this vegan cheddar cheese is easy to make, is perfect for grating, cubing or melting! use it in your vegan grilled cheeses or on burgers. it is also totally nut free.
This homemade vegan cheddar cheese is simple, delicious, and allergy friendly. Made from a base of non-dairy milk and vegan yogurt, it has turmeric and paprika for color, and apple cider vinegar to help give a little bite and tang! This vegan cheese can be enjoyed in cubes, slices, or grated.
the ingredients
- Agar Powder: this is a seaweed based product. It helps to create the consistency, texture, and firmness in this vegan cheese. It cannot be replaced or substituted. You can easily find it at health food stores or order it online.
- Tapioca Flour/Starch: this will help the vegan cheese to melt a bit better and give some structure to the vegan cheese. You can usually find it in stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc or order it online.
- Non-Dairy Milk: I like to use a higher protein non-dairy milk, my go to is always Ripple Pea Protein Milk but anyone will work fine as long as it is unsweetened and unflavored.
- Vegan Yogurt: unsweetened and any kind you like will work just fine!
- Miso Paste: I like to use mellow white miso paste to help add umami.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: you can add this in to add some tang and bite to the vegan cheddar cheese.
- Turmeric: this will help to add color to the vegan cheddar cheese.
- Paprika: this will also help to add color to the vegan cheddar cheese.
- Salt: for saltiness of course.
- Nutritional Yeast: adds in B vitamins, cheesiness, and umami.
how to make vegan cheddar cheese
Into a blender you will add the non-dairy milk, vegan yogurt, salt, nutritional yeast, agar powder, tapioca flour, turmeric, and paprika. Blend until it is well incorporated. Pour it into a pot. Then you will cook it on the stove to activate both the agar powder and tapioca flour. Once it is gooey and stretchy, pour it into a lightly oiled container, and chill in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours or until firm. Then you can slice, grate, cube, or enjoy it anyway you like!
more vegan cheese recipes
ways to use vegan cheddar cheese
Of course this recipe is extremely versatile and you can truly use it wherever and however you like. Feel free to cube it and enjoy on its own on a vegan cheeseboard. You can slice it and use it on sandwiches. It grates very well so you can use it on vegan chili, vegan burgers, vegan breakfast sandwiches. You can even use this in cooking for vegan mac and cheese, the possibilities are endless.
vegan cheddar faq
- Is this recipe gluten free? Yes!
- Is this recipe soy free? Yes, as long as you use soy free non-dairy milk and vegan yogurt.
- Is this recipe nut free? Yes, as long as you use nut free non-dairy milk and vegan yogurt.
- How long will this recipe last? This will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. As there are no preservatives it is always good to just err on the side of caution.
- Can I freeze this? I didn’t try freezing this but if you want to try slicing some and placing it in the freezer it may work!
- How well does this vegan cheese melt? It will melt up a decent amount but as we all know it is a little hard to get vegan cheese to melt as nicely as non-dairy vegan cheese.
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Homemade Vegan Cheddar Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups non-dairy milk unsweetened and unflavored
- ¼ cup vegan yogurt unsweetened and unflavored
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon agar powder
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
Instructions
- Into a blender all the ingredients. Blend for 30 seconds until well incorporated.
- Pour into a pan. Cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes mixing continuously with a spatula until it starts to thicken. Once it thickens after about 10 minutes remove from the stove.
- Then pour into a lightly oiled small rectangle storage container or pan. Place in the fridge and allow to set for at least an hour, or until firm. It may take longer so don’t worry if it does.
- When ready remove and enjoy immediately however you like!
Video
Notes
- The turmeric flavor can be a little strong so if you don’t like that feel free to leave it out completely or you can reduce the amount to a ¼ teaspoon.
- I like to use Kite Hill Greek Style yogurt but feel free to use any unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy yogurt.
- This vegan cheddar is a bit on the softer side if you would it like it to be firmer do 2 tablespoons (18g) agar powder.
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I tried this recipe, and it set up beautifully. I was so excited!
But sadly the taste of this cheese was disappointing. I will try this recipe again because it was so simple and the texture was great. I am going to work with some different spices.
Thank you
Hi thank you for trying it I am sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it!
I loved this recipe. It’s so easy to make and tastes delicious. I increased the nutritional yeast to 2 tablespoons because I love the flavor and it worked perfectly. I love that this cheese is nut free making it very healthy and lower in calories. Win win 🙌🏻
Hi Karen! yay I am so glad you liked it!!! thank you for trying it and taking the time to leave a comment!!
Is there a replacement for the tapioca starch? I am on a very strict diet and cannot have that.
Hi I apologize I do not have a replacement for that as it is an essential ingredient
Guess what, I’m accidentally left out the tapioca starch and I’m t was still fine. Of course I did use 2 tbs of agar agar and also made some other changes. I knew I was going to eat it cold so I wasn’t concerned out it melting, that’s usually why you need the tapioca.
You could try using annatto seed instead of tumeric to color the cheese. If I try it I’ll let you know.
Hi Ren, sure let me know how it works out!