Whipped Almond Ricotta (5 Ingredients!)

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Bowl of delicious WHIPPED Vegan Ricotta Cheese on a cutting board with lemon and almonds

I never thought vegan ricotta cheese could taste so good – until now. Friends, let’s make 5-ingredient vegan cheese!

Nutritional yeast, lemon, salt, almonds, and garlic powder for making Vegan Ricotta Cheese

Origins of Ricotta

Ricotta is a soft, mild “cheese” popular in Italian cuisine and used in dishes such as ravioli, lasagna, tortellini, and crepes. It’s believed to have roots dating back to ancient history (source).

But did you know that ricotta is not technically cheese (source)?! We were surprised too! It’s actually made from whey, which is a by-product of cheese making.

Either way, we love its taste and versatility, but wanted to make a dairy-free version for those who can’t or choose not to consume dairy products!

How to Make Vegan Ricotta

The base for this seriously easy 1-blender, 10-minute ricotta is blanched slivered almonds. Because they’ve already been soaked and the skins removed, the almonds don’t need to be soaked before blending! Time = saved. In fact, I tried soaking them and didn’t like the end product nearly as much.

Because ricotta doesn’t typically have an intense cheesy flavor, the only additions it needs are nutritional yeast for a little cheesiness, lemon juice for tang, salt for saltiness, and a dash of garlic powder for depth of flavor.

Blender filled with ingredients for making simple WHIPPED Vegan Ricotta Cheese
Freshly WHIPPED Vegan Ricotta Cheese in the blender

Once blended, the “ricotta” is ready to go! Or you can set it in a cheesecloth and set it in the refrigerator to chill and harden a bit more. But if you’re in a hurry, the finished product is ready like that (in just 10 minutes)!

Wooden cutting board with a bowl of our homemade Vegan Ricotta Cheese recipe

I hope you all LOVE this almond ricotta! It’s:

Creamy
Tangy
Cheesy
Satisfying
Versatile
Easy to make
& SO delicious

Add this ricotta to things like my Zucchini Lasagna, My Favorite Vegan Pizza, or Stuffed Shells! It would also make a delicious addition to things like my Lentil Bolognese Sauce to make the sauce creamier and cheesier. YUM.

For more vegan “cheese,” check out our Easy Garlic & Herb Vegan Cheese, Spicy Pimento Cheese Ball, 5-Minute Macadamia Nut Cheese, Easy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese,” and 30-Minute Cashew Alfredo!

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

Close up shot of a bowl of Vegan Ricotta Cheese garnished with fresh basil leaves

Whipped Almond Ricotta (5 Ingredients!)

5-ingredient, 10-minute almond ricotta! Blanched almonds blended with nutritional yeast, salt, and lemon. The perfect plant-based alternative to ricotta!
Author Minimalist Baker
Print
Bowl of whipped almond ricotta on a cutting board with slivered almonds and a lemon half
4.93 from 125 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 8 (~1/4-cup servings)
Course Sauce
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Italian-Inspired, Vegan
Freezer Friendly No
Does it keep? 5-7 Days

Ingredients

  • 2 cups slivered blanched almonds*
  • 2-3 tsp nutritional yeast (plus more to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 – 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 dash garlic powder
  • 3/4 – 1 cup water
  • 2-3 Tbsp fresh basil, oregano, or parsley (optional)

Instructions

  • Add all ricotta ingredients (starting with the lesser amount of water (3/4 cup/180 ml and salt (1/2 tsp) as original recipe is written) to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides as needed (~2 minutes). You are looking for a well-puréed mixture with only very small bits of almonds intact. Add a bit more water a little at a time if the mixture is having a hard time blending until smooth.
  • Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more salt for overall flavor, nutritional yeast for cheesiness, and lemon juice for acidity. For even more flavor, you can add in some fresh basil, oregano, or parsley (optional).
  • At this point, the “cheese” is ready to enjoy, especially in dishes like Lasagna, Pizza, or Stuffed Shells. However, it can also be wrapped in cheesecloth, formed into a ball, and placed into a fine mesh strainer set over a mixing bowl up to 3 days. This will allow the “cheese” to firm up a bit. However, this is optional. You can also transfer straight from blender to a storage container and refrigerate.
  • Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 5-7 days.

Notes

*We also have Cashew Ricotta and Macadamia Ricotta recipes.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
*Recipe adapted from Hot For Food.
*Recipe makes ~2 cups ricotta.

Nutrition (1 of 8 servings)

Serving: 1 quarter-cup servings Calories: 162 Carbohydrates: 6.5 g Protein: 6.3 g Fat: 13.6 g Saturated Fat: 1.1 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 178 mg Fiber: 3.7 g Sugar: 1.2 g

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    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Yes, it works beautifully in lasagna! Is there something specific you’re hoping to make? It may not behave like dairy ricotta in all recipes.

  1. Betty Ching says

    Not sure if I missed something, but ingredients list almonds. but your notes say you haven’t tried this with any other nuts besides macadamia. Did you use almonds or macadamia?

    Thank you.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Sorry for the confusion, Betty! What we mean by that is that other than almonds, we’ve only tested with macadamia nuts. Though we’ve now also made a cashew version, so that should be updated :)

  2. Claire Nash says

    I just made this for the Lentil Eggplant Lasagne and wish I had made more. Its absolutely delicious! I included basil and got my son to taste it as well (he’s not a fan of ricotta) and he enjoyed the taste, likening it to pesto (which he loves).

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Amazing! We’re so glad you both enjoyed it, Claire. Thank you for the lovely review! xo

  3. Sarah says

    I’ve used this recipe a couple of times, this last time I was using it for a stuffed ravioli and I decided to use ground almonds to save some dishes and time and it worked out perfectly.

  4. Chloe Webster says

    Really delicious recipe! We didn’t have any blanched almonds, so used almond flour instead and worked really well.

  5. Greg says

    Hi! Can I double this? Will it still come out the same? Or should I run one batch and then another? Please let me know. Thanks so much!

  6. Carole says

    Cooking for a vegan recipient with Lasagna Love helped me push out of my comfort zone and try this. I only had cashews in the pantry, so I used those. Oh my goodness, this was so easy and TASTY!! It worked perfectly in the dish. Thank you!

  7. Kelly says

    I made this with cashew pieces and can confirm it comes out great, too. Note, I didn’t soak the cashews, and maybe it’s because they’re pieces it came out okay. But I also have a Vitamix blender, so that probably also makes a difference.

    Anyhow, my old favorite dairy-based lasagna recipe has been resurrected to a vegan favorite now. Thank you.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Wendy, we haven’t tried it with almond flour, but other readers have reported it works. They’ve mentioned using an equal amount of almond flour. Let us know if you try it!

  8. Rahbyn DiFranco says

    I had a little trouble pureeing. Took a little longer but my blender is old. I was also going slowly as this was my first attempt. It turned out great! I’m making vegan ravioli with vegan pasta dough.

  9. Laura W says

    I really liked this recipe! I made this to put in a vegan/gluten free lasagna to accommodate my friends with dietary restrictions. I am not vegan nor gluten free, but I really loved this as a ricotta replacement. I have made it twice and the first time I used slivered almonds as the recipe states, but the second time I used dry-roasted marcona almonds. The slivered almonds definitely had a better result. The marcona almonds were not bad, but you could definitely tell they were roasted almonds because it had a more toasty flavor. If I make this again I will use the slivered almonds. Overall a great alternative to traditional ricotta!

  10. nadine plingos says

    This is fabulous. I used the pulp left over from making almond milk in the Almond Cow. It tastes really good. I am going to freeze a new batch today. I am not sure how it will be once thawed. Has anyone else tried to freeze this???

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Nadine! Thanks so much for the lovely review. We don’t think this would freeze well, but if you give it a try, we would love to hear how it goes!