Smoky red pepper vegan cheddar cheese. Firm and sliceable and totally delicious on crackers or sandwiches or grated on pizza.
This vegan cheddar cheese has a delicious smoky red pepper flavor and is truly divine.
It’s perfect for a vegan cheese board and you’ll absolutely impress all your guests if you bring this out at your next dinner party!
It’s also wonderful for any special occasions. Cheese and wine anyone?
This recipe is based on our sliceable cashew cheese recipe. That recipe is amazing, and if you’re going to make a cheese board, why not go all out and make both kinds of cheese? I recommend it.
I knew that I could intensity the flavors even more, make it a bit sharper and tangier for a cheddar flavored cheese. And that is exactly what we have here.
How to make vegan cheddar cheese
It’s so easy to make this. The majority of the ingredients are simply blended up in a blender as you see above.
Then you boil some water and agar agar on the stove, and once boiled you add that to the already blended ingredients in the blender and blend it in and then, working quickly because it starts to set super quickly, you pour it all out into a bowl, smooth it down and then place it into the fridge to set.
This is probably the easiest sliceable vegan cheese you’ll ever make. Unless you’ve made our other cashew cheese, then you already know how easy it is.
You don’t even need to soak your cashews first.
Really, the only tricky part to this recipe, is once you’ve boiled the agar agar powder and water together, and poured that into the blender to blend, you have to be really fast or you’ll have hard set cheese sitting in your blender jug.
You have to pour it in, blend it with the other (previously blended) ingredients really quickly and then pour it out into your prepared dish, all really quickly! Have I said the word ‘quickly’ enough? I’m not sure that I have. I really mean you have to do it quickly! Hahaha! 
Agar Agar Powder
The crucial ingredient in making this vegan cheddar cheese set is the agar agar powder.
You get agar agar powder and agar agar flakes. Use the powder. The powder is much stronger than the flakes, and the flakes would require you to use a lot more (up to 3 times as much).
This recipe was made with the powder and not the flakes so definitely use that.
Cashews make up the base of this cheese recipe and to that we add all kinds of delicious things that create that sharp cheddar flavor.
Red pepper provides color and flavor and smoked paprika creates a mildly smoky flavor that works great here.
Ingredient Substitutions
I always get asked about ingredient substitutions so let me just say, the best results are going to come from following the recipe. We test everything thoroughly so that we come up with something really good.
However, if you want to leave something out that is there for flavoring, it is still most likely going to come out fine.
As mentioned above, don’t try and leave out the agar agar powder, it won’t work without that. Or the cashews, but aside from those crucial ingredients, if you want to swap the red pepper for a yellow pepper or you want to leave out the cayenne pepper because you don’t like it, this is all likely fine.
Provided it is in a small quantity and it is not a crucial ingredient, you likely can substitute it for something similar or possibly even leave it out altogether.
Can you grate it? Yes you can. It is firm enough to grate. It tends to get firmer the longer it’s in the fridge, so if it’s not ideal for grating when it’s just set, it will be the next day.
Does it melt? Yes it does. It is not the kind of melty cheese that is going to spread over pizza, but it does melt a bit and soften when heated. So you can absolutely grate some and use it on a pizza. It won’t spread, but it will still be delicious.
Can I mash it? Yes, it’s soft enough to mash over your cracker if you like it mashed. It’s soft enough to mash while still also being firm enough to grate. It’s good stuff.
How long does it keep? About a week in the fridge.
Can I freeze it? Yes you can.
You will love this vegan cheddar cheese!
- It’s firm and sliceable
- Rich cheddar flavor
- Quick and easy
- Delicious sliced on crackers or sandwiches or grated on pizzas
Keep it covered in the fridge and consume within a week.
More vegan cheese recipes
If you love making your own vegan cheese, then you’ll also love these recipes:
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
- Vegan Queso
- Vegan Cashew Cheese Sauce
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Vegan Cheese Sauce
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Vegan Cheddar Cheese
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: ~21oz (600g) Block of Cheese
Description
Smoky red pepper vegan cheddar cheese. Firm and sliceable and totally delicious on crackers or sandwiches or grated on pizza.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150g) Raw Cashews
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Water
- 5 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1/4 cup (60g) Tahini
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce*
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper (deseeded and chopped, about 3/4 cup)
- 2 and 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 cup (15g) Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 cup (240ml) Water
- 1 Tbsp Agar Agar Powder (not flakes)
Instructions
- Add the cashews, 1/3 cup water, lemon juice, coconut oil, tahini, soy sauce, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, red pepper, salt, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and onion powder to the blender jug. Blend until smooth. Set aside, but do not remove from the blender.
- Add the 1 cup of water and agar agar powder to a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling let it boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and pour it into the blender on top of the cheese mix.
- Blend until smooth.
- Working quickly, as it will start to set very fast, pour it out into a round dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Smooth it down and then place it into the fridge to set.
- To remove from the bowl, turn it upside down onto a plate.
Notes
*If you want this cheese to be gluten-free then use a gluten-free soy sauce or switch it for Tamari.
*The bowl I used was 5 inches round and 2 inches deep, chosen because it goes quite straight up the sides so creates a nice shape for the cheese. You can use any round bowl or ramekin, and if your bowls are smaller, then just use 2 bowls for 2 smaller rounds of cheese.
- Category: Savory, Side, Gluten-Free
- Method: Blender and Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 Slices (1oz)
- Calories: 76
- Sugar: 0.9g
- Sodium: 346mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8g
- Carbohydrates: 4.2g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2.2g
Keywords: vegan cheddar cheese
Hi Alison, this recipe looks great, can’t wait to try it out. Can you leave out garlic and onion powder, tahini and apple cider vinegar?
At your own risk sure! That is quite a lot of ingredients to leave out, you will definitely lose flavor.
This is a really great recipe. I did reduce the mustard to 1/2 teaspoon. The full tablespoon of mustard seemed to overwhelm the other flavors. Also I used refined coconut oil.
The other change I made was after running out of cashews, I used raw almonds. They work just as well or better. Soak the raw almonds in just boiled water for about 20 minutes. Remove the skins. Then use in place of the cashews. It works perfectly with a high speed blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec.
I’ve made this 3 ways now- with cashews, half cashews/half almonds, and all almonds. It came out fine all three times.
★★★★★
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it out. I have a couple of questions:
I can’t eat sweet peppers, can I leave it out? Put in more tomato for colour?
Also those crackers made from seeds look so tasty, did you make them? Or are they a certain brand?
I’ve had a brand called Mary’s Gone Crackers and they look similar but are much bigger. I do like them, but they are kind of pricey so have been thinking about trying to make my own.
Hi Jessica, maybe try our sliceable cashew cheese, similar recipe, but no peppers in it. We just bought the crackers, they’re not homemade. 🙂
Question:. How long must it sit in the fridge? I don’t think I saw that.
Also, the flavor is amazing.
★★★★★
It keeps for a week in the fridge. Setting time is around an hour or two, you’ll know when it’s entirely set.
It turned out to be a very tasty cheese and I love the different tastes that come together.
Remarks:
– a little to tangy for my taste. Next time i will take less lemon juice.
– a lot of ingredients. All necessary for the great, complex taste 🙂
– you were not kidding as you said it sets very fast. There is literally only 60 second to put the cheese into a form 😀
Thank you so much Alison for this and many other great recipes! You put the delicious into the vegan 😀
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Sebas!
I will try it today 🙂
Thanks
Can I use xantham gum in place pf agar ..as I am not finding any in my area, I’ve scoured health food stores and my local markets.
Hi Denise, I don’t think there is any good sub for agar agar in this recipe, you can get it online though. Or try one of our other vegan cheese recipes that doesn’t require agar agar like our vegan cream cheese, cottage cheese and ricotta.
Made this recipe and while on quarantine, went on a whole vegan cheese experience. While studying other vegan cheese making processes, I made this recipe another way. Let me just say, this is THE BEST VEGAN CHEDDAR CHEESE RECIPE. But, here is another way to make it… instead of blending it and boiling the agar powder to pour in and blend with your mix, just go ahead and mix it all together in a food processor – even the agar agar. After blending everything, then put the entire mix and heat it in a saucepan up to 160 degrees for 5 minutes. Then pour it in an aired container lined with a cheese cloth, and let it sit for 48 hours in about 50 degree temperature or in a “crispy” drawer in your refrigerator. Also, I added a 1/4 teaspoon of chipolte seasoning instead of cayenne pepper. As I said, this recipe mixture is the best – just throwing another way to set your cheese. 🙂
★★★★★
I’m so glad to find your site. Great tips and easy to follow instructions and gorgeous pictures!
I’m not a vegan, but I love to eat healthy, I have a cooking show, Mother Zen Chef. Thanks!
This tastes so much like real cheese- it’s the best recipe I’ve tried for vegan cheese so far! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Thanks Neha!
This one’s a winner! I added about 1.5-2 TBL horseradish and a touch more Smoked Paprika and it turned out fantastic. I also roasted the red pepper first and added after cooling, peeling, and chopping (I know, the blender will do that…). One small note… I used refined coconut oil as the unrefined has a distinct coconut flavor that I did not want in this recipe. Thanks for posting this…it is going in the “keep” folder.
★★★★★
Awesome, thanks for sharing Ken!
I don’t have a blender. Can I use a food processor for this?
It depends on your food processor but it might end up not as smooth as you would get with a blender, but should still work!
Hi Alison, do you think you could sub olive oil for the coconut oil?
Thank you 🙂
Yes I think so, or you could leave it out.
Hello! I’m very interested in trying your recipe but I can’t eat tomato paste … so can I just not put it in or can I replace it with something else? Thank you
You can leave it out. 🙂
Can you use Kappa carrageenan instead of agar agar powder?
Hi Roseanne, I haven’t used that so I’m not sure. I think it probably will work, but I think the method would be different.
This recipe is awesome! I’ve made it once with kappa carrageenan /tapioca starch and it created a really lovely spread , the second time I used the agar agar for a sliceable cheese. Fantastic!!!
★★★★★
I love this recipe! It is so delicious and easy to make. I used ramekins to make this recipe. Last week I tried a rectangular baking pan.
★★★★★
Hi Sandy, so happy to hear that! I saw your pic, they looked great in the small ramekins! 🙂