Take note and try out easy recipes for making vegan cheese using different types of ingredients. Also, find out what must be written on the packaging of a vegan cheese sold in the market to ensure that it does not contain ingredients of animal origin.

It will only take you a few minutes to learn how to make vegan cheese using, among other alternatives, tofu, cashew nuts, potatoes or cassava, preferably using all of these options together.

All vegan cheese recipes use tapioca starch, because it is this ingredient that gives texture to the preparation, and they can also include seasonings that please your palate, such as nutmeg or paprika.

Preparing cheese is as quick as learning how to make it, but if you want to eat it sliced ​​or grated, refrigerate it for a few hours after it’s ready. It can also be added to pizzas, sandwiches, risotto, etc.

We have brought three recipes for you to try. Check them out!

What is the composition of vegan cheese?

Vegan cheese can be made with not one, but several alternative base ingredients. Among them:

• coconut milk;
• peanut;
• tapioca;
• yam;
• sweet potato;
• common potato types ;
• cassava;
• tofu; and
• cashew nut.

The main and most famous recipes use cashew nuts, cassava and potatoes together or tofu.

In all of them, along with the main ingredient, there will also be sweet cassava starch and sour cassava starch, or at least the sweet version, both used in gluten-free recipes , as well as salt and water mixed with other ingredients and seasonings.

Vegan cheese recipe: 3 delicious and easy-to-make options

Check out three vegan cheese recipes that have been tested by professional and amateur chefs.

Vegan cheese with cashew nuts

• Preparation time: 15 minutes
• Yield: approximately 200 g

Ingredients

• ½ cup raw cashews
• Boiling water for the chestnuts
• 320 ml of water
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons of sweet cassava starch
• Black pepper, optional nutmeg and garlic powder optional and to taste

Preparation method

1. Place all of the raw cashews in a baking dish with boiling water.
2. Blend the chestnuts in a blender with the rest of the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture. A tip is to sieve the tapioca flour before mixing it to achieve the ideal texture.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat and keep stirring.
4. Once the mixture has a consistency similar to cake or pudding batter, keep it on low heat for another minute, stirring constantly. Then turn it off.
5. Store, preferably, in a glass container with an airtight lid and let it cool before placing it in the refrigerator.

Vegan cheese with potatoes and cassava

• Preparation time: 15 minutes
• Yield: approximately 200 g

Ingredients

• 1 medium potato
• 1 medium yam
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 cup of sweet cassava starch
• 1 cup of sour cassava starch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional)

Preparation method

1. Peel and cut the yam and potato into cubes and place them in a pan covered with boiling water and cook until they are very soft.
2. Drain the water from the pan after cooking and mash or squeeze the cooked tubers.
3. Mix the remaining ingredients, remembering to sift the tapioca flour, and stir well until you get a homogeneous mixture.
4. Grease a baking dish, store your mixture, pressing it firmly against the container, cover or seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
5. Unmold the cheese and consume immediately.

Vegan cheese with tofu

• Preparation time: 15 minutes
• Yield: approximately 200 g

Ingredients

• 250 g soft tofu
• ½ cup olive oil or some type of cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of sour cassava starch
• 1 and ½ tablespoon of water
• ½ teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional)
• Salt to taste

Preparation method

1. Blend all the ingredients. Remember to sift the tapioca flour so that your mixture is more homogeneous!
2. Mix well and, if you think the mixture is too firm, add another spoonful of water until you get the desired consistency.
3. Cook the mixture over low heat until it reaches the texture of Catupiry.
4. Store in the refrigerator.

Tips for making vegan cheese at home

Cook any homemade vegan cheese preparation thoroughly, remembering that your recipe contains tapioca starch and that tapioca starch cannot be consumed raw.

You may introduce natural coloring or palm oil into your preparation at your convenience, but remember that this introduction should be carried out cautiously, as it will affect the end product of the cheese, particularly in taste.

Vegan cheeses can be prepared with just salt or with natural seasonings , such as garlic powder and nutmeg suggested in the first option prepared with cashew nuts.

Another alternative for seasoning your cheese is sweet or smoked paprika, a versatile ingredient to always have in the cupboard.

If you prefer not to make any recipe at home, but buy the product at the supermarket, pay attention to the labels.

What is the best vegan cheese?

In your research, you will see that the best vegan cheese, whether homemade or ready-made, is one that is capable of:

• please your palate;
• meet your daily needs both in terms of what you want to consume and in terms of the nutritional components that are important for your body; and
• suit the recipe you want to prepare.

A vegan cheese used for pizza, sandwiches or as a quick snack at night tastes better when it melts more, while a vegan cheese used as an appetizer may have the consistency of a pâté and the one placed on top of pasta needs to be easier to grate, for example.