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
It doesn’t taste like cheddar at all – it tastes like pimiento! But I like pimiento so it’s all right by me.
★★★★★
is there something else I can use instead of agar agar in this recipe? I don’t have access to agar agar (or any ready-made vegan cheeses) and I’m desperately missing cheese! thanks
Hi Wilma, I don’t have a substitute for agar agar, though it’s usually quite easy to find online if you do shop online. There is another ingredient called kappa carageenan, but I don’t imagine it’s easier to get hold of, and the method of the recipe would change. I have not experimented with it so I can’t advise. We do have lots of cheese recipes that don’t use agar agar though, they are softer cheeses. Our vegan cheese ball can get quite firm in the fridge though and it’s really delicious!
I see your two hard cheese recipes; how about pepper jack?
That’s a great idea!
Getting ready to try to make this for my wife. Looks awesome – we have a newborn so can’t have dairy because of an intolerance he has. Cheese is her favorite food so really hoping she enjoys this. Quick question – how long do you let it set in the fridge?
Hi Jordan, it should start to set very fast, but it will usually take 1-2 hours to set completely.
Hi Allison!
I made this cheese and used aguar gum {Bob’s Red Mill). Think this would have worked. My cheese came out like a soft spread. Tasted great but not hard. Did I use the wrong thing? I even used about 1 1/2 TBSPN of the stuff. I also added red chili flakes and that was good. Other than that, followed your recipe.
★★★★★
Hi Deb, it has to be agar agar in this recipe, so that would be the reason it didn’t set. š
Ok, I’ll buy agar agar. If I put the agar in beer instead of water do you think it would make a great beer cheese or should I leave it as is?
★★★★★
I would make the recipe as is, and then try some adaptions as you like, once you have the feel for it. š
Made this for the second time, this time with an extra teaspoon of agar and it came out fantastic! The taste is incredible!
★★★★★
So excited to try these recipes! Just curious if you can use almonds instead I have a lot of almonds to use up š
Slivered or blanched almonds could work but the texture would not be as smooth.
Is there an alternative for the bell pepper? Or can it be left out? Iām allergic š
Leave it out. š
I just made your delicious looking recipe. But I found that mine came out much softer than yours seems. I used the exact brand of agar agar powder and amount. And I did it as quickly as possible. I let it set overnight in a metal mixing bowl, the top covered with plastic wrap. Do you have any tips on how to make it a harder cheese?
Did you soak the cashews? That adds extra water content and makes the cheese softer. For a firmer cheese increase the agar agar.