This vegan cheese with garlic and herbs is perfect for slicing and eating on crackers. Dairy free, gluten free and nut free, everyone can enjoy this creamy and delicious cheese.
What do I need to make vegan cheese?
With just a few ingredients, you can make the most delicious vegan cheese you have ever had!
• Full fat coconut milk gives this dairy-free cheese a rich creamy texture.
• Salt and nutritional yeast give it the cheesy flavor.
• A small squeeze of lemon juice adds a little cheesy bite.
• Agar-agar is a white powder made from seaweed, and it acts like a vegan gelatin making the cheese firm. (It comes in flakes or powder, but use the powder. It is less expensive, you need less of it, and it blends easier and smoother. You can find great prices on it at most Asian markets or you can buy it on Amazon as well).
• Finally, a little tapioca flour gives the cheese a little stretch when it melts. Put all together, and it makes the perfect vegan cheese.
How do I make vegan cheese?
- Simply put all the ingredients into a saucepan and stir with a whisk.
- Heat to a slow boil stirring constantly for 6 minutes. This allows the agar-agar to melt completely and set properly. (It may seem ready after 3-4 minutes but keep it at a low boil for 6 minutes to make sure that it is completely smooth).
- Then pour into any shape container that you wish. (One batch makes almost 2 cups of cheese). I like to use these Snapware containers because they are made of glass and won’t affect the flavor and they have a lid with a good airtight lid to keep the cheese fresh longer.
How do I flavor the cheese with garlic and herbs?
Two to three cloves of minced garlic and 2 tsp. of dry or fresh herbs of choice flavors the cheese nicely and make the perfect blend of flavors.
Does this coconut cheese taste like coconut?
If you flavor the cheese with garlic and herbs, there is almost no taste of coconut. My son who hates the flavor of coconut still loves this cheese when I make it with garlic and herbs.
How can I make this cheese melt well?
If you want to use this cheese to make a grilled cheese sandwich or a quesadilla, simply add 2 additional tbsp tapioca flour (this will equal a total of 2 tbsp+1 tsp) to the cheese mixture before cooking. This will make the cheese softer so it melts and stretches when heated.
Do you want gluten free cheese and crackers?
This cheese recipe is naturally gluten-free. However, if you want gluten-free crackers that taste good, that’s harder to find. I started using quinoa to make my own crackers. You won’t believe how easy and simple it is to do. You can check out these my gluten-free cracker recipe that will amaze you here!
What are some other ways to flavor vegan cheese to make new varieties?
My family’s favorite varieties of vegan cheeses are this garlic herb as well as smoked gouda, provolone, and mozzarella.
Like smokey cheese?
Check out my recipe for vegan smoked gouda!
Follow me on Instagram for daily vegan inspiration and clickable links to all my recipes!
A basic recipe for making vegan cheese with garlic and herbs made with coconut milk. Free of gluten, soy, and nuts.
- 1 can coconut milk full fat
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp agar agar powder
- 1 tsp tapioca flour (aka tapioca starch)
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp herbs de Provence or other dried herbs of choice
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 spray oil on the glass container
Prepare cheese molds by spraying a glass bowl or container with spray oil or rub any neutral flavored oil on the molds to prevent sticking. (Recipe will make about 2 cups of cheese).
Pour the can of coconut milk into a saucepan.
Put 1/2 cup of hot water into the empty coconut milk can to melt all the remaining coconut milk and add the water to the pan.
Add all remaining ingredients to the saucepan and stir with a whisk.
Turn heat on to medium and stir frequently until it boils.
Turn down the heat until the cheese sauce is just barely boiling and stir constantly for 6 minutes until it is very smooth.
Immediately pour into the prepared cheese molds.
Let it cool with the lid off for about 15 minutes at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to firmly set.
Once the cheese is cooled completely cover and store in the refrigerator in a sealed for up to a week.
- To make this cheese able to melt and better for use on pizza or grilled cheese, add 2 additional tablespoons of tapioca starch.
- For a firmer cheese, leave out the tapioca starch from the recipe.
Isabella says
August 7, 2019 at 7:16 pmIs it possible for me to use reduced fat coconut milk? Will it taste the same?
Monica says
August 8, 2019 at 1:12 pmYou can use the low fat, but it does change the taste a little and it’s less creamy. 🙂
Royce says
August 1, 2019 at 12:44 amLove the flavor of this cheese. I left out the tapioca starch for a firmer cheese but the texture is rubbery. Does the starch charge the texture?
Monica says
August 1, 2019 at 8:39 amThe tapioca makes the cheese a little softer. The rubbery texture is from the agar agar. You can try adjusting the amount of agar that you use. Adding less will create a softer more jello-like cheese, and more will make it firmer, but it always has a bit of a rubbery texture.
Patricia says
July 10, 2019 at 5:34 pmI don’t know what happened, mine turned out horribly. It was like jello rather than creamy 😭
Monica says
July 11, 2019 at 1:03 pmI wonder if you used 2 tsp of agar agar instead of 2 TBSP? The agar agar is a type of gelatine though, so it does have a similar texture as jello, but should be much firmer. If you don’t think you used enough agar agar, you could try remelting it, adding, more and recooking it. Hope that helps. 🙂
Sarah says
May 11, 2019 at 7:26 pmI’m so glad I finally tried out one of your cheese recipes! this is so delicious and simple to make!
I look forward to trying out the other cheese recipes too. Thank you!
Monica says
May 13, 2019 at 8:54 amI’m so happy that you tried it too! Let me know what you think of the other ones too. 🙂
Jayce Conway says
April 11, 2019 at 12:53 amHello I was wondering if you could add rejuvelac to the recipe?
Monica says
April 11, 2019 at 12:38 pmYes, you can use it instead of the water. I haven’t used it in a long time. I just keep it simple, but let me know what you think! 🙂
Leslie says
February 27, 2019 at 7:22 pmI’m so excited! I’ve never tried making cheese, much less vegan cheese. I have got to try this. It looks like the perfect thing to pair with crackers.
Coco says
February 3, 2019 at 2:52 amThank you for this recipe. I just made my first ever vegan cheese and it’s really yummy,. But my cheese is very soft. I can’t cut it into slices. It’s spreadable. It looks like I used to much liquid. With all the ingredients mine did not look like in picture 2 even not after over 10 min cooking time. I had to add about 24 g of agar agar and two tbsp more of topic flour. Can you tell me which weight the coconut can has? Maybe mine is bigger here in Europe then this one you have in USA?
Monica says
February 25, 2019 at 9:10 amI use 13.5 oz cans of coconut milk to make this cheese. If you want a firmer cheese, leave out the tapioca flour. The tapioca makes it stretchy and better for melting, but it will not firm up as much. I like to leave it out completely for cheese that I will just slice for crackers. I only use the tapioca starch for cheese that I will melt on pizza or quesadillas. (Did you use agar agar flakes or powder? That may be another issue since the powder is more concentrated than the flakes. If you are using flakes, you will need more).
Shirley says
July 5, 2019 at 7:14 pmIn regards to the Nutrition Facts, how much is a serving?
Monica says
July 8, 2019 at 4:31 pmA serving size is 1/8 of the total amount, so about 1/4 cup since it makes about 2 cups total. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Neri says
January 29, 2019 at 2:34 pmHi! I’m excited to try this recipe! Do you think this would work with regular coconut milk and not canned? I try to avoid using canned food.
Monica says
January 29, 2019 at 4:06 pmIt will work, but the type of coconut milk you buy in a carton to drink has much less fat, so it won’t be as rich and creamy. Hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Kiera D. says
November 26, 2018 at 11:04 pmThank you so muvh for this recipe! I just got my first batch into the fridge and am looking forward to a grilled cheese with it tomorrow…I added the 2 tbsp extra tapioca starch to make it stretchy. I’m hopeful this recipe will work out just in time for some dishes I want to make Christmas Eve.
Monica says
November 27, 2018 at 10:10 amSo happy to hear that you made it! I hope that you enjoy the cheese as much as we do! 🙂
Sarah says
November 17, 2018 at 11:40 pmI tried all of your cheeses …they are all great. This one is SO good on crackers. Thanks for posting!
Monica says
November 17, 2018 at 11:44 pmThanks Sarah! I’m so happy that you like them as much as we do!
Hanna says
November 15, 2018 at 1:27 pmI just made this cheese and I must say it is the best vegan cheese that I have tried! So rich and creamy and the herbs flavor it perfectly!
Jen says
October 31, 2018 at 5:17 amWhat is the size of the coconut milk can you use? Thank you.
Monica says
October 31, 2018 at 4:01 pmHi Jen, Use a 13.5 oz can of coconut milk. Enjoy! 🙂
Kendra says
October 18, 2018 at 1:08 pmCan I use gelatin instead of agar and coconut flour instead of tapioca?
Monica says
October 19, 2018 at 8:59 amSince gelatin is not vegan, I have never used it. I think that it would work, but I don’t know if the ratio would be the same. There is no substitute for tapioca flour, nothing else will give the cheese the same stretch. You can just leave it out and have a firm cheese that’s great for slicing and eating cold, but if you want it to melt and stretch, you have to use tapioca flour (aka tapioca starch). Hope it works for you!
Mandy says
September 30, 2018 at 11:50 pmMy favorite vegan cheese recipe so far! All though I used coconut cream instead of milk cause that’s what I had, the texture was perfect but it did taste a little bit like coconut so I’ll use the coconut milk next time and try again, I added minced jalepeno and garlic and herbs, super cool it melted on my hot vegan sausage sandwhich like real cheese! Seemed kind of like mozzarella to me. Gonna try to make a smoky version tomorrow and a chive now that I see that suggestion above that sounds good. 👌
Monica says
October 1, 2018 at 9:24 amHi Mandy, So happy that you liked it! I love the smoked Gouda style. It’s fun to throw in different herbs and spices and get different flavors! Enjoy! 🙂
Ellie says
September 6, 2018 at 12:31 pmHi can I use soy milk instead of coconut milk?
Monica says
September 6, 2018 at 1:04 pmHi Ellie, Yes you can just use 1 1/4 cup of plant milk and ½ cup oil instead of the coconut milk and water. This works well, but it’s not as rich and creamy as the coconut cheese. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Allison says
August 21, 2018 at 2:05 amHow do you think coconut cream would work? I’m still trying to find a homemade vegan cheese without a weird consistency and hope this will be it! Thank you for sharing!
Monica says
August 21, 2018 at 4:40 pmHi Allison, Yes, coconut cream will work! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Margy says
August 15, 2018 at 2:38 pmJust wondering when using the coconut milk if you discard the water in the can or mix it with the solid in the can. This looks delicious! I can hardly wait to try it. Your homemade crackers also look amazing. Thanks.
Monica says
August 16, 2018 at 10:54 amHi Margy, You need to use everything in the can. When coconut milk sits on the shelf, it separates out, but you need it all. Hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Carl S. says
June 7, 2018 at 7:56 amWill xanthan gum work instead of or subbing in for some of agar ? Had an idea to add brewers yeast towards end to minimize nutrient boil-off , any thoughts on that ?
[email protected] says
June 7, 2018 at 9:04 amHi Carl, xanthan gum will not work the same as agar. The agar is like a gelatin that makes it firm up. You can add less for a softer cheese. I don’t know much about brewers yeast, so I can’t answer that question. You could add the agar to the 1/2 cup of water and boil that for 6 minutes and then add the rest of the ingredients and just cook those for just a minute to minimize the time you are cooking the majority of the ingredients. Hope that helps! 🙂
Carl S. says
June 8, 2018 at 8:23 amVery much so. Boil thickening agent separate, po$$ibly use le$$. Will probably apply concept to some other recipes, so, thank you.
Nikki Palamountain says
June 2, 2018 at 3:04 amThis recipe looks like the answer to my prayers with non dairy cheese in the supermarket being a ridiculous price, that tastes disgusting with crackers! Love the idea that you can also melt it. Mmmm…….miss melts toasty cheese sandwiches! Just wondering how long it would keep in the fridge? Do you reckon I could grate it and freeze it? Very many thanks Nikki ?
[email protected] says
June 3, 2018 at 12:46 pmHi Nikki, It keeps well in the fridge for about 5 days. My family eats it all every time I make it, so I have never frozen it, but I’m think that it would be fine to freeze it. Enjoy! 🙂
Catherine says
May 27, 2018 at 8:45 amWould love to make this recipe but I have an allergy to garlic ( as well as to dairy, eggs, and a few more) so this sounds good for someone with allergies. Can I leave out the garlic or sub with shallots which I often do in recipes calling for garlic? I hoping it would not alter the taste.
[email protected] says
May 27, 2018 at 10:27 amHi Catherine. You can definitely leave out the garlic. You can use what every you would like to flavor the cheese instead. Shallots, green onions, or chives would also give it a nice flavor. Just make sure to chop them up very fine. Hope you enjoy it!