The same classic American cheese taste you grew up with: mild, firm, and satisfying. These creamy golden-hued vegan American cheese slices are perfect sliced on sandwiches and crackers. Recipe and photo from Vegan Cheese: Simple, Delicious Plant-Based Recipes by Jules Aron, ©2017 by Countryman Press, reprinted by permission.
Makes: An approximately 1-pound block
Prep and cook time: under 30 minutes
Wait time: 2 to 4 hours
Cheese
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked, drained, and rinsed
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup water, filtered
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Agar Gel
- ½ cup cold water, filtered
- 4 teaspoons agar powder
Place all the cheese ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth and creamy. Leave the cheese mixture in the blender.
To make the agar gel, whisk the cold water and the agar together in a saucepan. Let it soak for 5 minutes then bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, whisking often, for 5 to 8 minutes, to activate the agar.
Once the agar mixture is ready, quickly transfer it to the cheese mixture in the blender and process until it becomes homogenous. Pour the mixture into a container and cover. Refrigerate until firm and set, at least 2 to 4 hours.
Wrap the cheese in waxed paper and store in a sealed container. Will keep, refrigerated, for 1 to 2 weeks.
Tip: Soaking the cashews in water for 4 to 8 hours makes the puree creamier and easier to process.
- See more of our vegan cheese-y delights
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7 Comments
Gerry Buck
February 17, 2018 at 6:49 pmI have been looking for something like this for a long time.
jcpetke
February 25, 2018 at 5:06 pmRAW – Beet Ravioli Pods & Shaved Asparagus Noods Ingredients: Cashew-meoutside ‘cream’ cheese filling – • 2C raw cashews (SOAKED OVERNIGHT IN WATER! ) • 1/2C water (or extra broth/stock)• 1 lemon (zested & juiced)• 1T nutritional yeast • 1T onion powder • 1 1/2T chives (sliced VERY thin) • 1⁄4C parsley (chopped fine)• 2 shallots (peeled & minced)• Salt/Pepper (to taste) Beet Ravioli • 1⁄4C EVOO • 1 garlic clove (minced)• 1 lemon (juiced & zested)• Salt/Pepper (to taste)• 1 large RED beet (peeled and sliced into VERY thin 1/8” rounds – use a mandolin) • 1 large GOLDEN beet Asparagus Noods• 1# asparagus (shredded with a veggie peeler into thin ribbons)• 1T sesame oil• 1T EVOO• 1 lemon (juiced)• 1T rice vinegar• 1T sesame seeds Directions: Prep cashew cream cheese by blending the soaked (strained) cashews with water (if you didn’t get a chance to soak these babies. boil some water and soak them in there for 10 minutes) and lemon juice and zest in high-speed blender, until smooth. Pause a few times to scrape sides of blender and fold ingredients to ensure a creamy texture.
Julio
March 3, 2018 at 12:57 pmThank you for this wonderful recipe. Can you substitute the Agar powder with other thickening like Psyllium Husk or Chia seeds? Thank you.
Nava
March 3, 2018 at 1:46 pmHi Julio — since this is a contributed recipe, I can’t say for sure. I worry that psyllium or chia would change the flavor/color too much. I was going to try this with agar flakes instead of the agar powder myself!
Heather
March 9, 2018 at 9:15 pmBookmarked this page, I really want to try this cheese! Mmm, looks so good.
EmD
March 19, 2018 at 11:57 amHow much agar should I use?
Nava
March 19, 2018 at 12:36 pmThe recipe calls for 4 teaspoons of agar powder; I’m not sure how that would translate to agar flakes, which I’d like to try. I’m going to hazard a guess and say 2 1/2 tablespoons of agar flakes, since they’re not as dense as powder. But don’t hold me to that — I still need to try this that way (it’s a contributed recipe)!