This vegan goats cheese recipe is made from cashews and simple to prepare. With the option of using agar, it’s easy to make a tasty, tangy and crumbly dairy free cheese!
This recipe is not fermented which makes it easy, approachable and doesn’t require any fancy techniques or ingredients!
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Is Goat Cheese Dairy Free?
Goat cheese is made from goat milk, a type of dairy; so no, goat’s cheese is not dairy free. While many people associate cow’s milk as being “dairy”, humans consume the milk from a variety of animals including goats and sheep (most commonly).
Do Vegans Eat Goat Cheese?
Since goat cheese is made from goat milk, an animal secretion/ by-product, it is not vegan and therefore vegans do not eat goat cheese.
Sometimes there’s confusion about what the term vegan means, but it refers to a lifestyle that avoids the use of animals in any way possible. Some people use the term “plant-based” which doesn’t have a specific definition, therefore someone on a plant-based diet may choose to consume non-vegan products like goats cheese. “Plant-based” focuses on what you eat whereas veganism is about ethics and justice for animals.
What is Vegan Goat Cheese?
Vegan goat cheese is any product or recipe that mimics the flavor and texture of non-vegan goat cheese. This recipe uses cashews and some salty, tangy ingredients to get that signature goat’s cheese flavor.
There are other vegan goat cheese recipes that require fermentation and use probiotics. While this adds depth of flavor and added tanginess, it’s not necessary to make a delicious cashew goat cheese. It may also be expensive to purchase probiotics, and fermentation is time consuming.
This recipe can be ready to eat in as little as 15 minutes if you don’t use agar (or up to 2 hours if you do and need to let it set).
How to Make Cashew Goat Cheese
Making cashew goat cheese is a simple process. It starts with soaked cashews. Place these in a food processor or blender with the remaining ingredients and blend to smooth.
There are two options for this recipe:
- Use agar to help “set” the goat cheese. This option creates a dairy free goat cheese that crumbles nicely. Agar is similar to gelatine and helps the goat cheese form into whatever shape you like. The agar also makes crumbling the cheese easier.
- Skip the agar and use some plant-based milk to replace the needed liquid. This option tastes exactly like the agar version, but will be a softer, spreadable texture. Without agar the goat cheese is difficult to crumble.
Letting the goat cheese sit in the fridge overnight, or even for two days before serving helps the flavors come together and brings out some tanginess found in a good vegan goat cheese substitute.
If you don’t have time, the non-agar version can be served right away (although cold is best). The agar takes about 2 hours to set so plan your cooking around this needed wait time.
How to Crumble Goat Cheese
Agar helps create a vegan goats cheese that crumbles. To crumble goat cheese, I recommend using a fork to gently pull off small pieces of the cheese.
As noted above, if you want the cheese to crumble, agar is a must. Agar provides a firmer texture in the cheese that allows it to hold its shape as you crumble. Even with agar, the cheese will be soft (like non-vegan goat cheese).
If you want to make a goat cheese “log” (as seen in the video) agar is needed.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make it and share on social media, tag me @lettucevegout because I’d love to see your creations!
You may also enjoy my other vegan “cheese” recipes:
- Vegan cauliflower and sweet potato cheese sauce
- Almond ricotta cheese
- Vegan feta cheese (marinated tofu)
- Vegan raspberry cheesecake
- 3 ingredient vegan Parmesan
- Beer and cheese dip
Vegan Goats Cheese
Equipment
- Food processor
- Small pot
Ingredients
- 1 C raw cashews
- 1/3 C raw sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp miso paste (white type)
- ¼ block (about 90 grams) tofu
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp. agar powder + ½ C cold water (or sub for ¼ C plant based milk)
Instructions
- Soak the cashews and sunflower seeds (overnight in the fridge or in boiling water for 10 minutes).
- Drain the water from the cashews and sunflower seeds and place into a blender or food processor. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp miso paste, ¼ block tofu and 1 tsp salt.
- Continue following the directions for using agar or without agar.
- For AGAR:
- If using agar, place 1 ½ tbsp. agar into a small pot with ½ C cold water. Let sit for 5 minutes then bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 5-8 minutes until all the agar is dissolved.
- Add the agar into blender or food processor (with the already partially blended cashew cheese) and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Quickly transfer the cashew cheese mixture into a container of your choice. The cheese takes the shape of whatever you place it in.
- If you’d like to make a “log” of cashew cheese, pour the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and carefully roll the plastic wrap around the cheese, into the desired shape.
- Place the cheese into the fridge and let sit for at least 2 hours or until the agar is set and the cheese feels firm. If possible, let sit overnight for best flavor.
- Without AGAR:
- If not using agar, add ¼ C plant-based milk into the blender or food processor with partially blended cashew cheese.
- Blend until smooth.
- Scoop out the mixture into a container/ bowl and place in fridge for at least 15 minutes, or until cold, before serving.
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Perfection. So close to the real thing. I didn’t have extra firm tofu so I used silken firm tofu. The agar does the trick here for firming up so I think the tofu was fine – I may have just needed a little longer before I was able to shape it.
This recipe is definitely a new favorite and I’ll make it a lot more!
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed and that the silken tofu worked out well!
I just made the recipe and it’s in the refrigerator. I’m wondering about the amount of Agar. You
list one and a half tablespoons which I did use, but that seems like an awful lot. Should it be
teaspoons?
It’s tablespoons and while it may seem like a lot I found it necessary to get a good texture that holds together well enough to crumble. Let me know how it turned out!
It is just fine. It makes a lot and I’m wondering now if I can freeze it. If not, do you know how long it should last in the refrigerator.
I actually haven’t tried freezing this recipe before but it should last in the fridge for a week. If you want, try freezing a small amount to see what happens before freezing more (so it doesn’t get wasted). I would guess it’s okay to freeze since nuts and seeds freeze perfectly fine but can’t guarantee anything. Hope that helps 🙂
Great recipe! I wouldn’t recommend freezing this cheese as agar-agar does not tolerate low temperatures.
Thank you for the information!