Best Vegan Cashew Cheese Recipes

VEGAN CASHEW CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Place cashews in a bowl. Add hot water to cover; soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a blender.
• Add 1/2 cup water, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt; blend until creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides every now and then. Stir in chives.
• Serve right away or let chill in the refrigerator before serving.

LAST-MINUTE VEGAN CASHEW CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Combine cashews and garlic in a high-speed blender (such as Vitamix®); blend on high until cashews are reduced to crumbs, scraping down the sides of the blender in between blending. Add lemon juice and blend until well combined.
• Add water, 1/4 cup at a time, and blend until the mixture has a smooth and almost thick consistency; mixture will thicken further in the fridge. Mix in nutritional yeast. Add the last 1/4 cup of water only if needed; do not exceed 1 1/2 cups water if possible. Mixture should be completely smooth with no lumps remaining.
• Taste and add salt if needed. (The mixture will taste very lemony but will neutralize after 1 hour in the fridge.) Place in the fridge to thicken, about 1 hour.

CASHEW CREAM CHEESE (FROM ARTISAN VEGAN CHEESE)

Steps:

• Put everything in a high-speed blender or food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
• Transfer to a glass bowl, cover and allow to sit out at room temperature for 24-48 hours. (48 hours if using for a cheesecake.).
• Cover and refrigerate. Will keep for two weeks in the fridge or 4 months in the freezer.

VEGAN CASHEW CHEESE

Steps:

• Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with 4 cups water. Cover with plastic and soak 8 hours or up to overnight.
• Drain the cashews and place in a high-powered blender with the lemon juice, coconut oil, salt, white pepper and 1/2 cup cashew milk. Blend the mixture, stirring as necessary. Add the remaining 1/4 cup cashew milk and blend until smooth. Stir in the parsley.
• Fold the cheesecloth in half and line 2 small bowls with a piece of doubled cheesecloth, leaving enough overhang to cover the cashew mixture.
• Divide the cashew mixture between the two bowls and cover completely with the cheesecloth. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 8 hours or up to overnight. Serve cold.

SUPER FANTASTIC VEGAN CASHEW CHEESE (SLICES, SAUCE OR DIP)

Steps:

• To sterilize your Cashew Nuts: Spread your nuts out on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes and then cool completely before using them.
• Whiz first 7 ingredients in blender or food processor until nuts are liquefied.
• SLOWLY drizzle in oils to thicken and then add lemon juice after oils are incorporated.
• Mix Agar Agar in 1 Cup Cold water. Cook in separate sauce pan until clear (about 10 min).
• With a spoon stir cooked (warm) Agar Agar into cheese mixture. Immediately pour into loaf pan lined with plastic wrap and fold plastic wrap ends and sides over top.
• Refrigerate until set and slice as needed.
• To use as a spread or dip, do not add Agar Agar.
• When the loaf version is set, my mom slices into ½ sections. She puts them side to side with clear wrap in between and freezes then for individual later use.

SLICEABLE VEGAN CASHEW CHEESE

Steps:

• Soak cashews in water for 2 hours.
• Mix agar-agar powder with 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer until agar is fully dissolved, about 7 minutes.
• Drain and rinse cashews. Place cashews, remaining 1/2 cup water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, arrowroot powder, garlic, salt, and turmeric in a blender; blend until smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Pour cashew cream into agar-agar mixture; bring to a boil until a thicker batter forms, about 5 minutes. Spread into 2 ramekins and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

BASIC SLICEABLE VEGAN SMOKED CASHEW CHEESE

Steps:

• Soak cashews in a bowl of water for 2 hours.
• Mix agar with 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer until agar is fully dissolved, about 7 minutes.
• Drain and rinse cashews. Place cashews, remaining 1/2 cup water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, smoked paprika, agave, garlic, arrowroot, salt, and turmeric in a blender; blend until smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Pour cashew cream into agar mixture; bring to a boil until a thicker batter forms, about 5 minutes. Spread into 2 ramekins and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

VEGAN MAC N CHEESE AKA CREAMY CASHEW MACARONI

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed on package. Drain and set aside in a large bowl. Cover so it won't dry out.
• Grind cashews in food processor on high speed until relatively smooth. It's okay if the result is rather grainy looking, so long as what you have is mostly a thick paste.
• With processor on low speed, slowly add in the entire can of coconut milk.
• Dissolve the bullion cube in the hot water completely. Again with processor on low speed, slowly pour into the cashew/coconut milk mixture to incorporate fully.
• Add in the garlic and blend.
• Still on slow speed, add in the nutritional yeast, 2TB at a time. Taste after each 2TB to determine the taste that suits you. More nutritional yeast = more cheddar-y type flavor, however, some people do not like the yeast-y flavor it can impart. Add in as much or as little as suits you.
• Add in the vinegar the same way, starting with about 1TB, then adding in more 1tsp at a time, tasting after each tsp to determine what you like. The more vinegar you add, the more "sharp" taste you get. For a very sharp taste, try white vinegar.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Once the sauce is at your satisfaction, pour over the pasta and mix well. Add in water (or make some additional broth) if you prefer a thinner sauce. Refrigerate any leftover sauce.
• I coupled this with some braised spinach (2 bunches of fresh spinach coarsely chopped and sautéed in 2TB olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes), that I threw right into the bowl (you can see the spinach in the picture above). Other veggies that would probably pair nicely: peas, braised julienne carrots, steamed broccoli, steamed asparagus tips.

VEGAN CASHEW CHEESE ROLLED IN CRANBERRIES AND NUTS

Steps:

• Cover cashews with cold water in a bowl and soak for 4 hours. Drain.
• Combine cashews, nutritional yeast, miso paste, and salt in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until blended. Taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.
• Grease a piece of parchment paper with oil. Transfer cashew mixture onto parchment paper and form into a roll, twisting the ends of the paper to secure. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Mix walnuts, hazelnuts, cranberries, and rosemary on a plate. Remove cheese log from fridge and paper and roll in the nut mixture.

CLASSIC VEGAN CASHEW CHEESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Add the cashew nuts, nutritional yeast, crushed garlic and lemon juice to the blender jug. Add sea salt and black pepper. Measure out the water and add it in. Blend until very smooth and creamy.
• For a thicker cheese, use less water. For a thinner salad dressing consistency, use a little more water.
• Serve drizzled over baked potatoes, vegetables, pizzas or pastas.