01 Apr Nut-Free, Soy-Free Vegan Cheese Recipe

When one of our Faithful fans mentioned she had used our agar powder to make nut-free vegan-friendly cheese, we were intrigued! Most vegan cheese is made using nuts like macadamias or cashews; or alternatively made with soy. For those with nut and soy allergies who want to stick to a vegan diet, this can pose a problem. So we’re really excited to have tracked down this 100% nut-free, soy-free AND vegan-friendly cheese recipe – it’s surprisingly easy to make too. Try it out and enjoy your delish vegan cheese sliced or shredded.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked
• 1½ cup filtered water
• 2½Tbsp lemon juice
• 3Tbsp mustard
• 1Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3tsp agave nectar
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1-2tsp salt
• 1tsp onion flakes or granules
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 1tsp ground cumin
• ½tsp turmeric
• 1 cup filtered water
• 1½Tbsp agar powder

Method:

To make your cheese base:

• Drain & rinse the sunflower seeds.  Place in a high-powered blender.
• Add the 1½ cup water, lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, agave, nutritional yeast, salt, onion granules & spices.  Blend until thick & creamy, scraping down the sides of the blender as you go.

To make agar gel for binding:

• Make the agar gel once the cheese base is blended.
• Bring 1 cup of water to a light boil in a small saucepan. Add the agar.
• Stir or whisk continuously until the agar had dissolved.  This can take several minutes.

Put it all together:

• Start the blender again & drizzle the agar gel slowly into the cheese mixture. Blend until combined.
• Pour into a pan or mould; place in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes.  Enjoy sliced or shredded.
• This cheese will keep in the fridge up to 5 days.