinara sauce for pasta and stir in a few tablespoons of cashew cheese. Its a quick, simple makeshift pasta a la vodka.

How To Make Vegan Cheese For Pizza

Vegan cheese can be made at home using a variety of plant-based ingredients, such as nuts, soy milk, and vegan cream cheese. Nut-based vegan cheeses can be made by blending soaked nuts with water, lemon juice, and salt. Soy milk-based vegan cheeses can be made by heating soy milk and adding vinegar, nutritional yeast, and agar agar. Vegan cream cheese can be made by blending cashews, water, lemon juice, and salt.

With this vegan cheese pizza recipe, youll learn everything you need to make 21-22 thin-crust pizzas. This cheese pizza can be served with any sauce you like, but the best sauce for it would be a smokey chipotle sauce. You can make this vegan cheese ahead of time if you prefer, and its easy to make in a hurry. This vegan cheese pizza recipe is divine its as delicious as it is crispy and cheesy. Thin crust pizzas can be made in a wood-fired oven at temperatures as high as 700F, which is extremely hot. That is what you can do to replicate in your kitchen oven, so here are a few pointers.

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What Is Agar Agar Can It Be Substituted

Some of you may be intimidated by working with agar agar, but dont be.

Agar agar is a great vegan gelatin replacement derived from seaweed. The way this works is in combination with water. Agar agar will swell and form a jelly-like texture without adding any taste. This is readily available online and in many grocery stores now and can often be found in Asian markets as it appears in many Asian desserts. If you dont want to use agar agar and want to use carrageenan here, you can, just use 1 1/2 tablespoons instead of 3. This will yield a harder, more set cheese, whereas agar agar keeps the cheese more creamy.

What Does It Taste Like

Vegan cheese is fermented, through the addition of bacterial cultures, so it has a tangy, tart flavor similar to that of dairy cheese. And through the aging process, the flavors are developed and concentrated. Additional ingredients, such as salt, spices, and other seasonings, are also added, depending on the variety, so a wide range of flavors is possible, ranging from sharp cheddar, which has a bold, intense flavor, to soft, spreadable cream cheese, which is milder but still tangy.

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How To Make Vegan Cheese:

To start you will need to first soften your cashews so that they will be easier to blend until a smooth and creamy cheese.

Soften the cashews: Add the cashews to a medium pot and cover with water. Put over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes until the cashews are tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Alternatively, you can soak the cashews, by placing the cashews in a bowl, covering them with water, and allowing the cashews to soak for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse before using.

Blend the cheese: Add the softened cashews to a food processor along with the coconut oil, olive brine, garlic, and salt. Blend until smooth, creamy, and sticky, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. You want to make sure you blend this very well so that it gets as smooth as possible. It will likely get warm when blending from the friction. I blend mine for about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides.

Form the cheese: Line two molds , or two small bowls with a square of cheesecloth. Divide the cheese among the two cheesecloth-lined molds. If you are adding fresh herbs, sprinkle them over the cheese and then use a chopstick or something similar to swirl the herbs into the cheese.

I like to keep one cheese wheel of quick & easy vegan cheese plain with no add-ins, and the other wheel with added herbs. Smooth the top of the cheese with a spatula and then fold the cheesecloth over the cheese.

The Ingredients & Substitutions

• Coconut Milk: use a can of unsweetened full-fat coconut milk, not boxed or lite versions. Shake the can well and use everything . This doesnt really add much of a coconut flavor, however, you could also try with another plant-based milk combined with 4 tbsp of refined coconut oil . Note that the coconut fat content will allow the cheese to melt better.
• Nutritional Yeast: This will help to add a cheesy flavor and shouldnt be omitted.
• Sauerkraut Juice: Will add the familiar flavor and tang of dairy cheese. Alternatively, use other pickling brine, olive brine , or water combined with 2 tsp lemon juice/ apple cider vinegar though Ive found sauerkraut juice is the best flavor, in my opinion!
• Tapioca Flour: Will provide a little stretch to the cheese when melting it . Alternatively, use arrowroot flour. For best melting results, use Kappa Carrageenan.
• Agar Powder: Its important to use 100% pure agar powder and not something with less strength like brands that contain mainly maltodextrin . If you use agar flakes, youll need 3x as much . Alternatively, you could use Kappa Carrageenan, though then youll need just 1 1/2 tbsp and wont need to cook it for 5 minutes just heat with the other ingredients and simmer for 1-minute maximum.
• Spices: I use onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt. Optionally, you can also add a pinch of turmeric powder for a more yellowish color .

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Is Vegan Cheese Worse For You

With no carcinogenic animal proteins, growth hormones and saturated animal fat, vegan cheese is a safe and healthy option. You can also consider finding spices and flavoring, like nutritional yeast, that might help add some cheesy flavor especially if you are leaning to a more whole-food plant-based diet.

Flavor Ingredients: Nutritional Yeast And Whatever You Want

Finally, how do you take coconut, or cashew, or other nondairy milk, and turn it into something that doesnt just look and act like cheese, but tastes like cheese? The most important ingredient to give it that cheese taste, informs Davis, is nutritional yeast, which is a pretty common ingredient in the vegan world.

Nutritional yeast is different from yeast that you would use to make bread in that the yeast cells are deactivated. But like traditional yeast, nutritional yeast helps to get that earthy, umami flavor we associate with cheese. In addition, variations on the basic formula can be procured for everything from mozzarella to Parmesan with a few other ingredients.

Smoked Gouda can be made with the addition of liquid smoke or smoked paprika. Chopped jalapeños transform a basic recipe into pepper jack. Garlic and herb vegan cheese? You got it. Garlic powder and fresh or dried herbs are tasty additions. And add a tang of sharp cheddar with a squeeze of lemon or even miso paste. Salt and lemon juice are also key for many cheeses.

Lets try this out! Heres an example recipe for a firm, sliceable smoked Gouda-style cheese:

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Made From A Variety Of Sources

The first dairy-free cheeses were created in the 1980s and were not particularly palatable.

However, the vegan cheese market has exploded in the last few years. There is now a multitude of flavorful varieties, some of which could fool even the most devoted cheese connoisseur.

They can be purchased from the store or made at home and are often crafted from unexpected ingredients.

Which Is The Best Vegan Cheese

Just as with dairy options, its not fair to ask which is the best vegan cheese. Each has a specific flavour, a set of ingredients that might inspire certain consumers and best uses. You wouldnt use cheap burger cheese on top of a pizza and likewise, you cant compare vegan almond milk soft cheese with miso-enriched coconut oil styles. The lesson here is to try as many as you can and make some personal selections for go-to dairy alternatives.

Lead image courtesy of Pexels.

A long-term committed ethical vegan and Green Queen’s resident plant-based reporter, Amy juggles raising a family and maintaining her editorial career, while also campaigning for increased mental health awareness in the professional world. Known for her love of searing honesty, in addition to recipe developing, animal welfare and attempts at handicrafts, shes hands-on and guided by her veganism in all aspects of life. Shes also extremely proud to be raising a next-generation vegan baby.

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Blogger Recipes To Try For Vegan Cheese

Interested in cooking with vegan cheese but not sure where to start? Give these five blog recipes a whirl.

5-Ingredient Tofu Cream Cheese, 4 Ways Hamshaw, of the Full Helping, uses extra-firm Nasoya tofu to create flavors like scallion, sun-dried tomato, and dill.

Easy Vegan Mac & Cheese With Peas The registered dietitian nutritionist Sharon Palmer hits a home run with her take on the classic comfort food.

Classic Cashew Cheese Recommended deployments for dollops of this silky stuff, created by McKel Kooienga, RDN: on top of a baked potato, smeared onto toast, and as a base for salad dressing.

Cashew Parmesan Cheese Another one of Hamshaws favorite recipes, this uses cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic powder for that I-cant-believe-its-not-Parmesan taste.

Cheddar Cashew Cheese Palmer says this cheddar cheese spread deserves space on your next party cheese board Who knows? Your guests may never notice the difference between this vegan choice and typical dairy.