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A round of vegan cheddar cheese cut and sliced on crackers on a wooden cutting board.
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Vegan Cheddar Cheese

An easy way to make homemade vegan cheddar without nuts, gluten, or dairy.
Course Snack
Cuisine American, vegan
Keyword dairy free cheddar cheese, vegan cheddar cheese
Diet Gluten-Free Option, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Chill Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 108kcal
Author Monica Davis

Ingredients

  • 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk or 2 cups of any plain plant-based milk plus 3 tsp oil.
  • 1/2 cup water (omit if using 2 cups of plant-based milk.)
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • 2 tablespoons agar agar powder (or 6 tbsp agar agar flakes)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Add after cooking:

  • 1 tablespoon warm water
  • 1 teaspoon white miso paste (or any mild-flavored miso) you can also use tahini instead
  • 1 squirt spray oil (to coat the cheese mold)

Add for cheddar that melts and stretches *optional

  • 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon. tapioca starch (aka tapioca flour) (optional)
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Prepare a cheese mold by lightly oiling a smooth glass container.
  • Pour all of the ingredients except for the water and miso into a medium-sized saucepan.
  • Stir the ingredients, then turn the heat to medium.
  • Cook your cheese sauce over low heat for 6 minutes, stirring frequently.  (It needs to boil for 6 minutes to fully melt and activate the agar agar.)
  • Mix the miso and water until the miso is dissolved completely. Pour the mixture into the cheese sauce.
  • Stir the cheese sauce until the miso is incorporated.
  • Pour the cheese into the chosen mold.
  • Cool for about 15 minutes on the countertop, then cover and refrigerate for 2-3 more hours, until it cools and sets completely.

Video

Notes

  • Once the cheese sauce begins to boil, turn the heat down so that it is bubbling, but not so hot that it will burn.
  • Be sure to stir the cheese sauce very frequently so it doesn't burn.
  • Simmer the cheddar cheese for 6 minutes to melt the agar agar and allow it to bind completely with the ingredients. 
  • Adding the miso at the end avoids killing the beneficial probiotics in the miso. 
  • Leave out the tapioca starch if you want a firm slice of cheese for crackers or to eat cold.

How to make meltable vegan cheddar:

  1. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan, but use 1/4 cup of water instead of 1/2 cup, and 4 tsp of agar agar instead of 2 tbsp.
  2. Heat the cheese sauce over medium heat until it begins to boil.
  3. Turn down the heat until it is just barely bubbling and allow to boil for 5 minutes while stirring frequently.
  4. Add 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp of tapioca starch (7 tsp) to 1/4 cup of cold water, stirring until dissolved.
  5. Mix the miso into the starch and water until completely dissolved, then pour it into the cheese sauce.
  6. Add the starch-miso-water mixture to the boiling cheese sauce while whisking, then cook for an additional 1 minute.  (Your cheese will become very thick and stretchy).
  7. Pour into a glass container and allow to cool uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before shredding.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 399mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 62IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 2mg