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Vegan Cheese

Post by The Buddhist Chef

[s3video url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPZhDz2Wk_s" /]
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Description

Making vegan cheese has never been so easy. This garlic and herbs cheese is delicious, dairy free and has no added oil.It is made of cashew, agar powder, nutritional yeast and spices. Serve on bagels, bagel chips, crackers, or celery. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup cashews 60 g
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 of 1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 cup water, divided
1 1/2 teaspoon agar agar powder
Oil, to brush the ramekin.

Directions

1
Soak the cashews 1 hour in hot water.
2
Drain the cashews and place them in a blender along with the basil, oregano, garlic, salt, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, maple syrup and 1/2 cup water.
3
Process for 1 minute and set aside.
4
In a saucepan combine 1/2 cup water and agar agar powder. Add the cashew cream and bring to a boil stirring constantly.
5
Pour into lightly oiled ramekins and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
6
Remove by turning upside down onto a board.

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122 comment

  2. Susanne
    Reply

    Just tried it out. Can’t wait for it to cool down. Licked the pot clean and it was delicious. Easy and delicious. Your recipes are the best. 🙂 Thank you so much! <3

  4. Marsh a
    Reply

    Made this a couple of days ago. It was delish. Not a thing I’d change about it. Not a hard cheese, more like a spreadable cheese. Served it with healthy crackers. No one knew it wasn’t cheese! Love your recipes, always good! Keep them coming please!

  7. Lar MacGregor
    Reply

    Fantastic recipe but it won’t upload to share via email, it just sends a blank email. This does not detract from the joy I get from these recipes though…..just an irritation.

  8. Hester
    Reply

    This is great! I have missed cheese for 2 years now. This is the best thing I ate since two years. Thank you so much!

  10. Eulette
    Reply

    Great recipe. So simple. Could you do a feta flavoured or goat cheese please. I miss those flavours.

    Thank u so much for this.

  11. Irene
    Reply

    This is a brilliant recipe – I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make. It will be a regular in my kitchen from now on.

  13. Rana
    Reply

    Does the lemon juice have to be fresh or will it work with bottled lemon juice as well?
    It looks super delicious, can’t wait to try it!

  16. Suzanne
    Reply

    I’m stunned. I never used agar before and found it in my Asian market for $1.30 per packet!! I made it following the directions but I think I put too much basil in there and the sweetness was too much (user error)…so I made another batch with just nutritional yeast flakes and it looks like cheddar. I can’t stop talking about this site and the use of agar, I’m baffled that this is not more well known! Thank you so much for the recipe and introducing me to a whole new level of cooking.

  19. Jane mnt
    Reply

    I just made it today. It came out perfectly . Thanks so much for the presentation and recipe .
    However, I am not sure what kind of cheese I just made ? American cheese, cheddar cheese or Suisse cheese ?
    Please give me the name of this cheese ?
    Thanks so much .

  20. Nancye Smith
    Reply

    My first time making this, and it’s fantastic…

    I just to want to say thank you for your kindness in sharing your recipes with us all.

    Happy New Year to you and your family…

    Nancye M

  23. Emma
    Reply

    Sorry if somebody already asked this. Will Agar Agar flakes work okay instead of powder? Or will that effect the consistency?

  25. Heidi
    Reply

    To Suzanne – I had a product called Gel-It-In (which can be purchased from Woolworths) and it is a replacement for Gelatin. One “tube” will set 200 grams of liquid, so I used one and a half “tubes” to make this Cheese and it worked fine. Use exactly the same as Agar (heat in a saucepan to activate). There is no sweetner added to Gel-It-In.

  27. Lynda
    Reply

    Made this over the weekend but the colour was grey/light green, not like the lovely colour of the one in your video. Used a nutribullet and instead of cornflour used organic arrowroot. 1 and a half teaspoons of this and the same for Agar. Consistency a little jelly-like. A feeling i’ve done something wrong! Otherwise, great flavour! How long does it keep in the fridge and can you freeze this. I’m a great fan of your work – thank you so much!!

    • The Buddhist Chef
      Reply

      Thanks Lynda, did you use agar powder or agar flakes? I prefer agar powder since agar flakes have a greyish color and you have to double the amount for the same result. It keeps for up to 5 days on the fridge and I’ve never tried to freeze it 🙂

  28. barbara
    Reply

    This recipe was great, and a big hit with vegan and non vegan friends alike.
    Will the recipe work if I want to double or triple the amounts to make more servings?

  31. Lyn
    Reply

    Do you use raw cashews or roasted? Thank you for your wonderful recipes. You inspire me to explore again in the kitchen!

  32. Pat
    Reply

    I like this website, it’s very helpful. Simple recipes with crystal clear instructions, well made videos. I just saved it in my favorites. Thank you for sharing.

  33. Darlene
    Reply

    Did you use nutritional yeast powder or flakes (in the video it looks like flakes)? Do you half the amount if using powder nutritional yeast? Just found this site today. Thanks for the recipe.

  35. Catherine Haeffely
    Reply

    my first try it came out soft not like in your video .. but now reading the comments i used agar flakes not powder will try it again with powder .. so it will firm up properly

  38. Hils
    Reply

    I’ve never heard of agar agar – what is it and is there a suggested substitute? I will look in my health food shop but not sure if we can get it in the UK
    Thanks
    Hils x

  40. Molly Swartwood
    Reply

    Wow!!! This is so delicious. I used tapiocabstarch instead of cornstarch only because I didn’t have cornstarch and wanted to try this asap. Yummmmm!!!

  41. Pierre
    Reply

    I’m so glad to have found this recipe. I will buy everything and do it tomorrow. Can I replace maple syrup with some honey ?

  42. Teresa
    Reply

    Wondering if I can substitute more cornstarch for the agar agar powder? It sometimes triggers a shellfish allergy reaction. 🙁

  44. Trevor
    Reply

    So I replaced basil + oregano with mixed bell pepper flakes + chipotle powder, I used 1/4 tsp of chipotle powder and 1 tsp of mixed pepper.

    It tastes great, filled two ramekin so I feel like somehow I’ve used too much water; the taste is definitely spread out a bit thin for my liking but it’s an easy enough mistake; that said it is satisfying and slices nicely.

    I’m not too fond of mint so I’ve avoided basil + oregano.

  47. Vered
    Reply

    Question – I couldn’t find agar powder but got agar flakes. Can I use that instead and how (I guess the proportions are different)? Thanks

  50. sue
    Reply

    Which cheese would you compare the firmness to, it looks like Edam. Can it be sliced for sandwiches or is it more of a soft spreadable cheese?

  52. Agnes
    Reply

    I didn’t have agar agar at home so I used ground arrowroot and it made an excellent cream cheese!!! Worth a try, it is nice too.

  53. ELVIRA GIL
    Reply

    Hice la receta. Fue muy fácil y el resultado muy bueno. Aunque no usé levadura nutricional, no la encontré. Usé levadura de cerveza. La próxima vez tengo que probar con la levadura nutricional.
    Gracias por la receta.

  56. Martha
    Reply

    Same exact way I feel! Yes I saw and almost bought the agar with the sugar in it. But then fortunately I was able to find just the powder. It’s cooling in the fridge now. I’m dying to try it.

  57. Elena
    Reply

    Hello excuse me. How many grams of cashew nuts are exactly half a cup? I am Spanish and here we measure in grams. Thank you very much!

  60. Dani
    Reply

    Hi! I made this recipe last night and it’s delicious, but the texture is very soft, kind of jelly-like, which unfortunately I can’t stand 🙁 I was wondering if it is okay to make another batch using a bit less water and and add the first one in to get a final product a bit firmer? I’d be reheating it but I’m not sure if that’s bad?

  63. Marsha
    Reply

    This is my go to recipe when I bring an appetizer to a party. Everybody loves it and everybody wants the recipe. I think the balance of spices is just perfect, so glad I found The Buddhist Chef!

  64. Allyria
    Reply

    Hi, not sure if this has been asked already — can this be used on pizza? Do you have a hard cheese recipe for pizzaa? 😀 Happy Thanksgiving, from Taipei!

  67. Dominika
    Reply

    Hi! I would love to try this recipe but I really don’t want to use cashew after I learned how and in what conditions they are usually harvested and I haven’t seen a fair trade ones around where I live 🙁 I saw that someone on here asked if you can use different nuts, but I wonder if anybody tried doing it? I have loads of hazelnuts and walnuts, do you have any idea if they would work? Or maybe peanuts if they need to have more natural oil? Thanks! 🙂

  68. Alissa
    Reply

    Absolutely amazing!!! This is my first time making vegan cheese and I’m so pleased! It was very easy to make, and it’s DELICIOUS. I first saw a different recipe for vegan cheese that I was going to use, but the measurements were in grams and I didn’t know how much agar powder to use (I’m in the U.S.). I think it was also a little more complicated. Anyway, thank you SO much for this! I will definitely be making this regularly.

  69. Julie
    Reply

    Hmmm…I don’t have agar agar…what can I do? I’m not vegan (just love the vegan recipes!) so there may be something else that would be a substitute? Thank you,
    Julie

  70. Johanna
    Reply

    This is fantastic. I cheated with the technique: Instead of making it on the stove I put all the dry ingredients into my blender and poured boiling water on it. Blended it on “soup” = very high setting. It turned out so good. It holds its shape, but when sliced it is rather creamy – but still perfect. Thank you

  72. Brittany
    Reply

    It was a hit with non vegans! I loved loved this cheese. I am so glad I doubled the recipe. Between 3 people we ate one of these, and the second one I ate some for breakfast. I used fresh basil, garlic, and lemon in mine, and a little extra nutritional yeast.

    I was indeed licking the pot by the end. I will for sure make this again!

  75. Jennifer
    Reply

    Help! Why does my agar taste so awful? Tasted of nasty chemicals or something weird. It ruined the batch. 🙁 Threw it out.

  76. Samantha Meiklejohn
    Reply

    Just wondering why a lot of recipes cook the agar agar in water first then add to blended ingredients? Your recipe cooks all ingredients together including the agar agar, is there a difference?

  79. Gina
    Reply

    I used flour instead of cornflower & I used gelatin instead of agar agar powder. Flavor taste lovely but not sure if it will turn out hard. It’s been 30min. I’ll see in 2 hrs & let u know

  81. Dezi
    Reply

    Yes!!!! I decorate it a little with chives or a sprig of rosemary. Crunchmaster Crackers are perfect for a crowd. Thanks Chef!!!

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