Easy Garlic & Herb Vegan Cheese

I made this recipe this morning. currently it is in the fridge for the 6 or so hours. Everything seemed to have come out OK except the mixture did not look as smooth as yours. Granted I halved the recipe because the amount of cashews was just 1 cup that’s what I had on hand but y food processor is the regular size so don’t know if that contributed to it not being smooth as yours. It tasted just how I wanted it. BTW I did not use lemon juice I used lime instead and reduced the amount. The lime zest added a wonderful flavor. So I am going to give it a 4.5 rating just because the finishing touch is yet to come

Oh my, this is the recipe I’ve been looking for for a long time. This cheese is just heavenly with my homemade artisan bread mmmm. Thank you so much!

This was amazing!! Subbed 1tbsp apple cider vinegar for the lemon rind and lemon juice and added chives, paprika and dill to the mixture. Put also more nutritional yeast and cashews as I wanted a stronger taste. Really hard not to finish it in one go!! Thanks Dana

This was really good! I wouldn’t exactly describe this as “cheesy”, but it was a delicious spread on crackers or toast. Even my non-vegan family members liked it, which is really saying something! I would recommend leaving out some of the lemon if you want less of a pronounced lemon flavor.

I made it without using the last stage of shaping it with cheese cloth. Just satisfied with it as dip. Fantastic! It has cheese texture! It is easy to make. Thank you for the recipe!

Great recipe! Good flavor, and great with crackers and wine.

NOTE: if you spread the cheesecloth out the wide way (vs. keeping the fabric doubled) the “cheese” may start to fall through the cloth when you place it in there. This happened to me. I did damage control and had and extra piece, so I placed it under two existing pieces and then tied it. Cashews are expensive, so making another one would have been a waste and a royal pain… just a heads up.

Best,
Heather

I didn’t have a cheesecloth so I subbed with a nut milk bag, but after ~16 hours it did not set very well. I do have a nice spread I could use for breads and crackers. Next time I would probably line it with paper towels or a cotton cloth.

As for the taste, it’s more on the lemon-y side than cheese-y even though I added 2 more teaspoons of nutritional yeast while blending. I might skip the zest next time.

Thank you for the recipe regardless Dana!

YUM. I have made this recipe a number of times for parties and it always disappears quickly. It’s fun to experiment with flavors – this last time I subbed the dill with fresh rosemary, added a few drops of liquid smoke, and a little macadamia nut milk to offset an increased amount of nutritional yeast. After shaping and garnishing I left it uncovered in the fridge for a few hours. The extra drying seemed to help it hold it’s shape – it looked great all evening.

Thanks for such a tasty recipe

I made this recipe for a work do. All the non vegan staff members want the recipe. It was delicious. Thank you is was so easy to make and tasty.

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! It was super easy to make and did not disappoint. Instead of dill I used chopped pecans and fresh thyme and it worked out really well.

Yum. I made this recipe twice, once as a half batch to test for thanksgiving and again as the full recipe. Both were super tasty and loved by all. I noticed the texture on the half batch was firmer, less moist and held it’s (mozzarella ball size) shape better. Im guessing the smaller volume dried out better in the fridge because it’s well, smaller. The full batch was yummy and did hold together but it made me nervous it would “melt.” I think if I make it again I will either do a half batch or split the full batch into two balls.

I made this and served it as the centerpiece on a vegan Thanksgiving charcuterie board. It was fabulous and received rave reviews by vegans and non-vegans. After reading the reviews, I only used 1/2 cup of water. The only changes I made were to increase the nutritional yeast by 2 tablespoons, and an extra squeeze of lemon. After soaking the cashews for 12 hours, I drained them in a strainer for about 1/2 hour to make sure they were really dry. I used 2 layers of cheesecloth, tied it tightly with a rubber band, and placed it in a strainer over a bowl. I let it sit for 24 hours, and re-tightened it twice. It was firm, held it’s shape perfectly and was absolutely delicious!! It was so good I’m going to make it again for another event this weekend!!

I used 1/4 cup of lemon juice (one big lemon) and just shy of 1/2 a cup of water in mine and processed it within an inch of its life with a 1200-watt food processor. It didn’t drain any liquid at all over eight hours of refrigeration even thought I had weighted it like I would paneer. I wouldn’t call the results “cheese” because it neither tastes like nor has the consistency of cheese, but taken on its own terms as cashew spread, everyone else liked it (although I thought it tasted too strongly of nutritional yeast). Nevertheless, if I want a spread or a dip, I’ll stick with hummus.

Even forgetting the water in the processing part, it worked so well
I’d like to post the photo but can’t see how

Great recipe! I’ve made others but find these exact ratios to yield the best cashew cheese. I followed as written but will add that I recently found Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional yeast – historically, I’ve not been a huge fan of nutritional yeasts flavor – but this stuff is good straight up.

Mine is currently in the fridge firming up, but it tastes absolutely delicious! I added some tahini as I saw that in another recipe and I think that and some extra lemon juice gave it the goaty tang it needed. I’m excited to try it in salads and on toast!

My third time making it- maybe some time I will vary the recipe e.g. with caramelized onions or other herbs but have not yet. This is alway a hit with vegan friends and “non”.

Hi! I made this today for a dinner engagement tomorrow evening. The directions were superb – thank you so much for that! I’m a stickler for clear directions with recipes. The finished product tasted terrific, but I have a quick question. What will happen if I leave the cashew cheese wrapped in the cheesecloth for a full 24 hours and unwrap before transporting it tomorrow evening/late afternoon? Would that be okay? Thanks a lot…I’m really glad I found your website. It’s right up my alley! Elaine

I made a half batch of this a couple days ago. It didn’t set, which was very disappointing, hence the reason for the 4(.5) star rating. Thinking back, my cheesecloth was 4 layers because otherwise it would have leaked through. I guess that could be my issue. Nonetheless, I used it as garlic cream cheese (oh yes she did), and it was amazing! So whatevs, I wouldn’t worry if it doesn’t set, the taste is fantastic and it can be changed up, I was thinking it would be a great addition to stuffed mushrooms perhaps or add a bit more water and use it as a dip or dressing. Great recipe, I will attempt it again as a cheese ball and if it sets, it will be 5 stars for me!

Just “unfolded” my cheese and topped it with the fresh dill…it is delish!!! I wish it had been ready to take to a NYE party last night…where I could have fooled everyone…but I didn’t start the soaking early enough. But this way we get it all to ourselves! Thanks for a great recipe. I was at our local farmer’s market this weekend, and one vendor wanted $9.00 for a tiny container of cheese…so I was so happy to find your recipe later that day…and now I have my own for way less $$$

I made this for my meat eating friends and glad to report they all liked it! I didn’t have a cheese cloth so I used two Veggio bags instead and that seemed to work well. I didn’t put as much lemon rind as in the recipe but it was still plenty lemony enough. I also found quick soaking the cashews worked fine. Good to know there is a cheaper and healthier alternative to shop bought vegan cheese.

I make it now and then. It’s delicious! I even won a prize at my husband’s work with this cheese :)
I leave it as a spread, omit garlic powder putting more fresh garlic instead and don’t use still at all

This was a huge hit! Very yummy, the lemon and dill go so well together and super easy to make with my food processor! Love it!

Amazing i made it so yummy
Just need half cup water

This is insanely delicious, Dana! I halved the oil, left out some of the water, added about a half TBS of fresh chopped parsley and the green portion of scallions finely minced, juiced one lemon since mine was absurdly juicy, and used a Microplane grater for the garlic to eliminate chunky bits. I used a very thin cotton kitchen towel to drain my cheese since I couldn’t find cheesecloth, and mine is still kind of wet on the top after sitting overnight, but I’m not planning to display it on a cheese plate so no one needs to know. :) Had it on an English muffin this morning and it was totally out of this world! Mine has kind of a cream cheese consistency, and let me tell you, I am going to make some killer cucumber tea sandwiches with this later this week. The lemony, garlicky, and somewhat grassy notes of the parsley and scallions are absolute heaven. I’ll have to try it with the dill next time, I just didn’t have any on hand. My only real note is it makes A LOT, so if you are one person and not planning to gorge yourself on vegan cheese – it’s pretty rich and garlicky for my sensitive tummy, so I’m not going to have more than a portion at a time – or throw a party, consider halving the recipe.

It is currently in the fridge draining, but one has to taste test. I added a bit more yeast and garlic and scraped the bowl clean with a cracker, or two.

Cream cheese is an okay base, but by itself is bland. Not this, great as a dip. I’m already planning different flavourings, middle-eastern most likely. It tastes great, thank you. Moderation will be a problem so I’ll be giving some to a friend.

I’ll call it bobby-calf cheese because it was after seeing poor little calves taken from their mums that I had to make the leap away from dairy.

Thanks so much for this amazing recipe!!! It worked just perfect in my birthday party. Great cheese taste and very satisfying.

Hey I made this with a Mexican twist and stirred in corn kernels, jalapeños, cilantro and Cajun spice before refridgerating. It was amazing and even the non vegans loved it. Thanks for the great recipes!

Excellent recipe. It came out very well. Thank you

This was my first ever attempt at making a vegan cheese, and I halved the quantities because I didn’t want to end up eating all of it myself if my husband took a dislike to it…. but I needn’t have worried!
It’s delicious and easy to make. It also set beautifully (after about 4 hours wrapped in the cheesecloth in the fridge).
I didn’t have any lemons, so I couldn’t add any zest, only lemon juice from a bottle. When I make it again, I’ll try including zest to see if this tweak will make it even better.
Great recipe. Thanks!

I made this recently and like many others mine didn’t get firm. It still tasted good. I did end up freezing half and it was still good.

My sister-in-law helped me make this at Christmas time last year and now I’m making it bu myself. It was sooo good! Hope it turns out as good on my own! ?

This made my Christmas magical! All my cheese peeps enjoyed it and it was fun to make. Over time the cheese became more flavorful and yummier! Thanks a lot! I will definitely make again and again!

This is my second attempt at making a Vegan Cheese (We won’t even discuss my first failure). This however is fantastic. I followed the directions then added another tablespoon of Nutritional Yeast and one half a teaspoon of salt, adjusting the recipe to my tastes.
I could not be happier. Thanks so very much for the great recipe. :)

This is outstanding! Once it firmed up, we added dried parsley, chives, & dill (some fresh dill too). Thank you so much for this amazing recipe.
I didn’t have cheesecloth so I used a tea towel. It was still gooey at about 12 hours so I twisted it tighter and left it there for about 24 hours, it came out firm and more solid and perfect.

This cheese is sooo delicious and easy to make by non-experienced cooks like me! My husband and have recently decided to become vegan and we both love cheese. All the vegan store bought vegan cheeses have so far been a major disappointment, so we decided to make our own. This cheese is wildly superior to any vegan cheese I’ve tasted. It has such a complex flavor, it’s rich yet not too heavy. It’s just perfect. Can’t wait to try your other cheese recipes! I’m so happy I came across your website as it’s the perfect guide for our newly vegan family. Thank you!

So flavorful and easy to whip up. Even my carnivore family and friends like it. I haven’t had Boursin in awhile but I imagine this to be the best vegan comparison. I find that I only need 1/2 cup water instead of the full 3/4 cup.