My favorite homemade vegan cheeses

People have been asking me on some recommendations for whole food non-dairy cheeses! More people are kicking the dairy for health, environmental, and animal welfare reasons.. but that doesn't mean you have to give up the cheese! Most of these are wholesome and super healthy for you.. packed with plant based protein and nutrients to keep you going all day and not feeling sluggish or bloated from dairy. Here are just a few of my favorite homemade vegan cheeses all in one place on my blog (I plan to add more recipes here as I experiment with them) but for now.. nacho, ricotta, parmesan, chèvre, cheddar, blue, creamy and saucy and more... take your pick!

And to celebrate Mother's Day, let's save some Momma cows and their babies from going through the tortures of the dairy industry (which involves female cows becoming pregnant, having their babies, their babies being ripped away from them to suffer in the veal industry, and then being sucked dry of the very fluid their body produced for their own baby.. NOT for us)



PLANT BASED CHEESE RECIPES: 

Stretchy, gooey cheddar cheese
This cheese hands down is my favorite recipe I've made. The consistency is like real cheese and it even melts and stretches too! It tastes amazing! It takes a little patience to first soak your nuts and then let the cheese set overnight but I promise it's worth the wait. It's also wholesome with only a few basic and real ingredients.

Nacho cheese
Not necessarily "healthy", but this recipe has some ingredients most people already have in their kitchen and is a good alternative for that fake orange nacho cheese sauce so many people love.

Ancho Chili Nacho cheese
Really healthy and basically raw besides the addition of boiling water to heat up the temperature, this nacho cheese is packed with healthy and wholesome ingredients, and makes a wonderful dip or addition to any Mexican-style meal.

Carrot cheese
This one is an easy, raw and wholesome cheese with no cooking required. I love making this quickly (and skipping the soaking part) when I need a really healthy cheese for something in a pinch. It has a bold rich orange color from the carrots.

Cashew ricotta
Perfect for lasagnas, pastas, and raw dishes with marinara wrapped in zucchini strips.

Sunflower cheddar
A cheddar alternative that can be used as a spread or made into a thickened cheese wedge.

Rejuvelac cheese
If you've got a few days to wait and are interested in fermenting your own cheese, this amazing and thick cheese is well worth the wait and packed with beneficial probiotics.

Blue cheese
These AMAZING and thick blue cheese crumbles are amazing paired with buffalo cauliflower bites (link will take you to recipe for both the cauliflower and the blue cheese)!

Pecan Parmesan
Quick, easy, and raw (if you count nutritional yeast as raw!), this one makes the perfect topping for salads, pastas, veggies and just about anything!

Pepita or Cashew Parmesan
Just a few ingredients, blend them together to make a dry cheesy mixture that tastes pretty damn close to the real thing!

Tofu chèvre log
If you enjoy goat cheese and like a nice solid log of cheese, give this one a go. It's made from tofu so it's packed with soy protein and it's really delicious!

Almond chèvre 
If you love goat cheese but want a wholesome and soy-free alternative to the chèvre recipe above, give this one a go! This cheese is fermented so does require some extra steps and time to make but is worth it.

Cashew cheese sauce
This creamy sauce is awesome drizzled over whole grains, stuffed peppers or veggies. This link has it paired with stuffed quinoa peppers but you can put it on just about anything!

Sweet Mascarpone cheese
Slightly sweet and very mild, this raw and easy cheese reminds me a bit of cottage cheese. Excellent paired with fruit or desserts!


Some other non-cheese dairy deliciousness:

Sour cream
Not a "cheese" per say.. but a perfect sour cream replacement.. because sour cream is creamy and delicious on so many Mexican style meals. Tofu based, it's filled with soy protein and takes only a few minutes to whip up. Adjust your ingredient ratios to make it more sweet or savory.

Alfredo sauce
Creamy and perfect for pasta or veggies, this alfredo rocks.


And.. if you like Mac n cheese (because who DOESN'T?!), here are some simple recipes in addition to the cheese varieties above, all of which can easily be combined with pasta *AND for a healthier and raw alternative use spiraled zucchini, squash or other vegetables tossed with cheese*:

Cauliflower mac n cheese w/ tempeh bacon n' pecan part

Butternut squash sauce mac n cheese

Simple flour based sauce mac n cheese

Resources:

This Cheese is Nuts by Julie Piatt. THIS BOOK IS NUTS! It has dozens of incredible homemade vegan cheeses right at your fingertips. If you want to dive into the art of vegan cheese making, I highly recommend! Beautiful color photos with each recipe too :)

There are plenty of other plant based cheese making books out there. And the internet is filled with blogs and recipes for homemade vegan cheeses! All of my recipes give credit to the source they're derived from and have personally been tried out and enjoyed by me, so I can vouch that they taste good!