Vegan cottage cheese

This is an easy vegan cottage cheese recipe made with plant based ingredients and seasoned with herbs. Perfect alternative to a traditional cottage cheese and suitable for vegan and dairy free diets.

Why make this recipe?

• Great alternative to traditional cottage cheese
• Dairy free
• Quick and easy to make recipe

Any specialist equipment needed?

This recipe is difficult to make without some sort of blender, stick blender or a food processor. The smoother the cashew nuts are the better the texture.

Ingredients & Possible Substitutions

Tofu

I’ve used one small box of silken toffu for this vegan cottage cheese recipe. Depending on what packaging you get, I would adjust the recipe based on the box size (unless you have another use for it).

Plant based milk

Any type of plant based milk works with this recipe and of course cashew nuts milk would go well with the flavour. Coconut milk is the only one I’d probably not use, not because the recipe wouldn’t work, but because the cottage cheese might taste slightly coconuty.

• Cashew nuts milk
• Almond Milk
• Oat’s Milk
• Coconut Milk (see my note above)
• Soya Milk

Cashew nuts

The cashew nuts give this recipe wonderful flavour and slightly nutty taste. Although they are slightly more expensive to buy than other nuts, it’s best not to substitute them in this recipe.

Nutritional yeast

Nutritional yeast is used in this recipe to add flavour, extra protein (nearly 50g for each 100g), fibre and fat and of course B12. Not to be confused with regular yeast that you’d use for baking bread. This yeast is available in health shops and increasingly in major supermarkets too.

Nutritional yeast has all the vitamins and nutrition of a real yeast, but it’s not active – it’s kind of ‘spent’ if you like. Unlike real yeast, it won’t bubble up in your stomach or cause any discomfort (or at least is shouldn’t).

If you can’t get hold of nutritional yeast, you can use Marmite or similar yeast spread.

Lemon juice

Lemon juice ads flavour and in regular cottage cheese recipe also causes the curdling of the cheese. You can also use an apple cider vinegar or even regular vinegar if you don’t have the lemon juice.

Fresh herbs

Herbs are optional, but I think they add wonderful flavour to this vegan cottage cheese recipe. Basil, coriander, lemon thyme or chives all work very well. In the winter, you can also use dried herbs, especially if you’ve collected them yourself.

Salt & pepper

Only add what you think it’s necessary as this recipe is full of flavour already, especially if you are using fresh herbs.

How to make vegan cottage cheese recipe

• To make the cashews easier to work with, place them in a mixing bowl and pour freshly boiled water over them. Leave to stand for a minimum of 1 hr or longer if you have the time.
• Once you are ready to start the recipe, pour the water away from the cashews and leave them to drip dry.
• Place the silken tofu into another bowl and break it roughly with a fork.
• Whisk the rest of the ingredients (cashews, lemon juice, plant based milk and yeast) in a food processor or a mixer until everything is combined and smooth.
• Add the cashew mixture to the tofu and mix together, but keep the texture nice and crumbly.
• Add salt and pepper and freshly chopped herbs if using.
• Use straight away or keep in an airtight container for 1-2 days in the fridge.

Allergies

Whilst this recipe is dairy free and suitable for vegans, it’s not nut free. Unless you are changing the ingredients, this recipe is also suitable for gluten-free diets and using about 1/3 of the portion should be O.K for low FODMAP diet. The problem here is the cashews, so just be careful when portioning your food.

How to serve this recipe

Use is as a regular cottage cheese for savoury sandwiches or bagel. This cheese is also perfect as a dip and a great picnic or party food.

• Add cottage cheese to mashed potatoes >>
• Serve it with a homemade spelt pizza >>
• Add it to a breakfast omelette >>

What can you serve cottage cheese with

Scaling up or down this recipe

You are only limited by the amount of your ingredients (cashew nuts can be fairly pricey), but you can easily scale up or down this recipe. Don’t forget that cottage cheese doesn’t have a long shelf live, so just make what you need.

Can this recipe be made in advance?

Cottage cheese has a fairly short shelf life, so it’s best to make it on the day you want to use it. If you soak the cashew nuts in advance, the actual recipe making is about 10 minutes.

How to store cottage cheese

Eat on the same day, or store in airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.