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.
Angela says
Hi, I’m back with another question! I love the idea of this cheese for my daughter but she isn’t able to eat coconut oil or carrots! She has had a sensitivity profile done and for the next few months needs to cut out loads of what I would call stable ingredients for recipes. Would the cheese work with another oil, or do you use the coconut oil as it is solid, and would leaving out the carrot make a difference? If so any ideas as a substitute – she can’t have peppers either?
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
Hi Angela, you can leave out the coconut oil or use a different oil because it’s a small quantity, and you can just omit the carrot. It is there for color and flavor but there won’t be a big impact if you don’t use it. You could use a little turmeric for color instead if that’s an acceptable ingredient. All the best! 🙂
Christopher Barbosa says
Warning, if instead of setting the cheese in the fridge after adding the agar, you start dipping Tostitos in the hot mix, you will not be able to stop!
Wonderful recipe. I used regular mustard powder instead of dijon. I’m not sure if that made a huge difference on flavor but dijon is on my shopping list for the next batch.
The cheese is delish with crackers but I like it better hot. I’ve made cauliflower infused mac n cheese, grilled cheese and drizzled on nachos. This vegan cheese has a cheesy punch like those cheese packs you would get with boxed macaroni.
Alison Andrews says
Haha love it! Now I’m super keen to use this in a mac and cheese! Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
Mimine says
Absolutely scrumptious! I used hazelnut meal/flour by Bob’s Red Mill (same amount) and 1/2 of the salt. I didn’t put the hot agar agar mixture in the blender. I simply put the nut mixture in a bowl and stirred in the hot agar agar.
Alison Andrews says
Oh that’s so interesting that you did it that way, thanks for sharing! And thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Joan Clarke says
I do not know what to do with myself ……. this recipe is fabulous. I just got the agar agar powder and made the cheese today. The flavor is great, the texture is good and I can’t wait to make some more and introduce it to my friends. I used Tahini that I had made from scratch some time ago and the cheese turned out just as you described I only made a tiny change I used 1/2 tsp less salt. Thanks for helping me enjoy my Vegan journey
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Joan! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Michael Born says
How long does the cheese stay fresh?
Alison Andrews says
Up to a week.
Deb says
I have made it and turned out, and tastes great. Can I freeze it.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Deb, yes it can be frozen. 🙂
Angela says
Wow! I’ve tried a few other ‘firm’ vegan cheese recipes that haven’t worked so I figured I was just doing something wrong. But your recipe totally works! Great instructions, super easy to follow and execute! I’m so happy with how this turned out! You’re now my new go-to for all vegan cheese recipes! Say, do you have a cream cheese one?? I’ll start looking! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Angela! So happy to hear that! We have a cashew cheese sauce, not quite a cream cheese, but sort of/kind of close! Will do a cream cheese soon, it’s on my list. Thanks for the great review. 🙂
Tina says
Hello,
I’m wondering if I can leave out the carrot?? I’m going to add fennel pollen too.
Thank you!
Ben says
Have you tried a similar method to make other nut based cheeses? Like almond and sun dried tomato?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Ben, I haven’t tried using different nuts as the base no, that is still coming! I have made different flavors though like our vegan cheddar cheese and we do have a sundried tomato cheese but it’s a soft cheese not a sliceable one.
Mimine says
Yes, it works. I used Bob’s Red Mill hazelnut meal/flour. The nuts must be raw.
Sabine says
Love the flavour, but it’s too mushy for my liking. Although I followed the recipe to a t I find the texture too much like a spread. Next time I’ll take more agar and reduce the liquid a little.
kimberly polce says
This is soooo good. Thanks for sharing. It’s good on its own, but we also did a batch with chopped chives and smoked paprika and one with chopped dill. Everyone loved them all!
Alison Andrews says
Sounds amazing! Love those flavor adds! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Travis says
Absolutely delicious! Thanks Alison. Turmed out exactly like your picture and slices beautifully. Grates pretty well too, though sticks to itself a bit more than real cheese.
As a pretty recent vegan who occasionally misses cheese and doesn’t really like the heavily packaged commercial stuff available, I’m over the moon with this recipe.
Excited to experiment with some fancy variations! 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So good to hear Travis! And yes, flavor variations are fantastic with this cheese! Thanks so much for posting. 🙂
Kate says
Hi mine tastes delicious but didnt quite set solid. I think this is because I soaked my cashews. I added another half tbsp of agar but maybe should have added more. Thanks for the recipe. So excited to have vegan cheese board this Christmas. ?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kate, it could be that…. the soaking would have added extra water but the extra agar should have compensated. Just make sure you are using the agar powder and not the flakes. So glad it tastes delicious! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Jill says
Why not just modify the recipe to specify 1Tbsp agar agar powder (or 3 Tbsp flakes)? My grocery store doesn’t stock powder, so I had to use flakes. Seems odd one is expected to read the comments to learn how to mitigate what seems to be a pretty common problem – and too late for me – now fully expecting my cheese not to set. What a bummer.
Alison Andrews says
I don’t know how much more clear ‘agar agar powder (not flakes)’ in the literal recipe card, can be. This is also discussed in the actual body of the post too. Yes, it’s a mistake a person can make when new to these ingredients, but it is not my mistake.
Jessica says
Hi there!
I just made this cheese and followed your recipe perfectly. While it tastes great it does not look at all like your photo. It comes out as a spreadable cheese.
Alison Andrews says
Did you by any chance use agar agar flakes rather than the powder? They are very different in strength. This recipe uses the agar agar powder. We have never had it not set using the powder.