This simple vegan feta cheese is bursting with authentic feta flavor and super easy to make with a block of firm tofu! It tastes surprisingly similar to feta made from dairy, yet since it's made with tofu, it gives you added protein for a satisfying meal. Keep it in the fridge ready to crumble on salads, pasta, or in some vegan Spanakopita!
Did you love the taste of feta crumbled on your salad or pasta? You can have that taste again with this vegan feta cheese made from tofu and a few simple ingredients!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's simply delicious with an authentic cheesy taste!
- Vegan feta is packed with protein.
- It's easy to make in minutes.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Tofu - for the base of your cheese. Firm or extra-firm water-packed tofu work the best.
- Nutritional Yeast - for a cheesy flavor. This is a yellow flaky powder that you can find at most health food stores or large supermarkets. Don't confuse it with brewer's yeast, you need to use nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - for acidity and flavor.
- Lemon Juice - for a tangy flavor.
- Miso - for a salty cheesy flavor. (Optional - it gives it a nice flavor, but if you don't have any, it's still good without it.)
- Salt - for the salty flavor of feta. Traditional feta is very salty. If you don't like things too salty you can reduce the salt.
- Garlic Powder - for flavor.
- Oregano - for flavor.
🥄 Instructions
- Drain and press your tofu to get all of the excess liquid out of it. (This will take about 10 minutes.)
- While the tofu is pressing, make a marinade. Add water, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, miso, salt, and spices to a dish and give it all a stir with a fork. I like to use a shallow container so there is more surface area for the tofu to absorb the marinade.
- Cut your pressed tofu into cubes (or simply crumble it) add it to the marinade and flip it with a spatula until it is well coated.
- Allow your tofu feta to sit in the fridge for at least an hour to let the tofu soak up the flavors. (It will taste even better if sits overnight.)
🌟 Tofu
Make sure that you use the firm or extra firm water-packed tofu. The soft tofu or the silken tofu that comes in little cardboard boxes it too soft and will fall apart. The high protein tofu that is really dense and comes vacuumed sealed is too firm and doesn't' give the soft texture that emulates real feta.
🌿 Herbs
Herbs add a nice flavor to this feta. I like to add about 1 tsp of dry herbs like oregano or Italian herbs mix. However, classic feta doesn't have herbs and it just a salty cheese with a slight bite. So if you want it to have a more classic taste, leave the herbs out. I like the herbs in the Greek pasta salad, but not in sweeter dishes.
🥗 Serving suggestions
Use this tofu feta like you would any other feta cheese. My favorite way to use it is to sprinkle it over Vegan Greek Salad.
... or use it to make delicious vegan Spanakopita!
Try this vegan feta in these Addicting Feta Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes from Sustainable Cooks! You can also blend the feta and use it in vegan baked feta pasta. It's also delicious as a pizza topping!
My kids love it plain right out of the container. (They actually kept eating it before it was done and I could do the photoshoot so I ended up making it 3 times before I finally got fending them off to take the pictures).
🥡 Storage
Store your tofu feta in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing it because it will change the texture of the tofu.
🧀 More vegan cheese recipes
- Healthy Veggie Cheese Sauce
- Vegan Pepper Jack
- Vegan Blue Cheese
- Melty Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Cream Cheese
- Vegan Halloumi Cheese
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
A recipe for homemade vegan feta cheese made from tofu.
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 tsp white miso (optional, but recommended)
- 2 tbsp light olive oil or other neutral-flavored oil
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano (optional)
- 1 lb firm tofu
-
Drain and press your tofu to get all of the excess liquid out of it. (This will take about 10 minutes.)
-
While the tofu is pressing, make a marinade. Add water, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, miso, salt, and spices to a dish and give it all a stir with a fork. I like to use a shallow container so there is more surface area for the tofu to absorb the marinade.
-
Cut your pressed tofu into cubes (or simply crumble it) add it to the marinade and flip it with a spatula until it is well coated.
-
Allow your tofu feta to sit in the fridge for at least an hour to let the tofu soak up the flavors. (It will taste even better if sits overnight.)
- Let the tofu marinate for at least an hour to soak up the flavor.
- Keep the feta in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
- For a tangier feta double the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.
*This recipe was originally published on June 8, 2018. It was updated on June 29, 2020, to include new images and more detailed recipe instructions.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a comment and starred review! I would love to hear from you!
This is an amazing recipe. So very tasty! I increased the amount of herbs and added italian spices. Delicious in greek salad that I enjoyed with Spanikopita! I will be using this recipe time and time again! Thanks very much!
You're welcome, Brigitte! I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
I cook a lot but never take the time to rate things. This recipe is that good. It’s bloody amazing actually. Perfect vegan replacement and the marinade could be used for a number of things. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
You're welcome, Breanne! I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, and thank you for taking the time to comment! 🙂
I made this today! I used a mix of plain tofu and aux herbes....as to see how it turns out. The tofu with herbs were infused in the flavors of the marinade quicker than the plain....but I like the mix of both. Amazing recipe 😋
I'm happy that you liked it, Susie! 🙂
Really good! I love the marinade. I used 50% more marinade, crumbled the tofu, marinated overnight and then spread out on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) and baked at 350 for about 20-30 minutes, just to dry it out/firm it up a bit. Tasty!
Sounds delicious! I'm glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
This is so simple and so good. I have even done the Feta tomato challenge with it by just marinading the whole tofu block instead of cutting it up and then throwing tofu and marinade in with the tomatoes. Super yummy.
Awesome! I'm glad it worked well for you! 🙂
I just saw you tried the tomato feta challenge. I Told you your feta was good for this. Thanks for coming up with such a great feta for this challenge
Hello, I was wondering if the oil is key? So would it be ok if I leave it out?
You could leave it out, it keeps it a little moister and gives you a more authentic mouthfeel, but not much flavor. Enjoy! 🙂
This was absolutely perfect! I wanted a substitute for feta in a pasta salad and I'm blown away. It was so easy and delicious!
I'm so happy that you liked it, Amy! 🙂
So excited to try this, it sounds amazing! 😍However I only have brown miso, I've read online that I would have to reduce the quantity if I were to use it instead - do u reckon I should try that or just do away with the miso entirely?
Thanks so much for your time and for sharing such amazing recipes!
Some of the darker miso varieties have a stronger flavor, so I would use only half of the amount of miso if using brown miso. Enjoy! 🙂
Where do you buy miso powder?
I just use miso paste. Miso powder is hard to find. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Monica, thanks so much for all of your amazing healthy recipes! I was wondering, do you have a favorite tofu recipe? I'd like to try making my own (I saw your Burmese/chickpea tofu recipe, but would that be too firm to use in this feta recipe?). I really appreciate it, and be safe and well! 🙂
I don't make my own tofu (other than the chickpea tofu) since I can find it easily at the store. There is a great old cookbook called The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook that has recipes for homemade tofu. I would try that.
I made this recipe for feta cheese about a week ago. It took me a few days before I could use it in my greek salad, but I did taste it after it marinated for a few hours, then tasted it every day before I finally got to use it. It was delicious and got better every single day. Letting it marinate really gave the flavor more depth and complexity. I already made another batch and plan on keeping it on hand just because I love it so much! Thank you for this recipe.
I'm so happy that you liked it, Laura! It does taste better the longer it sits in the marinade! My kids always just eat it out of the container they love it so much. 🙂
This was delicious!! I ended up marinating it over two evenings, and can see myself coming back to this over and over again. Absolutely delicious in your spanikopita recipe. Thank you so much!!
I'm so happy that you liked it, Megan! 🙂
Hi, Monica. Do you know if I can try any other vinegar or oil without the APPLE cider? Why does it need the lemon juice?
Lemon juice is just for a tangy flavor. You can adjust it to suit your taste and needs. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Hi. I was wondering if I could substitute liquid amino acid for the miso?
Hi Kathy, you could use liquid amino instead. It will change the flavor a little, but I think it would taste good! 🙂
yum! I am going to use this in my spanakopita!
Oh good! I love it in spanakopita! Enjoy!
I just made this!
Yum!yum!yum!
My new feta cheese
I replaced the miso with soy sauce since I didn't have any.
Worked great!
I'm so happy that you liked it! Great idea to use soy sauce instead of miso! I'll have to test that out too! Enjoy! 🙂
Wow! This was delicious! I've been missing feta for so long! This satisfied that craving!
I'm so happy to hear this Erin! Enjoy!
I’m allergic to yeast-all kinds, including nutritional yeast. What substitution do you recommend in place of nutritional yeast for this recipe? 🙂
Hi Heidi. I'm sorry, but I don't know of anything with a similar flavor to nutritional yeast. You can just leave it out, but it won't taste as cheesy. I wish I knew a substitute! 🙂