Vegan Goats Cheese Recipe made with Cashews | Dairy Free (2024)

FAQs

Does vegan cheese have cashews? ›

The ingredients used in vegan cheese vary depending on the type of cheese being made and the desired texture and flavor. The most commonly used ingredients include plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, agar agar, tapioca starch, coconut oil, cashews, and chickpea flour.

This Vegan Goat Cheese is absolutely phenomenal, yet it's fairly simple to make still. The base of this cheese is tofu and soaked macadamia nuts. Just place them in a high-speed blender with coconut oil for extra creaminess.

What Ingredients Are in Vegan Cheese? Vegan cheeses are 100% animal-free and made using vegetable proteins. Usually, they're made from soy; nuts, such as cashews and macadamias; and vegetable oils, such as coconut oil. You can also find cheeses that derive from agar, tapioca, peas and arrowroot.

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.

Nuts were a game-changer for vegan cheese because they provide a lot of fat: 100 grams of cashews have 44 grams of fat, versus 6.4 grams of fat in the same amount of soybeans. This allows for richer flavor and texture that gets closer to imitating animal milk dairy.

Substitute for cashews: cashews are my preference as they are creamy and mild in flavor, but if you need to substitute them you can use macadamia nuts, blanched almonds, or raw sunflower seeds. All of these nuts and seeds will need to be boiled for about 15 minutes to ensure they have softened.

Eating goat cheese may benefit your health in several ways, including increasing satiety and reducing inflammation. Plus, its protein structure and lower levels of lactose make it a better choice for people with an intolerance to cow's milk.

Nutritional value: Goat cheese contains essential nutrients such as vitamins A, B and D, and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. Compared to regular cheese, goat cheese typically has fewer calories and fats. This makes goat cheese a healthier option for those watching their calorie intake.

It has fewer calories than cow's cheese. Goat cheese clocks in at just 75 calories per ounce—significantly less than popular cow cheeses like mozzarella (85), brie (95), Swiss (108), and cheddar (115). It also has more vitamins and minerals than cow's cheese.

To make vegan cheese, the plant-based milk is first heated and combined with a vegan-friendly bacteria or enzyme, such as microbial rennet or bacterial culture. This ferments the milk, causing it to coagulate and form a curd.

Which cheese is most vegan? ›

You may be asking yourself, what types of cheese can I eat? Vegans can eat cheese that is comprised of plant-based ingredients like soybeans, peas, cashews, coconut, or almonds. The most common types of vegan cheeses are cheddar, gouda, parmesan, mozzarella, and cream cheese that can be found in non-dairy forms.

Vegan milk is any milk that is made from plant-only sources — an alternative that is just as suitable for all the same purposes of regular milk. The majority are sourced from beans and nuts including soy, almond, and macadamia, but can also be sourced from oats, coconuts, and even rice.

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.

Some people like to soak cashews in advance to make them more easily digestible. I've also read that soaking helps make the nutrients more available! One of the main things that happens when cashews soak is they absorb the water and soften. The softer the cashews, the smoother and creamier your recipe will turn out!

Loaded with healthy fats, proteins, vitamins (such as B6 and E), and minerals (like copper, zinc, and magnesium), cashews support heart health, boost immunity, aid in digestion, and promote overall well-being.

However, many dairy-free cheeses rely on a base of seeds or nuts, ranging from sesame and sunflower seeds to almonds, cashews, peanuts and pine nuts. Soybeans are also common allergens, and it's fairly common for vegan dairy substitutes to use soy as a milk alternative.

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.

Nut-Free Vegan Cheeses

Try tapioca or coconut oil-based dairy-free cheeses if you're vegan with a nut allergy, and remember to always check the label for any hidden nutty ingredients.

Beware of hidden allergens in convenience food

Sometimes it is easy to tell that a product is not suitable for certain allergy sufferers: Vegan cashew cheese, for example, is unsuitable for people with nut allergies, and those who suffer from gluten intolerance have to be careful with oat milk.