This vegan ricotta has the perfect ricotta taste and texture. It’s ultra cheesy, tangy and wonderful on pizza or spread on crackers.
I’m honestly blown away by this vegan ricotta.
We used slivered almonds to recreate the ricotta texture and it works SO well it’s unbelievable.
Ricotta cheese is supposed to be kind of grainy in texture. And slivered almonds create this texture perfectly!
This almond ricotta is super easy and you can spread it on crackers or scoop it on top of your vegan pizza or use it in a vegan lasagna.
And of course if you love making your own vegan cheeses then also check out our vegan cream cheese and vegan cottage cheese recipes. And if you want a nut-free vegan ricotta then check out our tofu ricotta.
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Slivered almonds – these need to be soaked in hot water for 1 hour. Blanched almonds will also work.
- Coconut cream – this should be canned, unsweetened coconut cream. This is found in the same section of the supermarket as coconut milk and is just a slightly richer, creamier version of coconut milk. If you can’t get hold of coconut cream, then canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk will also work.
- Nutritional yeast – this brings out the cheesy flavor. For anyone not familiar with nutritional yeast, note that it is not the same thing as active yeast that you use to make bread! Nutritional yeast is a flavoring and provides cheesy flavor. If you can’t get hold of it then you can omit it from the recipe but you will lose some of the cheesy flavor.
- White vinegar – this is regular white distilled vinegar. It really has the magic touch when it comes to flavoring for vegan cheese recipes. So I highly recommend you use it. Apple cider vinegar can be used in a pinch but it doesn’t work nearly as well in terms of flavor.
How To Make Vegan Ricotta 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.
- Add your slivered almonds to a bowl, pour boiling hot water from the kettle over the top and leave them to soak for 1 hour.
- Then drain them and add to your blender jug along with coconut cream, nutritional yeast, white vinegar, lemon juice, sea salt and garlic powder.
- Blend until you no longer have any chunks. It will still be grainy, but that is fine, that is what you want with ricotta.
- Transfer to a container and keep it stored in the fridge.
Recipe Tips
Soaking your slivered almonds is essential. We tried it without soaking the almonds and it still worked but it was much harder to blend and even when blended there were still pieces that had not blended properly. So you have to soak these first.
A blender creates a smooth texture that nevertheless still retains that lovely ricotta graininess, which is exactly what you want. We tried it in a food processor and simply could not get it smooth enough.
Blending smooths out the texture while still allowing for that slightly grainy ricotta texture because that texture comes from the slivered almonds and not from the processing method.
Recipe Q&A
The nutritional yeast contributes to the cheesy flavor but you can leave it out. You will lose some of that cheesiness but it will still work. You could experiment with other cheesy flavor additions as a replacement, such as a teaspoon of onion powder.
White vinegar works so well for this that if you can possibly use it you should. Apple cider vinegar will work in a pinch but white vinegar is the best here!
It will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Yes you can. It freezes very well. Thaw it in the fridge and then use as normal.
It’s wonderful spread on bread or crackers, but it also works wonderfully baked into dishes. We have used it in a vegan lasagna and baked it on a vegan pizza and it was divine both ways. It’s also wonderful in some vegan stuffed shells.
More Vegan Cheese Recipes
- Sliceable Cashew Cheese
- Vegan Cheddar Cheese
- Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
- Vegan Cheese Ball
- Vegan Feta
- Vegan Camembert
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Ricotta
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Slivered Almonds (195g) soaked in hot water for 1 hour
- ½ cup Canned Coconut Cream (120ml) Unsweetened
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Add your slivered almonds to a bowl, pour boiling hot water from the kettle over the top and leave them to soak for 1 hour.
- Then drain them and add to your blender jug along with the coconut cream, nutritional yeast, white vinegar, lemon juice, sea salt and garlic powder.
- Blend until you no longer have any chunks. It will still be grainy, but that is fine, that is what you want with ricotta.
- Transfer to a container and keep it stored in the fridge for up to a week. It’s also freezer friendly if you want to freeze some.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have canned coconut cream then full fat canned unsweetened coconut milk will also work.
- You can omit the nutritional yeast but you will lose some of the cheesy flavor.
- Distilled white vinegar works best for flavor though apple cider vinegar will work in a pinch.
- If you’re wanting to use this recipe in another recipe, then this makes approximately 1 and ⅔ cups of vegan ricotta.
- Prep time does not include the time to soak the slivered almonds.
- Keep it stored in the fridge for up to a week. It’s also freezer friendly.
- This recipe was first published in February 2019. It has been updated with extra tips but the recipe itself is unchanged.
I’m looking for healthy vegan recipes. For me, coconut cream, while vegan, is not healthy with too much fat. Are there alternatives for the “ricotta”?
Have you tried walnuts instead of almonds? I’m out of almonds right now so all I have is walnuts
Hi Rachelle. No, we haven’t tested this recipe with walnuts so I’m not sure if it will taste the same.
I make this cheese very close to your recipe but use ground almond flour instead of almonds. It gives that grainy texture, a slightly sweet taste and no soaking necessary. I’m excited to try the cottage cheese recipe!
That’s awesome Shari! Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review!
Can I use whole almonds that have been blanched and peeled instead of slivered almonds?
Yes! 🙂
Oh. My. Gosh. As an Italian trying to my hardest to eat plant based without mourning cheese…you have saved me. This recipe opened up so many doors for my family! Delicious, of course, but also simple and with ingredients that are easy to find or that are already on hand. A huge grazie, Alison!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Josie! Thanks for the awesome review.
I don’t like ricotta made from dairy. But THIS is delicious! I was eating it on a spoon. Well done!
Yay! Thanks so much Daphne!
Could I use almond meal instead of soaked almond slivers?
I really don’t think so.
I used almond meal and it was fabulous – saving an extra step in the process.
I’m going to make this today. When you use canned coconut cream, do you just use the cream and toss the liquid in the can? Thanks in advance.
Hi Deb, in this case you don’t need to refrigerate the can of coconut cream so there shouldn’t be any separation of cream and water. You can just shake up the can and use it like that.
OK. Thanks!
Hi Alison, I don’t like the taste of coconut, can I use oat cream instead? Or any other oat based products? Thank you.
Yes sure!
Can cashews be substituted for almonds?
Thank you
Yes, but then you’re going to have more of a cream cheese texture than a ricotta texture.
Deliciously cheesy and a perfect hit with some crackers for that unexpected visitor!
can you make it without the vinegar
Yes, but the vinegar does provide a wonderful tang that works with everything else to make it more cheesy.
Which brand of blender do you prefer?
Lorii
Hi Lori we have a Vitamix 5200 and love it!