vegan

I love, love, love cheese. If you don’t love cheese, I don’t want to visit your planet. heh

My first ever attempt at making homemade vegan cheese was a huge success! And it couldn’t have been simpler to make.

I’m still figuring out my tummy problems, and I know that whey upsets my stomach, so it certainly follows suit that cheese and all other dairy products that contain whey are going to be problematic if that’s true. In the meantime, I’m trying to significantly reduce dairy until I figure out what’s going on. I haven’t completely eliminated it, but I am seeking alternatives when I can.

Most store-bought vegan cheez products contain soy or ugly vegetable/seed oils or isolated proteins or even dairy products, so I try to avoid them as much as possible. Left with few options, I decided to try my own dairy-free cheese at home. Inspired by the (delicious) hunk of smoked cheddar I have in the fridge, I thought a smoky vegan cheese might be quite tasty—and it is!

Smoky Dairy-free Cheese
(vegan, gluten-free, semi-raw, soy-free)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (3oz) raw cashew pieces
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 TBSP tahini
• 1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan or sea salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Water for soaking cashews

Method:

1. Add cashews to a bowl, cover with water. Let soak for 2-3 hours; drain and toss in salt.

2. In a food processor or high speed blender, add in: drained, salted cashews, nutritional yeast, tahini, olive oil, apple coder vinegar, liquid smoke, and mustard. Process until smooth and doughy. It might look lumpy and rigid, but that’s ok. Once you shape it, it will smooth out.

3. Gently knead dough to smooth out; place in small bowl, like a ramekin, and press down to form a firmer shape. Cover with plastic wrap, let sit in fridge overnight for firmer “cheez” or eat right away for softer cheez spread.

Makes 6 servings

SO GOOD! Just in time for Halloween parties, Thanksgiving appetizers, and Christmas parties. It pretty much tastes like a smoky spreadable cheese ball. Very cheesy! Yum.

Enjoy!

Tagged as: appetizers, casein-free, cheese, cheez, dairy-free, dairy-free cheese, gluten-free, homemade cheese, homemade vegan cheese, lactose-free, party foods, recipes, snacks, soy-free, soy-free vegan cheese, vegan, vegan cheese, vegetarian

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