This easy homemade vegan cashew cheese is so delicious and a great dairy-free cheese alternative. It is sliceable and requires only 6 ingredients. It’s also soy-free, oil-free, and gluten-free.
This vegan cashew cheese is delicious on crackers and a perfect part of a vegan cheese board. It has a creamy cheese center and can be grilled on a skillet or spread on fantastic vegan cheese sandwiches!
Plus, it is quick and easy to make! This simple recipe requires only 10 mins of your time (not including chill time) and minimal effort. You will be thrilled to have this easy vegan cheese recipe on your cooking list.
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Recipe Highlights
- Dietary – vegan, whole food, oil-free, soy-free, gluten-free
- Quick and easy to make
- Only 6 simple whole food ingredients
- Healthy and oil-free
- Creamy and delicious
- Homemade vegan cheese
- Easy to slice
- Spreadable
- Great for a vegan cheese board
Ingredient Notes
This vegan cashew cheese recipe is simple and easy to make. You’ll need only 6 basic ingredients. Here they are:
- raw cashews – use plain raw cashews without any additives like salt or oil
- nutritional yeast – adds a nutty cheesy flavor
- apple cider vinegar – it provides that tangy flavor you need
- onion powder – seasons the vegan cheese and adds flavor
- garlic powder – add a nice taste to the cashew cheese, use as much as you want
- agar agar powder – It’s important to use 100% pure agar agar powder and not flakes. Flakes are less powerful and if you do use agar flakes, you will need to use 3 times as much (3 teaspoons).
For the full ingredients list, measurements, and instructions, please find the recipe card below.
Is This Cashew Cheese Good for You
This delicious homemade cashew cheese makes for a great dairy-free cheese alternative that is healthy and full of flavor.
It contains NO cholesterol and NO saturated fat which are abundant in dairy cheese. This cashew cheese is made without added oils making it a healthier choice for people concerned about their heart health.
Raw cashews provide a range of nutrients, including fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and plant-based protein. Nutritional yeast is a good source of B vitamins, including vitamin B12, which is often lacking in vegan diets. Garlic and onion powder offer additional flavor and potential health benefits, such as antioxidant properties.
This vegan cashew cheese is lactose-free and dairy-free, making it suitable for people with digestive issues and discomfort.
This Easy Cashew Cheese is
- vegan (dairy-free & egg-free)
- whole food
- oil-free
- soy-free
- gluten-free
- quick and easy to make
- made with only 6 ingredients
- requires 10 mins of your time
- tastes fantastic
- easy to slice and spread
- great for grilled sandwiches
How to Serve vegan cashew Cheese
Here are a few suggestions on how to serve this vegan cashew cheese:
- Enjoy this dairy-free cheese on toast or sandwiches, you can grill them and top them with fresh tomato slices
- Slice and serve as part of a vegan cheese board or platter together with some fruits, grapes, jams, mixed salted nuts, crackers
- Try it over pizza – like this Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza or this gluten-free Chickpea Flatbread
- Bake it on a skillet and serve it with grain bowls, salads or toasted bread
- Put it in burgers like this Delicious Quinoa Burger or Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger
- Enjoy it with some wraps and vegan burritos together with some beans, tofu, veggies, and avocado
How to Store
Fridge: You can store any leftover cashew cheese in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5-6 days.
Freezer: This cashew cheese is freezer-friendly and can be stored in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months.
More Vegan Cheese Recipes
- Quick Dairy-free Parmesan
- Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese
- Quick Universal Cheese Sauce
- Easy Creamy Vegan Zucchini Dip
- Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Cream
- Oil-free Vegan Salad Dressing
If you try this Easy Cashew Cheese Recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and ★★★★★ recipe rating below. I would love to see your remakes and hear what you think.
Easy Cashew Cheese
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup (150 g) raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight and well drained
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp agar agar powder
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) water
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in hot water for at least 4 hours or in cold water overnight. Then, rinse and drain them well.
- Add the soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, vinegar, onion, garlic powder, and salt in a food processor. Blend for several minutes until smooth. Leave the mixture in the processor.
- In a small saucepan add the water and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, add the agar powder and reduce the heat to a minimum. Let simmer for one minute stirring constantly with a whisk. Then remove from the heat and pour it into the food processor on top of the cashew mixture.
- Blend again for several minutes until smooth.
- Immediately pour the cheese mixture into a round bowl (mine measures 13 cm/9 inches round and 6 cm/2 inches deep). Smooth the surface with a spoon and refrigerate until set (about 2 hours or more). To remove from the bowl turn it upside down onto a plate and shake gently.
Notes
- It is important to use 100% pure agar agar powder and not flakes. Flakes are less powerful and if you do use agar flakes, you will need to use 3 times as much (3 teaspoons).
- This recipe makes one 380 g round of vegan cheese.
Nutrition
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I love this recipe and it uses no oil!
Hi Kathy,
I’m so glad to hear that you love the recipe! Yes, it’s great that it doesn’t use any oil, making it a lighter and healthier option. Enjoy!
How many servings are there to make the nutrition profile numbers work? The per serving salt seems really low, given the 1 tsp. in the recipe. If you use half the salt, how would that affect the flavor?
Hi Caro,
the nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically. So there could be a mistake in it and I’m going to check it out again. Regarding the salt content, if you decide to halve the salt as you mentioned, it could slightly reduce the savory flavor of the cheese, but it shouldn’t dramatically affect the overall taste. If you are used to easting less salt probably you would like it. I’d recommend trying a small batch with the adjusted salt amount to see how it suits your taste preferences.
Looks like a good recipe but yes the sodium count is ridiculously off in the nutrition panel. By my math it would be almost 300 mg per serving, not 6 mg! That really needs to be corrected.
Hi Joanne,
you are abosolutely right, I just fixed it. Thank you for pointing that out.