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.
Sally Godwin says
Dying to try this but I have an allergy to tahini — could I substitute it with, say peanut or other nut butter, do you think?
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
My worry would be that another nut butter would have a competing flavor whereas tahini is a very complementary flavor. Unless you used cashew butter that would work! 🙂 Otherwise you could also try leaving it out and seeing how that turns out. All the best!
Christine says
This turned out great! The only thing I’d say is that next time, I wouldn’t put nearly as much mustard in. My final product has quite a mustardy taste. Maybe the one I used was a little strong.
I also had a bit of a hard time blending in the first step, and I have a vitamix! I had to add a little bit more water to get it to really blend, but that seemed to work just fine.
Just made myself a grilled cheese with it. It’s not quite as melty in it as it probably could be, but I imagine it will do REALLY well on a pizza or with crackers.
Do you think it’s possible to do any other flavor combos? Like for holidays, to make 2-3 smaller cheeses with any kind of mixins?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Christine, so glad it was a success! We used dijon mustard, I can imagine that different types of mustard may yield too strong a flavor. I definitely think different flavor combos are possible. We are busy working on a recipe for a cheddar flavored cheese, basically adding in some extra flavor elements for more of a cheddar flavor. Thanks for posting! 🙂
Rhiannon says
This is amazing! It’s the first vegan cheese recipe I’ve tried and I am so impressed! Thank you so much for sharing!
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks for the awesome review Rhiannon! 🙂
kelly says
Can i substitute something for the carrot?
Alison Andrews says
You could try leaving it out.
Diana Pineda says
Recently switched to vegan cheese for health reasons – but I also cannot use coconut (or palm) oil. Can I substitute a good light olive oil, or does the firmness/meltiness of this cheese rely on the fact that coconut oil is solid at room temp? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
You could try using a different oil or leaving it out, since it’s only 2 Tbsp I don’t think it should make a big impact, but of course I have not tested it that way so can’t be entirely certain.
Sharon Jackson says
Just made my first batch exactly as the recipe and it really is excellent. I’ll tweak it to my taste next time around but it’s a great place to start. Is it OK to freeze?
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it! It should be fine to freeze but may not be as good once defrosted. 🙂
Darine says
Hi. I want to make it tomorrow. I have all the ingredients except for lemons. Can I use apple cider vinegar instead? Would love to make it first thing in the morning. I hope I get a quick answer. Thank you
Alison Andrews says
Hmmm, I don’t think that would work and it would be risking your other ingredients, rather wait until you have lemons.
Candice L Brasington says
I’ve seen that in some recipes you could substitute sunflower seeds for cashews. Would that work in this recipe?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Candice, I’m really not sure since I haven’t tested it with sunflower seeds. Could be great but I don’t know. And regarding irish moss powder as a sub for agar, I also don’t know about that since I haven’t used irish moss so far. If it has the same effect as agar then maybe, it would be an experiment! All the best! 🙂
Candice L Brasington says
Also, would Irish moss powder work in place of agar agar?
estaeheli says
I just made this cheese and it hasn’t had a chance to harden yet. But. the flavor was excellent, and it was pretty easy to put together. About as much trouble as making hummus! I know I’m going to love it, and I’m excited about sharing it with my vegetarian and vegan friends!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So glad it was easy too. Thanks for posting! 🙂
Joanne says
This cheese is excellent! It tastes so much better than any of the vegan cheeses I’ve purchased in a store. I love that it was so easy and that I had all of the ingredients in my pantry. It’s perfect as is, but it will be fun adding some herbs, like caraway or dill to future batches. I may try some liquid smoke flavoring for a smoky cheese flavor. Thank you so much for posting this. It’s going to look so nice on cheese boards and appetizer trays over the holidays.
I’m going to try your mozzarella next, for pizza. But I’m thinking that this one would be good on pizza too, even if it doesn’t spread.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Joanne! Thanks so much for the awesome review! So happy you liked the cheese, I think a smoky flavor would be divine with this as would extra herbs! 🙂
Joanne says
We tried this grated, on pizza this weekend, along with some of your mozzarella. The combination was excellent. The mozzarella tastes a little bland to me so I may add more salt and a bit more lemon juice next time. But the sliced cheese was great. It melted in the oven, but just barely. But it made the pizza taste much better than store bought vegan cheeses.
Joanne says
I forgot to add, the mozzarella is sliceable after 3 days in the frig.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Joanne! That sounds awesome, so glad to hear it was good and the combo of both cheeses sounds like an excellent idea! Definitely tweak the mozzarella recipe to your tastes. 🙂 Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Carrie says
Just made the cheese, very good and I like that it slices and is melty plus it’s easy to make. I’m not crazy about the coconut flavor though, so next time another oil. I agree with others who feel it’s too salty. Next time I’ll reduce to 1 tsp and see how that is. Other cashew cheeses I’ve made freeze well so there’s some in the freezer to see. Thank you, Alison, for the great recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Carrie, thanks so much for your feedback on the recipe and the great review! 🙂
Marilea E Johnson says
I do not like nutritional yeast. How crucial is that to the recipe? Is it added for color or is it adding to nail the taste of cheese? I have a vegan cashew queso that is the bomb! I don’t add nutritional yeast. But I want to make a sliceable vegan cheese. Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
It adds cheesy flavor, you could leave it out but it would sacrifice some of that cheesy flavor, however I think it would still work.
Karen says
Delicious! I only had the agar agar flakes (so I had to triple them to equal the powder) so it turned out on the softer side. You can slice it to mash easily on a cracker. It was very tasty though!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Karen! So glad it was tasty, even if it was on the softer side. 🙂
Jesba says
Can I use cornstarch instead of agar agar powder?
Alison Andrews says
It wouldn’t set without the agar agar, so it’s a crucial ingredient here.
Janet Vargas says
Hi Alison, surely this is the first Vegan Cheese I will attempt making – this week! For many years now, I have preferred Vintage Tasty Cheese (dairy) to other cheeses. Swinging over to Vegetarian diet now and finding I am increasingly attracted to Vegan Cheese Recipes, I think this cheese would be a good home craft replacement for the vintage because I love the taste of cashews, nutritional yeast flakes, paprika, lemon and garlic……..I think the Dijon Mustard and also a touch of turmeric and a few chilli flakes would be nice and spicy. I purchased a big jar of Agar Powder from eBay in advance for my ventures with Vegan Cheese making. Could we use a little hummus in place of tahini maybe? I found a recipe that does not contain tahini. All the best to you!
R says
extremly fat, almost 30%,
but maybe that’s cheese after all,
I am going to cut out coconut oil and tahina (and salt)
cashew has already 44% fat
thanks for the recipe