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
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
It’s so easy to make this. The majority of the ingredients are simply blended up in a blender as you can see below.
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.
Ingredient Notes
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 (around 3 times as much).
This recipe was made with the powder and not the flakes so definitely use that. However, if all you can get is agar agar flakes, then use 3 tablespoons instead of 1 tablespoon.
Raw Cashews:
Raw 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.
We don’t find it necessary to soak the cashews first. However, if you DO prefer to soak them, then you may have a softer cheese as a result.
Red Bell Pepper:
Red bell pepper provides color and flavor and just works really great in this recipe.
Smoked Paprika:
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 bell pepper for a yellow bell 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.
Vegan Cheddar Cheese FAQ
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.
Storing and Freezing
Keep it covered in the fridge and consume within a week. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. The texture may change slightly after thawing. Thaw it in the fridge.
More Vegan Cheese Recipes
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
- Vegan Queso
- Vegan Cashew Cheese Sauce
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Vegan Cheese Sauce
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Cheddar Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
- ⅓ cup Water (80ml)
- 5 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- ¼ cup Tahini (60g)
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce or sub Tamari for gluten-free
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper deseeded and chopped, about ¾ cup
- 2 and ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
- ⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast (15g)
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 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, 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 cold water and agar agar powder to a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling let it boil for 1 minute. You will notice it getting thick and gelatinous.
- 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
- It’s really important to use agar agar powder and not the flakes. If you do use flakes you will need to use 3 times as much.
- 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.
- This cheese can be grated, melted or smashed up on a cracker.
- This recipe makes a 21 ounce (600g) round of vegan cheese.
- Serving size is 4 slices which is approximately 1 ounce.
- Keep it covered in the fridge and consume within a week. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
vicky says
As i am allergic to nutritional yeast, but love vegan cheese, do you have a substitute for it?
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Hi Vicky. The nutritional yeast gives the vegan cheese the cheesy taste. We haven’t substituted that before so I can’t say what else would work.
V says
Can I leave out the red capsicum? They are pretty expensive at the moment, where I am. Or replace with carrot perhaps? Thanks very much for your advice. I have looked at a lot of vegan cheddar recipes. And yours looks the best!
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Hi V. I think Carrot should work. You can roast the carrots in the oven before blending them up with the rest of the ingredients.
Sean says
hi. what would you suggest as a salt replacement? one of the reasons I want to make my own is to limit my salt intake as much as practical (I have high bp) as there is too much salt in almost everything! I like spice so tho king maybe some hot red peppers?
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Hi Sean. We added the salt because it enhance the flavors of the cheese. You can leave it out if you prefer.
Marc M says
Made with dry roasted cashews & olive oil substituted for cocnut oil. Set like a terrine not hard, sliceable, grateavble cheese. Tastes yummy but what am I doing wrong?
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Hi Marc! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. The cheese didn’t set properly because the coconut oil is what makes it set. Hope you get to try it again!
David says
Just read Gloria’s post about adding jalapeño peppers. Nice! Next time I will add either jalapeños or horseradish..
David Uttke says
Made this twice, love it. The second time I replaced the tomato paste with miso, and used almond yogurt instead of the plant based milk. Very good.
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe David!
Michelle says
It set up well but I thought it had too much of a mustard taste, I would decrease mustard if make again.
Marie says
PERFECT!
GLORIA KIRKPATRICK says
I have just made this recipe and love the flavour. Lots of ingredients but worth it and easy to just put all in blender. I would suggest only 1 teaspoon of salt as this is salty enough for me, can add more to taste after blended, to late once you have added all the salt. I used Jalapeno peppers, a few pieces from the jar, instead of cayenne. Seems to be setting straight away after adding the boiled Agar powder and now in fridge. Thank you for this great recipe.
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Gloria! Thanks for sharing and for your wonderful review!
FARAH NOREEN says
Can cornflour be substituted for agar agar powder?
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
No, the agar agar powder is crucial in this recipe.
Mia Turner (Australia) says
It’s really tasty. I didn’t have coconut oil so I just left it out. I added a tablespoon of miso paste for extra. I didn’t have smoked paprika so I added sweet paprika instead + half tspn liquid smoke.
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Mia! Thanks so much for your great review!
Brian says
Can pectin be used in place of agar agar?
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Hi Brian. We haven’t tried that before, so I’m not sure.
Sam says
If I leave out the agar agar – will I have a sauce, a dip, or a spread? I would like the chedder taste in a dip for veggies.
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
You would have a dip Sam! That would be good too!
Irene says
I made this earlier today and love the flavour but it hasn’t set for me. I used 3 tablespoons of Agar flakes as you suggested (I couldn’t find the powder). Do you think 4 tablespoons of Agar might make a difference or am I wasting my time with the flakes?
Suziconfuzi says
May I substitute olive oil in this recipe?
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Yes you can!
Malka Margolies says
How long does it need to set in the refrigerator before eating it?
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
It sets pretty fast, so it should be ready to enjoy in about an hour after placing it in the fridge.
Azza says
I just made it, it taste really very good. I am leaving it in the fridge to see what it will look like in the morning. I will keep you posted
Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says
Happy to hear you like the taste Azza! Thanks so much for your wonderful review!