Vegan Cheese
User Reviews
4.9
Vegan Cheese
Description
The Vegan Cheese recipe starts by boiling peeled and diced Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes until soft. These are blended with raw cashews, garlic cloves, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, olive oil, and water until smooth to achieve a creamy texture similar to traditional cheese sauces. The nutritional yeast imparts a cheesy flavor without dairy.
Optional spicy variations include adding chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or pickled jalapeños for heat, or smoked paprika for a smoky undertone. The final product offers a versatile dairy-free cheese suitable for dipping with tortilla chips or stirring into dishes like vegan mac and cheese for richness.
Because the blender's power affects preparation, soaking cashews is recommended for less powerful models to soften them for smoother blending, though high-powered blenders like Vitamix do not require soaking.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup potato Yukon Gold variety, peeled and diced
- ¾ cup sweet potato peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup cashew nuts raw
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more for cooking the potatoes, sea salt
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup water
Optional add-ins
- ½ to 1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon jalapeños pickled
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Place the Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Add a few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until fork-tender, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Drain and transfer to a high-speed blender with the garlic, cashews, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, olive oil, and water. Blend until smooth.
- For spicy vegan cheese, add the chipotle pepper or pickled jalapeños. If you’d like a smoky flavor, add the smoked paprika.
- Serve with tortilla chips for dipping or over pasta to make vegan mac & cheese.
Notes
- If using a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, cashews do not need to be soaked beforehand.
- For less powerful blenders, soak the cashews for about 2 hours and drain before blending to achieve a smoother consistency.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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