Cheese lovers rejoice! This recipe for Sharp Vegan Nut Cheese satisfies your cheesy cravings with its tangy and nutty flavor. It can even be formed into logs or balls!
After the tremendous success of my Basic Almond Cheese recipe, I’ve been playing around with that base recipe to create new and exciting vegan cheeses. While that almond cheese is still a go-to recipe for me, this sharper and nuttier riff on the classic is a new favorite. The addition of cashews and pine nuts not only adds flavor, it also changes the texture and consistency of this cheese in comparison to the almond-only version. The nutritional yeast imparts a certain cheesiness and the miso adds to the tangy complexity. If you liked the almond cheese, give this new one a try!
As you can see, this cheese can be easily rolled into different shapes and then coated with all sorts of ingredients. Nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, and dried fruits are all wonderful coatings for this yummy cheese. Alternatively, you can also stir these directly into the cheese. For this post, I made two versions using the single base recipe below:
~herbed (parsley, dill, thyme) sharp cheese ball coated with toasted sesame and nigella seeds~
~plain sharp cheese log rolled in toasted pumpkin seeds and chopped dried cranberries~
Experiment with the ingredients you have on hand. Sunflower seeds are a very tasty addition. Chopped olives or pickled chiles folded into the cheese would bring interesting bursts of flavor. And, of course, a thick dusting of herbaceous zaatar would be sublime.
This would make a fine addition to a vegan cheese board or appetizer plate for gatherings. The cheese spreads easily and is great when served on toasted crostini or multigrain crackers. You can also form smaller medallions, toss them in bread crumbs, and pan-fry lightly to create a crunchy, cheesy topping for salads! Let me know how you experiment with it and what your favorite additions or coatings are!
- ¾ cup (100g) unroasted, blanched almonds
- ¾ cup (100g) unroasted cashews
- 2 Tablespoons (20g) toasted pine nuts
- 2½ Tablespoons (36 ml) lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons (10g) nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon (18g) miso
- ½ clove of garlic
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup (125 ml) water
- Soak the almonds and cashews together in water for 6 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Drain and put the almonds and cashews into a blender with the toasted pine nuts lemon juice, olive oil, nutritional yeast, miso, garlic, salt, and water.
- Blend on high until the mixture becomes as smooth as possible. Depending on your blender, this may take a few minutes. Pause and scrape down the sides of the blender occasionally. If it is too thick and is not blending, add more water 1 Tablespoon at a time until the mixture blends properly.
- When smooth and creamy, remove the mixture from the blender into a lightly oiled, oven-safe ramekin or dish. Smooth the top and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. The baked cheese will appear crumbly. Scoop it out onto a large plate and mash the whole thing with a large fork (similar to how you would mash a banana). You want to mash it until it is reasonably smooth and consistent. You'll never entirely remove all the lumps, but that's ok. Put the mashed cheese back into the dish, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- After it has chilled, remove the cheese and divide it in half. If you are mixing anything into the cheese (like herbs, spices, etc.), do this now. You can now make 2 logs or 2 balls. It should be easy to roll with your bare hands. If you find it difficult, lightly wet your hands with water before rolling. Coat the outsides with whatever you'd like. Store wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
-If you want to make the cheese medallions like those in the photo above, roll little balls of the cheese then flatten them. Roll these medallions into plain breadcrumbs. Pan-fry with a little oil over medium-high heat until the breadcrumbs have browned.
For a more neutral-flavored (but just as tasty) vegan cheese, check out my popular Basic Almond Cheese recipe!
can I leave out the miso? if not, what would be an acceptable substitute.
Hello! You can leave it out if you can’t find/ can’t have it. Due to it being a fermented product, miso adds a depth of flavor that is hard to mimic. But if I were to omit it, I would probably add a teaspoon or two of tahini plus 1 teaspoon of soy sauce. If you can’t have soy products in general, you can simply do this: add another Tablespoon of toasted pine nuts, a half Tablespoon more of nutritional yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon more salt. That should give a certain cheesiness to it to compensate for the lack of miso. Good luck and let me know if you experiment!
I cannot tell you how excited that I am that i stumbled upon your website.. I am eager to begin experimenting with the Tahini while making my almond cheese.. which is what brought me to your site..I had wanted to find almond cheese recipes that did not include yeast. I will be making my Tahini from scratch. I cannot have the soy so I am happy that You put alternatives in order to keep up with flavor. I will let you know how it goes THANKS SO MUCH
Oh thanks so much Chanda! Yes, the tahini will give it a very nice creaminess. The extra pine nuts will add also add a nice nuttiness. Enjoy experimenting and don’t forget about herbs and spices too! 🙂
Hi there,
I’ve just made my Almond cheese and Didi it in the oven on 180’c for 40 min still doesn’t seem crumbly. Any help here please?
Hi Natalie! For the almond cheese, if it has browned a bit, it should be set inside. Sometimes it even cracks on top, that’s ok too. Have you let it cool down in the fridge after baking? That will help set it up slightly. The texture will be sliceable yet creamy and a bit crumbly, kind of like feta cheese. Try it out…if it isn’t dry enough for your liking, adjust for a longer bake time for your next batch.
Can I use all almonds, plus the pine nuts, instead of the addition of cashews? Or what would be the best replacement? My husband is allergic to cashews (as well as pecans and walnuts), and I’ve been trying to introduce more plant based foods into our family’s diet. A lot of the “cheeses” and creamy sauces are made with cashews, though. Thanks!
Hi Katie! The cashews provide a certain creaminess and malleability to this cheese, so if you can’t have them, I think you should give my Basic Almond Cheese recipe a try. Just add to it the pine nuts, nutritional yeast, miso, and maybe only 1/2 teaspoon salt (taste it after blending and add more if needed). Then follow that recipe. It’s simpler than this recipe but the taste will be wonderful. The only thing is that it won’t be moldable into shapes, instead you can mold it then bake it into a whatever shape you want. Make it on the hotter temperature option for it to be sliceable and on the lower temperature option to be more creamy and spreadable.
Now just an FYI about replacing cashews, many vegans have had success in substituting unroasted sunflower seeds for the cashews in creamy vegan recipes. For example, some readers have substituted sunflower seeds in my Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo with good results. Good luck! 😀
Just tried this recipe. Really easy to make. I soaked the cashews and almonds overnight. Then I blended it and baked it before work in the morning. Mashed it and refrigerated it. It was ready to have it for lunch. Very tasty. Nice blend of flavors. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Thanks for the comment Caro, enjoy! You’re a cheesemaking expert now… you can make it and always have some yummy cheese in the fridge. Now play around with it by adding different herbs and spices! 😀
Hi
can I use nutritional yeast instead of miso in this recipe?
Hi Roya! A reader above had a similar question and I think the best thing to do would be to add another Tablespoon of toasted pine nuts, a half Tablespoon more of nutritional yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon more salt. That should give a certain cheesiness to it to compensate for the lack of miso. Good luck! 🙂
Hello! Can’t wait to try this recipe! How long can it be stored in the fridge for?
Hmm I’ve never tested it for a long time but as long as you handle it with clean hands and keep it in an airtight container, you should definitely be able to store it for at least a week. If you are rolling it in things like seeds, herbs, etc. I would hold off on coating it until the last moment since you don’t want something like sunflower or pumpkin seeds to get soggy.
Wow the texture of this cheese is spot-on! Bookmarking to try later!!
Hi Sarah! While it’s not sliceable, it is creamy and spreads very nicely on bread. Give it try!
… Greetings Omar, i pray that you are doing well & in good health. So, i closed my eyes tight & i plunged, hands shook, head spun, thoughts swirled as i approached the oven, like in the Hitchcock movies, but tell you somethin, it all turned out not well ………. it turned out fantastic ! The cheese was a dream come true, it didn’t look as beautiful as in your snaps, but close, i’m happy with close, the taste was a real treat, i even took a sample for my friend to critique, she loved loved the cranberry pumpkin seed one ( i mixed CB & PS into the cheese as well ), The parsley, dill, thyme she thought needed more herbs ( i hesitated with this one because i used dried herbs,( fresh not available ). i can write a book on my adventures making cheese. A note: 1) when ever i tell someone about this recipe, i give the credit to you & your site, 2) this cheese was very sliceable. Please fore give this long comment, i had to share this adrenaline rush with you, i can’t thank you enough, Omar, God Bless you …
Wow Dina, you really did have an adventure making this cheese! Thank you so much for you kind words. I’m so glad the cheese worked out for you. Now it’s time to start experimenting with other toppings! Or, try to make the almond cheesenext time…I think you’ll like that one, too! 😀
… Greetings Omar, i pray that you are doing well & in good health, thank you for your reply. & yes, next adventure 🙂 will be the other toppings AND the almond cheese, i KNOW that i will love that one too, unfortunately no one will get to see or taste it, because it will be gone before the next human enters my home, you shall read all about it, be well Omar & God Bless you …
That cheese is amazing! I’ve tried making a few in the past but nothing has ever come close to cheese as yours has. My 20 month daughter was eating it by the spoonful before it had even reached the oven. I blended it in my new nutribullet which made it so creamy. My mum is coming over tomorrow to try it, I’ve used fresh thyme and chives for a ball and am going to make little cutlets for my 2 little ones. Thank you for sharing!!
Great to hear, Mel! I’m happy that it’s a crowd-pleaser too! Oh, I like the sound of your herby version…
WOW this recipe is amazing, I haven’t even chilled it yet and I’m standing here with a spoon eating it!!!!!!!! I’m trying to go full vegan and cheese is the only thing left to cut out of my diet, this is gonna make it so much easier
Haha Sophia! That’s wonderful! I know what you mean… it always the cheese 😀
Hi Omar,
first of all I have to tell you that your blog is awesome! I really enjoy reading about your travelling adventures and browsing your colourful recipes. I was kind of surprised that a man made these cute and delicate looking cheeses 😉
I have made your basic almond cheese which is a great base to experiment with different herbs and flavours. Today I made the sharp cheese and it turned out so damn cheesy and flavourful that I just have to share the alterations I made: I changed lemon juice for sauerkraut juice for that lacto-fermented tang (sauerkraut juice is available in the juice aisle her in Germany, don’t know about other countries?) and instead of water I used a local dry white wine (which was the best decision ever! So. much. flavour.). Oh and I used coconut oil (the non-vergin-kind which doesn’t taste like coconuts) instead of olive oil for consistency reasons.
I will decide the cheese in two and make one chive-flower-ball and one with smoked paprika and bring them to a party together with some homemade butter.
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Laura, thanks for your kind message! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes. I see you are quite the chef. You have such great ideas! I love the addition of sauerkraut juice. We have jarred sauerkraut in the juice here in the US but it is not as tasty as the kind I remember from when I lived in Germany! I can see how the wine works because I’ve used verjus a few times in the cheeses and I loved it. I agree that the refined coconut oil works well too. I’ve actually been using that to experiment with new cheeses I hope to post soon.
Keep my up to date with your clever experiments! 😀
I am pretty sure you as some kind of culinary genius. I am so glad I found this site!
You are too kind Nia! I just love playing around in the kitchen with different ingredients and techniques from all over the world. You are most welcome! 😀
This cheese is delicious! I agree about the longer baking time… and I used it to make the spinach and cheese borek which is also absolutely amazing!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes. I will be trying the mtabbal next.
Yeah! I’m glad it worked out well for you. Here’s to many more batches of cheese in your future! 😀
LOVE THIS. I didn’t use any pine nuts in mine, but made two different versions with each of the balls – one with zaatar and extra garlic mixed into the cheese and toasted sesame seeds around the exterior, and one with sun-dried tomatoes and liquid smoke mixed in with the cheese and basil around the exterior. I can say with absolute certainty that will be making this recipe (in all its possible variations) for the rest of my life! Thank you so much, Omar!
Check you out, FHG! I like how you played around with the recipe. Liquid smoke or even smoked paprika is a great addition! I’m thrilled it was such a hit for you and I know you’ll come up with some more yummy flavor combinations! Some seasonal flavors for Fall come to mind…sage, walnuts, chestnuts….:D
Hi. I just wanted to give you a heads up. While searching Pintrest, I came across an article almost identical to yours. Same pics. Same recipe. Someone is getting ripped off. I found d it by searching “paleo cheese”. I thought you might want to know.
Hello Eve! Thanks so much for taking the time to give me this heads-up! It’s a constant struggle to keep up with ripped off content. It makes you kind of crazy whenever someone just nonchalantly takes something that you spent hours and hours working on. I guess it comes with blogging territory. I’ll try to nab the culprit, thanks to you! 😀 😀
I just love this cheese. Made it my second time today. I really like to roll them into little balls like mozzarella balls and then season, pop in the mouth for a tasty snack. They are easy to flatten, roll in bread crumbs, and sauté for a salad topping. Thanks so much for the recipe, Omar!
That sounds wonderful Barbara! I like how workable and malleable this cheese is, too. Happy New Year!
Thanks for this great recipe. I tried it once and loved the flavor but didn’t quite get the right texture. Could you advise on the size of the ramekin/baking dish you use? I suspect I used something too small and it didn’t bake through because of that. I’m hoping to give it another try and perfect it before serving it for the holidays. Thanks very much!
Hello Jennifer! I know my response is late but I wanted to get back to you in case you wanted to give it another go. The ramekin I use measures around 5 inches (13cm) in diameter and it’s about 2 1/4 inches tall. If you use a larger dish, it will dry out more but a smaller one will probably keep it more moist. You’ll need to dry it out enough that it becomes malleable and workable into logs/balls. So if you use the same dish, give it some more time in the oven to dry out some more moisture! 😀
I’m looking forward to serving this cheese for the holidays. Thank you for the recipe, Omar! Quick question… Have you tried to freeze the cheese? Do you think it will freeze well? Why or why not? I appreciate your help! 🙂
Hello Netty! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. You know, I’ve never tried freezing it before. Good question. For the next batch, I’m going to give it a shot. I’ll update the post with my findings!
Hi Omar thank you for your wonderful recipes I have searched the web and yours wins hands down. I recently bought some almond cheese from a company here in Melbourne Australia very tasty, that’s what prompted me to start making my own as very expensive to buy. Theirs was in oil, unfortunately sunflower oil, I would rather use olive or avocado. This keeps the cheese will for weeks, I had it for 3 weeks before I remembered that I had it and was okay. I noticed ladies were asking about the length of time it can keep in oil a long time. Have your tried? Can’t wait to make this cheese tomorrow. Give the oil ago and let us know the outcome. I recommend. Thanks will keep you posted. Jessie
Thank you Jessie for your kind comment! I’m so glad this cheese is working for you. It’s always nice to be able to made something homemade. 😀 You are right, you can keep this cheese and the almond cheese in oil and it will last a very long time. I make a vegan Middle Eastern labaneh balls recipe (hopefully to be posted soon) that stores the cheese balls in olive oil, just like the traditional version.
I’m going to experiment by tossing some of this cheese in a jar of olive oil to see how long it keeps.
I have waited SO long to find your recipes, thank you! I’d like to ask a question about substituting Almond flour for the soaked almonds. You gave the measurements and said if we use it, we can go right to blending things together. Do I need to add any extra moisture? As Dina mentioned, I a bit nervous about trying this + I’m an information junky and like to be prepared for everything as best I can! If there are any tricks or hints that will help, please share them. Also, if I decide to use actual soaked almonds, does blanching them cause the skin to come off or how does that work (my reason for going with the almond flour!). Thanks so much, I’m really looking forward to surprising my husband with the cheese and some of the other dishes. Your site is a real trove of good stuff!
Hi Marcia! Thanks so much and I’m glad you are enjoying the blog!
From your comment about using the ground almond flour, I’m thinking that you are talking about the Basic Almond Cheese recipe? Simply measure the almond flour by weight or volumetrically (both measurements are in the recipe) and dump everything else into the blender and start blending. If you notice that things aren’t moving as well as you’d like, stop the blender and push the mixture toward the blades and continue blending. If it just won’t blend and get smooth, go ahead and add some more water, 2 Tablespoons at a time until things start moving and blending smoothly (Don’t worry about adding too much extra moisture because you will let it sit and strain anyway). Once the mixture is smooth, transfer it to a cheesecloth-lined sieve and let it sit for a few hours or overnight in the fridge. Then, once set, invert it on a baking sheet, peel away the cheesecloth and bake. I think for your first time making it you should try the 350°F bake temp for 30-35mins. That will give a crumbly, but sliceable creamy cheese. Once baked and cooled, pop it into the fridge in an airtight container and ENJOY!
As for the almonds: You can find whole almonds with the skins on or peeled (also known as “blanched”). If you soak almonds with skins, the skins may not become soft enough to remove. That’s why if you can only find almonds with skins, boil or “blanch” them for 1-2 minutes then remove from the water. The skins should then slip right off. It’s easier, though, to just buy almond flour (which is usually made with blanched almonds already)!
Please let me know if you have any more questions and do let me know how it turns out!
Hi Omar/Marcia,
Sorry to jump on your thread, but just wanted to share my experience.
I found with almonds that I could cover them with boiling water, let them sit until I could put my hand in the water then peel. The skins came off really for most of them just by pinching them, but for those that wouldn’t, I just repeated the process.
Omar, I am really looking forward to trying out some of your recipes. I was wondering in your spiced freekeh recipe if you could substitute freekeh for buckwheat, although I don’t think it needs as long to cook.
Thank you for posting. You have some really original and interesting ideas and I am really excited to try them for friends and family soon.
Hi Marcia, thank you for adding your helpful input!
Yes, I think you could substitute buckwheat. It’s nutty and slightly chewy like freekeh anyway. The cook time may be different, as you mentioned. The amount of liquid may also be slightly different. However much liquid you usually use to cook buckwheat is how much you should use, don’t be afraid to reduce or add some liquid to the recipe in order for it to cook well and not be too stiff or too mushy. I think it will taste really yummy. Good luck! 🙂
Dear Omar!
We just tried your Sharp Vegan Nut Cheese recipe for the first time in our lives ! We made it a bit wrong when we used the nuts unblanched!
Don’t worry your head about us though haha
it was a good nut cheese
Even the cat thought it was a dairy product lol 🙂
Love from Jack and Alice
Hi Jack and Alice and kitty! Good to hear that it was a success, hehe. The unblanched almonds are ok but they can lend a grainier texture. That’s why I go with the blanched (peeled) ones. Enjoy 😀 😀
I used this recipe as a base as I started off with the intention of making another recipe but then found yours and switched. The only big change was that I just used cashews for this and YUM, my apartment smelled amazing as it was baking in the oven and as it was cooling I couldn’t stop picking and eating the browned bits on top. I also used chickpea miso and found that it added a little bit of parmesan-ish flavour, I did use a little extra than the recipe called for as chickpea miso seems to be a little more mild. I’m so excited to dive in gobble this cheese up and try it again following the proper recipe.
Hello Laura! Glad you were able to tweak the recipe to your liking. Miso was a very wise choice as it does lend a nutty, parmesany flavor!