The perfect vegan cottage cheese is savory and simple, with the ideal cottage cheese texture. It’s even better than the ‘real thing’.
A vegan cottage cheese recipe was always going to happen for this blog, because I’ve always been a cottage cheese fan.
But this time I can’t take the credit, I handed it to Jaye and said: ‘create a recipe for this please!’
And he sure delivered. Give that man a Bells!
The base recipe was adapted from our vegan cream cheese. With just a few adjustments, we had the perfect cottage cheese flavor.
Firm tofu crumbled up and mixed in creates that perfect cottage cheese texture. And don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like tofu. The tofu is purely for texture and it really delivers. The only thing you will taste is delicious chunky cottage cheese.
The result is perfect and tastes amazingly like actual cottage cheese.
How To Make Vegan Cottage 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.
- Place soaked cashews, lemon juice, coconut cream, water, distilled white vinegar, salt, nutritional yeast, onion powder and garlic powder into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the blended cottage cheese mix out into a bowl.
- Place the tofu into a separate shallow bowl and crumble it with a fork.
- Add the crumbled tofu and chopped chives to the blended cottage cheese mix and fold everything together gently so you don’t break up the tofu.
- Place into the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.
- Your cottage cheese is ready to serve!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Coconut cream – should be canned and unsweetened. You can also use canned, unsweetened, full fat (not light) coconut milk.
Distilled white vinegar – is the perfect vinegar to use because it is amazing for creating a cheese flavor. However, you can also use apple cider vinegar in a pinch.
Extra firm tofu – is most ideal, because you don’t want it to disintegrate into the rest of the cheese, which is what will happen if you use a soft tofu.
Success Tips
Soak the cashews. The cashews must be soaked for 1 hour in hot water. Add them to a bowl and pour boiling water from the kettle over the top so that they are totally covered, and then just leave them for exactly one hour.
If you soak them for too long, they may absorb too much water and you will end up with a cottage cheese that is less flavorful, so don’t just leave them soaking for hours, put a timer on it.
Chill in the fridge for an hour. When you’ve finished making it, let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving it. It will thicken up in the fridge and reach the perfect texture.
It’s a little soft when you first mix it, which is needed so that the tofu can mix in nicely without just breaking up completely, but then you need to let it chill and thicken up, which it does wonderfully in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
It’s divine served on bread, especially toast and makes a great addition to sandwiches. I love it on toast spread with jam and then cottage cheese on top! But maybe that’s just me.
You can serve it with fruit, as a dip for raw vegetables or on crackers.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftovers stored in the fridge and enjoy within around 5 days.
You can also freeze it for up to 3 months if you like, just let it thaw overnight in the fridge when you’re ready to eat it.
More Vegan Cheese Recipes
- Sliceable Cashew Cheese
- Vegan Cheddar Cheese
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
- Vegan Parmesan
- Vegan Ricotta
- Vegan Mozzarella
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Cottage Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Raw Cashews (225g) Soaked in hot water for 1 hour*
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- ½ cup Coconut Cream (120ml) Canned, Unsweetened
- ⅓ cup Water (80ml)
- 1 teaspoon Distilled White Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast Flakes
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 8 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (226g) Crumbled
- 1 teaspoon Chopped Chives
Instructions
- Place soaked cashews, lemon juice, coconut cream, water, distilled white vinegar, salt, nutritional yeast, onion powder and garlic powder into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the blended cottage cheese mix out into a bowl.
- Place the tofu into a separate shallow bowl and crumble it with a fork.
- Add the crumbled tofu and chopped chives to the blended cottage cheese mix and fold everything together gently so you don't break up the tofu.
- Place into the fridge for at least an hour to firm up and then enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Soak the cashews. Place the raw cashews into a bowl and pour over boiling water from the kettle. Leave it to sit for an hour and then drain and rinse. Don’t let them soak for longer than an hour as this can cause the cashews to absorb a larger amount of water which could make your cottage more watery and/or bland.
- Coconut cream – can be replaced with full fat, canned, unsweetened coconut milk.
- Prep time is for hands on time only and does not include the time spent soaking the nuts or the time firming up in the fridge.
- Serves. This recipe makes around 3 cups of vegan cottage cheese. Each serve is around ¼ cup.
- Storing: Keep leftovers stored in the fridge and enjoy within around 5 days.
- Freezing: You can also freeze it for up to 3 months if you like, just let it thaw overnight in the fridge when you’re ready to eat it.
If I use blanched almonds do I still need to soak them in boiling water for one hour?
Yes you would still soak them.
I really missed cottage cheese (haven’t had any since 1990!) and lo and behold, you supply a recipe.
Next time I’ll crumble the tofu smaller, and will add smoked parika. Anoher adaptation is to omit the garlic and onion powders and stir in some fruit like mango bits.
I am so happy with this recipe. Thank you for this wonderful resource..
Now, can you come up with a vegan salami? I don’t care about ‘healthy’ – I just want the fatty, salty and chewy textures and tastes. The vegan ones sold in shops all have sugar added – these are an abomination.
So glad you like the recipe Gail! Thanks for the great review. We do have a recipe for vegan pepperoni! Hope you like it!
Sorry about the typos: “paprika” “another” “resource.”
Guess I was so excited to tell you and didn’t proofread carefully before hitting SEND.
I didn’t even notice! xo
Niiice. As an experiment, try freezing and defrosting your tofu before using. The tofu flavour is diminished, as it drains away as it defrosts and the texture comes to resemble cottage cheese even more.
Cool! Thanks for the tip. 🙂
I made Hungarian Cottage Cheese Noodles with this (using pressed firm tofu fried then braised in liquid smoke and soy sauce) and it was out of this world. Now for some sarnies!
Thank you, Alison
Awesome! Sounds delish! Thanks for the great review. 🙂
fabulous! as a new vegan, this is my second recipe and it is wonderful….
Awesome! Thanks Marie! 🙂
Is it possible to make a batch and freeze it in portions for later use? Any idea?
Yes it is freezer friendly, so you can definitely do that! Just thaw in the fridge before use. 🙂
I want to make this tonight but I only have unsalted roasted cashews. Would that work? I have all the other ingredients.
I think it would work but would change the flavor to a more roasted flavor, which might stand out a bit and make it less like ‘cottage cheese’. I don’t think it would be bad though! 🙂
Would this work with almonds instead of cashews? I want to try this recipe but I’m also doing keto and cashews are very high in carbs. Since I’ve been dairy free I haven’t had cottage cheese in at least 6 years now. I just tried another tofu recipe last night and it seriously just tastes like tofu no matter what I do. I hope this one works!
Hi Mary, I think this would work great with slivered almonds! All the best! 🙂
Hi Alison –
Thanks for this FANTASTIC recipe! Tell Jaye that he nailed it! And this recipe is indeed better than the original cottage cheese, hands down!
I prefer savory to sweet, but I do love cottage cheese with fruit, so I’ll be making another batch for that purpose by eliminating all EXCEPT the nutritional yeast, the lemon juice, the vinegar and 1/4 tsp onion powder in order to preserve the cheesy flavor. And that’s because what’s true about cottage cheese and fruit is the same that’s true about cheese and fruit – they’re made to be together! ❤
Thank you both!
Best,
Carolin
So happy to hear you loved it Carolin! Thanks for the amazing review! xo
Can I just skim the cream from the top of canned full fat coconut milk instead of buying coconut cream?
Sure!
The texture is perfect! But the coconut flavor is too strong. I just made it and put it in the fridge, but for now, it is too coconutty. Do you use de-flavored cream?
Hi Anna, I use the canned coconut cream which is unsweetened. It’s not de-flavored but I don’t find a strong flavor here. You can switch this for a different non-dairy cream if you prefer. 🙂
We have been vegan for 7 years and one of the things I have really missed is cottage cheese! Tried making some once before from a different recipe, and it was both terrible and a lot of work. This is really good! I would agree with cutting down on the onion and garlic (and perhaps the nooch too) if you want a real old-fashioned cottage cheese flavor. So enjoyed it in the middle of a peach half and topped with a maraschino cherry — just like my mother used to make!
Awesome! So glad you liked it Nancy, thanks for the wonderful review. xo
SOOOOOO good, definitely going to tell my friends and family to make this. .
Is the flavor of this mild enough to be served with fruit, sort of yogurt-esque? That’s how I used to love cottage cheese.
Hi Jessica, the flavor is quite cheesy. I think if you wanted to make it really plain, you could dial back those flavor add-ons. What I would do is reduce the white vinegar to 1/4 tsp, and remove the nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder and chives. This will give you a really good plain version that would be more like you’re looking for. All the best! 🙂
I can’t believe the texture of this, it’s totally perfect! Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
I know right! 🙂 Thanks for the awesome review! xo
Looks delicious. Can the lemon be eliminated, or can there be a substitute for it. Thanks
Hi Patti, it helps to create the ‘cheesy’ flavor. It can be left out, but you will lose some of the flavor. All the best! 🙂