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best vegan cheese with crackers and grapes on wooden board
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Vegan Cheese

How to make vegan cheese at home with under 10 ingredients and just 10 minutes of your time (not including chill time). This dairy-free cheese is tangy, cheesy, and versatile - use it in slices, shredded, or melted into or over dishes. Plus, it's nut-free and soy-free!
Course cheese, Side
Cuisine vegan
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Watch the video in the post for easy visual instructions.
    Grease the inside of a small/medium bowl or container of choice (mine measures 5.5 x 3 inches / 14 x 7.5 cm) with a neutral oil and set aside.
  • Add all ingredients except the sauerkraut juice and tapioca flour to a saucepan and stir with a whisk.
  • Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once it simmers, set your timer to 5 minutes. Let it simmer over low heat (do not let it boil) and stir occasionally as it will thicken the longer it cooks.
  • In a small bowl, mix the sauerkraut juice with tapioca flour. It's important that the juice is not cold (otherwise, it will make the cheese sauce set partially). Add the mixture to the saucepan after 5 minutes and stir with a whisk.
  • Continue to simmer for 1 minute, it will thicken even more, so I recommend stirring frequently. Then immediately pour the cheese sauce into the prepared bowl (it hardens fast, so try to be quick) and press it down slightly with a spatula.
  • Let it cool until the bowl is just slightly warm, not hot, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or overnight) until set. Enjoy with these crackers!

Notes

Video Of The Recipe

 
  • Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze.
  • Coconut milk: Do not use boxed or lite coconut milk, the result won't be good. You need full-fat coconut milk. Shake the can and use everything (the creamy part and the water, if separated).
  • If you are afraid of any coconut flavor (I didn't notice any), you could experiment with a different plant-based milk and add 4 tablespoons of refined coconut oil. The refined coconut oil doesn't have any coconut flavor at all. In that case, reduce the amount of plant-based milk by 4 tablespoons.
  • Agar agar: It's important to use 100% pure agar powder (I use the NOW Foods brand). If you have agar flakes, you will need to use 3-times as much (6 tablespoons).
  • Note: You could experiment with Kappa Carrageenan instead of agar agar. The difference will be that you need to use less (just 1 1/2 tablespoon instead of 2), plus you don't have to cook it for 5 minutes. Just heat it with all other ingredients and simmer for max. 1 minute.
  • Sauerkraut juice: It adds flavor and tang, similar to dairy-cheese. Alternatively, use other pickling brine, olive brine (then reduce the salt), or water combined with 2 tsp lemon juice/ apple cider vinegar - though I've found sauerkraut juice is the best flavor, in my opinion!
  • Tapioca flour: You can use arrowroot flour instead. It will add a little stretch to the vegan cheese if you melt it (on pizza or toast).
  • The vegan cheese melts just slightly. If you want it to melt, even more, choose Kappa Carrageenan, as it does yield a better result. Also, if you choose a brand of coconut milk with more fat, it will melt better.
  • Color of the cheese: I use a brand of nutritional yeast (with the addition of B-vitamins which color the Nooch yellowish). However, if your nutritional yeast isn't yellow, you can add a pinch of turmeric powder.
  • Nutrition facts are for 1 piece (about 60 grams) if you cut the cheese into 8 pieces.
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Cheese
Serving Size
 
1 piece
Amount per Serving
Calories
98
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
8
g
12
%
Saturated Fat
 
7
g
35
%
Sodium
 
335
mg
14
%
Carbohydrates
 
4
g
1
%
Fiber
 
1.1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
1.8
g
2
%
Protein
 
2.6
g
5
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.