Vegan cashew cheese that is sliceable and perfect for a vegan cheese board! Full flavored, authentic looking and quick and easy to make too!
Hard, sliceable cashew cheese. It’s here! And I couldn’t be more excited!
We have guests coming next week and I have a full on cheese board planned, with this as the main event!
I have to admit it took me a fair few goes to get this one right. If you follow us on instagram then you might have seen in our instastories where I was proudly showing off each new attempt.
From the start though I was delighted with this.
To think it can be so easy to make a super impressive block of vegan cheese!
And it is simply fabulous! You can slice it into perfect slices and put them on crackers or bread or wherever you would eat a slice of cheese.
And you can mash it up too. It’s sliceable and hard enough to cut perfect slices, but you can also still smash it on a cracker if you want to.
If you love making your own homemade vegan cheese then also check out our vegan brie, vegan camembert and vegan blue cheese.
How To Make Cashew Cheese
I started off with just a basic recipe and then quickly saw that I needed to add more cashews to make it really rich and lots more spices to make that cheese flavor really stand out.
Some recipes recommend you cook it all up with the agar agar powder (which is what makes it set) on the stove and then pour it out into your dish to set, but this doesn’t work at all when you use more cashews to make a thicker/more robust cheese, because then it’s too thick to stir up properly with the agar agar.
And since the agar agar needs to boil for at least a minute for that agar powder to set up properly I found it a much better plan to do it separately.
So basically, you make up a batch of cashew cheese sauce in the blender, but you spice it up more strongly than you would usually, to the point that if you taste it, you’ll be thinking: this is too strong!
But then you boil up a cup of water with agar agar powder on the stove, let that boil for a minute and then pour that mix into your cashew cheese sauce (conveniently still in the blender) blend it up again and then pour it all out into your dish to set.
The water and agar powder dilute the spiciness of the cheese and while setting it also dilutes it a bit so you have to start off strong to end up with perfectly spiced cashew cheese.
A Vegan Cheese Board
It’s perfect for a vegan cheese board with some red grapes, jams, maybe some mixed salted nuts and a selection of crackers (and maybe some wine too).
And let me just say, a slice of this on a cracker with some mixed fruit jam on top – but any jam would be awesome – was like the best thing ever. Jaye and I were in heaven. And we can’t wait to show it off to our guests next week.
Ingredient Notes
The Cashews:
This recipe is quick and easy and one of the things that makes it so quick is that you don’t need to soak the cashews first. You can just go right in and blend them up.
The reason it’s possible to do this is because you’re making a sauce to start off with, it’s not a super thick cheese right off the bat so it’s more easily blendable (I do have a vitamix though so that helps!).
Provided your blender is strong enough I don’t really see any reason to soak them first in this recipe but I am not an expert on your blender. If you know your blender will have trouble with this, then you can soak them briefly in boiling water. Just place the nuts into a bowl, pour boiling water over the top and then leave them to soak for 15 minutes, then drain and use as normal.
The Agar Agar:
The crucial ingredient in this recipe is the agar agar powder. It is what makes the cheese set.
You get two types of agar agar, you get the powder version and the flakes. Use agar agar powder. The agar agar powder is much stronger than the flakes and is what we used in this recipe.
If you have no other option but to use flakes, then you will have to use 3 times as much of it.
Cashew Cheese Q&A
Can you grate it? This cheese can also be grated, the firmer it is the easier it will grate, and the longer it’s in the fridge the firmer it gets, so if it’s not ideally firm for grating on the first day it will likely be grate-able by the second day.
Does it melt? I put a slice on a cracker and put it in the microwave for 15-seconds to see if it melted and it did! So it does melt.
Can you put it on pizza? We tried it on pizza. And it was very tasty and it melted! But let me be clear, when I say ‘melted’ I do NOT mean that it spreads like dairy cheese. No it definitely doesn’t. It softens though and gets melty.
We tried it grated on pizza and sliced, and either way was fantastic. We put it on the pizza before going in the oven, so it melted along with everything else, and it was really good.
Storing and Freezing
Keep it stored in the fridge (covered) where it will last up to a week.
It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge.
More Delicious Vegan Cheese Recipes
- Since this recipe was published, we’ve made another firm sliceable cheese, a delicious vegan cheddar cheese, so you definitely want to check that out.
- We also have a totally divine vegan cream cheese that is everything you want spread on your breads and bagels! Also check out our vegan cottage cheese and vegan feta.
- Our cashew cheese sauce is perfect drizzled over pizza or baked potatoes and our vegan parmesan cheese is wonderful sprinkled over anything and everything.
- Our vegan mozzarella is divine on some pizza and our vegan nacho cheese is divine on… you guessed it, some vegan nachos!
- And then there’s our vegan ricotta which is incredible just as is, but can also be baked into a vegan lasagna recipe or some vegan stuffed shells!
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Hard Sliceable Cashew Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
- ⅓ cup Water (80ml)
- 5 Tbsp Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- ¼ cup Tahini (60g)
- ½ Medium Raw Carrot (~30g) peeled and sliced
- 2 ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Paprika
- ⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder or flakes
- 1 cup Water (240ml)
- 1 Tbsp Agar Agar Powder must be powder and not flakes*
Instructions
- Add the cashews, ⅓ cup water, lemon juice, coconut oil, tahini, carrot, salt, paprika, cayenne, dijon mustard, nutritional yeast and garlic powder to the blender and blend until very smooth. Leave the mix in the blender and set aside.
- Add 1 cup of water and the agar agar powder to a saucepan and heat, stirring regularly until boiling. Boil it for 1 minute (time it), stirring regularly and after 1 minute remove it from the heat and pour it into the blender on top of the cheese mix.
- Blend until smooth.
- Moving quickly, as it will start setting up very fast, pour the mix out into a round dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Refrigerate until set. To remove from the bowl, turn upside down onto a plate.
Video
Notes
- It is crucial for the success of this recipe that you use agar agar powder and not flakes. Flakes are much less powerful and if you DO use flakes you will need to use 3 times as much (3 tablespoons).
- This might seem like a lot of salt, but it works perfectly in this recipe.
- I used a regular round bowl, it was 5 inches round and 2 inches deep. I chose it because it was quite straight up the sides so created a nicer shape for the cheese. But you can really use any bowl or ramekin, and if your bowls are smaller, then just use 2 bowls for 2 smaller blocks of cheese.
- This cheese can be grated but it tends to get firmer the longer it’s in the fridge. So it’s better for grating on the second day than on the day it’s made.
- It does also melt. We put a slice on a cracker and put it in the microwave for 15 seconds and it melted. So yes it does melt!
- We have also tried it on pizza. We tried it grated onto a pizza and sliced. Either way was great. We put it on with all our other toppings before going into the oven and it got nice and soft and melty along with the other toppings. It doesn’t spread or anything, but it’s very good.
- This recipe makes one 21 ounce (600g) round of vegan cheese.
- Serving size is 4 slices which is approximately 1 ounce.
valérie k says
Hello,
Can you tell me how much grammes is “1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast” ?
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
It’s 15g.
valérie k says
Thank you very much ❤️❤️❤️
Have a beautiful day ❤️❤️❤️
Alison Andrews says
You’re welcome! And same to you! 🙂
Valentina Martin says
Has anyone tried this w/ 3 x the amount of agar agar powder but with the flakes instead? I want to try that!
Yevette Clark says
Do you have to use carrots
in this recipe I am allergic to them
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, no you can leave it out! However, we have another recipe that is similar, our vegan cheddar cheese, that uses a red bell pepper instead of the carrot, maybe you’d like to try that one?
Kristy says
Ok I just made this …. (first attempt at making any type of vegan cheese) and it turned out Amazing!!!! So even my steak eating cheese loving husband is eating it on triscuits Lol and is wanting me to make more. Please when you read the comments people know that vegan foods do not taste “exactly” like non vegan foods. I assure you though your body will thank you for feeding it food it can actually use for your benefit❤️. The texture of this is amazing it is spreadable and meltable. Thank you for sharing your recipe:)
Alison Andrews says
So glad it was a success Kristy! Thanks for sharing and the wonderful review!
Kristian says
Hello, can I ask you if it would be possible to make the cheese more firm so the texture would be more like a real cheese, and it would be possible to shred it… if no do you know about some recipes would reach this result? Thank you so much, otherwise your recipes is great!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kristian, you can experiment with using more agar agar powder for a firmer cheese. All the best!
Kandala Singh says
Hey Kristian, I had the same experience. It’s firm but soft. If you did try it with more agar agar, please do let me know how it turned out, and how much agar agar you used!
Jasna says
Hi, I just made this and it was delicious, although it had a little bit of a strong coconut oil after taste. Could you omit the coconut oil in this recipe?
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
You can omit it, or you can use refined coconut oil that has no coconut flavor. However, I have never noticed any aftertaste in this recipe.
Alison says
I have made this twice now but each time even though it goes stiff it still has quite a soft texture, is this correct? Is it not meant to be hard like a normal cheese as my kids are not keen on the texture? Am I maybe not using enough Agar Agar.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Alison, you can try using more agar agar next time to get it to an ideal hardness as you prefer it.
Paula says
Hi. Have you tried with kappa carrageenan? I do not have agar agar and wonder how much of kappa I should use. Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Paula, I haven’t tried this ingredient but I believe it works well! It is a different method though and I wouldn’t be able to advise on it as I have never used it.
Madison McCardle says
We just made this cheese and while it was delicious we had small bits of carrot throughout. Even after blending for ages.
We had grated it in, was just wondering if you cut your carrot really small as well or maybe your food processor is just a lot more powerful than ours.
Definitely going to be trying your other recipes now 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Madison, we made it in a blender not food processor. A food processor generally won’t do as well for this.
Kat the brat says
So good, thank you for the recipe. I can now complete the transformation to vegan from vegetarian. I just couldn’t give up the cheese and now I have a cheese that tastes like cheese and so much better than the plastic tasting bought stuff.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad you like it Kat!
Sarah Lamptey says
LOVE THIS! Thanks so much! Going to try alllll your recipes now 😀
Alison Andrews says
Yay! Thanks Sarah!
Eve says
Does the texture change when you freeze/thaw it?
Alison Andrews says
Not that I’ve noticed.
Kathy says
Is it ok to use coconut oil to coat the dish I will pour it into instead of a non stick spray? Suggestions very welcome! Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Should be fine! 🙂
Carol Ruzicka says
Hi I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but it sounds wonderful!
I don’t have Tahini, but I have everything else. Can I omit?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Carol, yes it can be omitted!
Synthia says
Hi we made it last night and it came out great. I think I will reduce the mustard next time though because our Dijon is very strong. I wrapped it in wax paper because I thought that might dry it out a little more? What do you think? Also can I freeze this? Sorry for all the questions but we are wondering the purpose of the carrot – does that make the shelf life shorter because it’s a fresh vegetable?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Synthia, the carrot provides flavor and color in this recipe. It lasts about a week in the fridge but you can freeze it as well.
Antoinette says
How would I use Glucomannan or Vegetal Epol iso Agar Agar?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Antoinette, I’m not sure at all that those would work.