Easy Cashew Cheddar Cheese {vegan, paleo, oil-free}

Healthy, delicious, easy-to-make Cheddar cheese, made with cashews! It is vegan, paleo, oil-free, and naturally gluten-free, too.

I am not sure what took me so long to try making plant-based cheese. All that I can say is that I wish I had started sooner, because the process is so simple and, more importantly, the cheese is so delicious!

If you have been on the fence, too, I urge you to give it a try.

My easy Cashew Cheddar Cheese is a great place to begin. It is:

• Vegan
• Paleo
• Oil-free
• Grain-free
• Packed with nutrition
• Great for slicing, shredding, cubing or melting

Making the cheese involves blending and chilling, plus 2 additional, yet still simple, steps. The first is soaking raw cashews in boiling water for a few minutes until they are plump. Drain the cashews.

Second, prepare the gelatin, which helps to hold the cheese together. The gelatin in this recipe is 100% plant-based: agar agar.  It is an all-natural product, made from various forms of seaweed. 

Agar is available in both powdered form or flakes. You can use either, but the quantities will be different depending on which type is used. For every teaspoon of powdered agar you will need to use 3 teaspoons of agar flakes.

Like traditional gelatin, agar must be dissolved and heated in order to work.

For this cheese, the agar is dissolved and simmered in nondairy milk. Any plain, nondairy milk will work, but I recommend something other than full-fat coconut milk–unless you are specifically opting for a coconut-flavored cheese :).

Blend the agar-milk mixture, drained cashews, and nutritional yeast in a high speed blender until completley smooth. This forms the creamy base of the cheese, as well as the essential cheese flavor (courtesy of the nutritional yeast).

Add the remaining ingredients to the blender to create a distinctive, sharp Cheddar flavor. I use tomato paste (for umami and color), lemon juice and mustard for sharpness, and garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and turmeric for tang and depth. The turmeric also provides bold, yellow-orange color.

Pour the cheese mixture into any mold of your choice, such as a loaf pan or a circular mold (for a wheel of cheese). I used two small loaf pans (5×3-inches). I recommend lining the pans with plastic wrap, for easy removal; oiling the mold or pan will also suffice.

Chill the cheese for at least 4 hours until firm and set, and then unmold.

If there are marks from the mold or plastic wrap, you can dip a knife in hot water to smooth them out.

Enjoy this cheese!!!

 

 

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