Vegan Cashew Ricotta Cheese Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is vegan ricotta cheese made of? ›

In general, there are two main methods for making vegan ricotta: one with soy milk and the other with blended nuts and tofu. They are both delicious. However, we recommend you try the soy milk method, which yields ricotta that is ridiculously similar to real Italian ricotta.

There are a few plant-based ricotta cheese brands and alternatives out there. I've used Tofutti ricotta and made my own tofu ricotta to make baked ziti, and both were good. But for this review, I finally tried Kite Hill vegan ricotta cheese, and I was really impressed with the results.

First, a simple mixture of cashews, vinegar, lemon juice, coconut oil, nutritional yeast, and seasonings gets blended until smooth. Then, it ferments for a day or two. Finally, the cheese gets shaped into a log (think a log of goat cheese) and hangs out in the fridge for a few hours.

So what cheeses are vegetarian? Fresh cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella, paneer, cottage cheese, and cream cheese tend to be vegetarian by nature, requiring lemon juice or citric acid to coagulate instead of rennet. Otherwise, look for cheese that explicitly states that it was created with vegetarian rennet.

Vegan cheese is usually made from soy, nuts, vegetable oils, and various other natural ingredients like peas or arrowroot. Vegan cheese is seen as a healthier alternative to cheese by some, and may reduce your risk of heart disease due to its lower content of fat.

As vegan blog Wag Free Food notes, coconut oil, coconut milk, and coconut cream are popular ingredients to make vegan cheese. The high-fat content of coconut makes it easier to create a creamy, decadent, cheese-like product.

Cottage cheese: As far as ricotta substitutes go, light and mild cottage cheese is your best bet. In fact, some people prefer to use cottage cheese because it has a similar flavor and fewer calories.

Plant Based Artisanal Cheese - Kite Hill Dairy Free Products.

Ricotta is a bit iffy, but it's okay if it's very fresh and top quality. The white sauce (bechamel) is sufficient to bind the filling without adding eggs. If you're not using bechamel in your lasagna, you're missing a seriously creamy component.

They produce the creamiest and smoothest texture when soaked. They also have an ideal neutral flavor that is perfect in recipes such as vegan ranch dip and cashew mayo. Roasted cashews have a noticeable roasted flavor so it is best to use raw cashews when called for.

Is vegan cashew cheese healthy? ›

The cashew-based cheese alternatives were the most likely products to be low in sodium (Table 1). Over 80% of the cheese alternatives were low in calories, while only 2% were high in fat.

For the vegan eater, cashews offer up a good source of protein, unsaturated fat and copper, a “mineral essential for energy production, healthy brain development and a strong immune system.” Cashews, like many nuts, tend to be expensive.

So, ricotta actually translates to recooked in Italian, and ricotta is what's called a "whey cheese." When you make cheese, you separate milk into two distinct things. You have the solids, called curds, which will be separated out and pressed to form cheese. And you have the liquid that is left behind, called whey.

Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is now stepping up its versatility, just like Ricotta. It's got similar moisture content and subtle taste, a fantastic swap for Ricotta in pancakes, vegan lasagna recipes, muffins, quick bread – you name it!

Cheeses That Don't Use Rennet

"Many softer styles of cheese like mozzarella, paneer, ricotta, and cream cheese use whey or another type of acid as their coagulant instead of rennet, so they will be safe for vegetarians," says Birnbaum.

Ingredients. Pasteurized Organic Whole Milk, Organic Vinegar, Sea Salt.