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.
Carol says
It’s really good.
I didn’t use non-stick spray. Just a little film of olive oil on the inside of the bowl.
I had every kind of mustard except Dijon so I used plain old mustard.
It all worked out and it’s really very good! I’m going to try the cheddar recipe next.
Thank you so much!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Carol! So glad it worked out well! Yes, the non stick spray is just so that it pops out easily once it has set, you can definitely also use oil if preferred. Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Heather says
Hi. This is prob a silly question but do I cook the carrot?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Heather, no, no need to cook the carrot. You can slice it up more finely though if you think your blender might have a tough time with blending it. 🙂
@kikaramel says
Can I use roasted cashew instead of raw? I’m allergic to raw nuts :/
Alison Andrews says
Sure! It will give it more of a roasted flavor but I don’t see an issue with that! 🙂
Lizzie says
Hi Alison, I made this yesterday and it’s just delicious! Thanks for the great recipe! I was wondering how long it will keep the fridge in your experience? If I do freeze it, does the texture change after thawing? I’ve found this with Gelatin in the past but not sure if agar agar is similar.. thanks!
-Liz
Alison Andrews says
Hi Lizzie, so glad it came out well! It keeps around a week in the fridge. And it’s totally fine after freezing, no change in texture that I’ve noticed. All the best! 🙂
Joshua Knight says
Could you Substitute the coconut oil for extra-virgin olive oil ? or even just do it oil free? . Any advice would be appreciate :).
Alison Andrews says
Hi Joshua, yes you can do either of those options without any big impact. 🙂
Sez says
Can I substitute agar agar with cornstarch?
Alison Andrews says
It won’t firm up the same way at all.
Chris says
Made this again, this time with Agar Powder. Wow! It is just yummy. And made a lot. So two of my friends will get a small cheese today, and I still have three in the fridge for myself. It’s great in toasties, or just sliced on a cracker. It has not got any further yet.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! 🙂
Nicola Petry says
Hi there. Can I use Guar gum instead of agar? if so, how much and the same method?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Nicola, I have never tried guar gum so have no idea sorry!
Fany Cerezo says
Hey! Can I use regular mustard instead of Dijon mustard
Alison Andrews says
Sure! 🙂
Sophie says
Hi !
Can I use gelatine instead? I can find anywhere that stocks agar powder. I am in Perth, Australia. Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sophie, I have no idea, sorry to hear agar powder is so difficult to get hold of there!
Ya Mu says
Agar agar is a staple in MOST Asian (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino) grocery stores
Ingrid says
Hi Alison, the recipe is great, I followed it to the core yesterday, but so far the cheese has not firmly set it is more like some spread. What do you recommend, how long should it take in the refrigerator to set ? However what I have tasted so far ( a leftover in a small bowl ) is very yummy. Thank You.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Ingrid, it is supposed to set fast, like an hour or two at the most. Did you by any chance use the agar flakes instead of the powder? That is much weaker and usually won’t be enough for it to set firmly. It will still be entirely edible though. 🙂
Linda says
Can the salt be less?
Alison Andrews says
Of course! Make it how you like it. 🙂
Alice says
Hi! Can I substitute coconut oil for other ones? Thanks
Alison Andrews says
You can try leaving it out. 🙂
Diane says
What do you use for a mold?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Diane, I just used a round glass bowl, the details are in the recipe card notes.
Amanda says
Is there a substitute for the tahini (I’m allergic)? Or can it just be left out? Excited to try this.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Amanda, you can omit it. 🙂