Vegan Cheddar Cheese
If you’re missing cheese in your vegan diet, rest assured. This vegan cheddar cheese slices, melts and grates like the real one. This requires only a few ingredients, is prepped in 10 minutes and is super versatile as you’ll see below.
Jump to RecipeThe first thing you need to do is soak the raw unsalted cashews in water for at about four hours, or just boil them for about 15 minutes until they become super soft. This is the same process I follow for my vegan mozzarella cheese, vegan sweet cream cheese and vegan herbed cheese.
Agar Mixture
Next, we need to prepare the agar mixture. Agar is a white and semi translucent vegetable gelatin derived from marine algae. It is a crucial ingredient in this recipe as it helps to hold the cheese together. It makes the cheese firm when cold and melt when warm.
Now, in the video I use agar flakes; but I’ll have to admit that it’s a lot more challenging to get the right consistency with it (although I did). To make things easier, I recommend using the agar powder if you can find it (here is the one I use). To prepare the agar mixture, Add the water and the agar powder to a small saucepan. Now at this point, you should also add the tapioca starch. This was done in the video but it was a mistake as the starch should be cooked. Stir the mixture for 3 to 5 minute until you get a very gooey and sticky consistency. Then, set it aside.
The Secret Ingredient
Our secret ingredients are the sweet potatoes. Since they are rich in betacarotene, they are the best way to get that orange cheddar color while also sneaking in all the fibers and nutrients they come with. I suggest steaming the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them, so they don’t retain excess water.
Blend it all
In your blender, add the soaked cashews, steamed sweet potatoes, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, smoked paprika, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil (or any other mild vegetable oil you have on hand, don’t use olive oil as it has a strong flavor), salt and pepper and water. Blend everything until smooth.
Grease a ramekin (I like the coconut oil spray), then pour in your mixture. Set it in the fridge for about 3 to 5 hours, and your vegan cheddar cheese is ready to serve. It slices, grates, melts and it tastes AMAZING. You can store it in the fridge for 5 to 7 days. Enjoy it with some toasts, pasta, pizza or just by itself!
The recipe for the vegan cheddar cheese on the video below begins at 1:45.
VEGAN CHEDDAR CHEESE
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Cashews raw, unsalted
- 185 g Sweet Potato cooked
- 2/3 Cup Water
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 Tbsp Coconut Oil Refined
- 3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- Agar Agar Mixture see ingredients below
Agar Agar Mixture
- 3 Tbsp Agar Agar Powder
- 1 Cup Water
- 3 Tbsp Tapioca Starch
Instructions
Agar Agar Mixture
- In a small saucepan on medium heat, add the water, the agar powder and the tapioca starch (the video does not include the tapioca starch here, but this was a mistake). Stir the mixture for 3 to 5 minute until the mixture is comes together and it becomes hard to stir. Set it aside.
Cheddar Cheese
- Soak the raw unsalted cashews for at least 4 hours or boil them in a saucepan for 15 min.
- Dice and steam the sweet potatoes for about 15 min or until fully cooked.
- In your blender, add the softened cashews, cooked sweet potatoes, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, smoked paprika, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, salt and pepper and water. Blend everything until smooth.
- Add to the blender the Agar mixture prepared earlier and blend to incorporate.
- Grease a ramekin (I like the coconut oil spray), then pour in your mixture. Set it in the fridge for about 3 to 5 hours, and your vegan mozzarella cheese is ready to serve. It slices, grates, melts and it tastes AMAZING. You can store it in the fridge for 5 to 7 days. Enjoy it with some toasts, pasta, pizza or just by itself!
