Vegans know good how difficult is finding vegan cheese substitutes that taste like regular cheese prepared of milk. But it is not impossible. Vegan cheeses are usually prepared of nuts. Different nuts not only taste different but also give different textures. For example, cashews make a smooth and soft texture, macadamias give creamy texture, while almonds make grainy texture.

1. Cashew cheese

For all raw food and cheese lovers, here is a great vegan cheese recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup cashews

1 small fresh lemon

8 green olives

3 stalks of celery

Preparation:

Place peeled lemon in the blender, add the chopped celery and olives and blend. Then add cashews. If necessary, add a bit of water. Feel free to experiment with different spices, oil, and salt. When the mixture is prepared, pour into a bowl and place in refrigerator.

2. Melting cheese

Since this cheese’s texture is similar to mozzarella, it is perfect for pizzas and sandwiches, but it also combines great with so many meals.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups water

½ cup chopped raw cashews

1 ½ tablespoons agar agar powder

¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes

2 tablespoons sesame tahini

2 teaspoons mustard

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

pepper

cayenne pepper

marjoram

chopped chives

Preparation:

In a saucepan, combine agar agar powder and water and bring to boil. Simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5-10 minutes. Transfer to the blender and then add all of the remaining ingredients, except chives. Blend for few minutes until the mixture is smooth and then add chopped chives. Oil a storage container lightly and then pour the mixture and place in the refrigerator to cool. When you take it out from the refrigerator, cover and chill several hours.

3. Magic Cheese

The idea to collect great vegan cheese recipes actually came up to my mind when I found this recipe. I found it fortuitously and decided to try it out. It really is magic!

4. Greek style salad cheese

Ingredients:

½ cup soy yogurt

2 tablespoon fine coconut flour

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon dried Italian herbs (to taste)

Preparation:

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Line a mini pan with a parchment paper, spoon the mixture into it and spread the top as smoothly as you can. Place in the freezer until the cheese is almost solid. Then remove from the pan and slice the almost frozen block into cubes. Continue to freeze the cheese cubes. Before eating, wait for few minutes to defrost.

5. Baked Almond Feta

One of the tastiest cheese I’ve ever tried is this one. Take the full recipe here.

6. Aged Raw Nut Cheese

This cheese has the best taste when it’s aged for at least two weeks. For the first 2 days, leave it on top of the fridge, then for the rest of the time keep it sealed in the fridge. Before serving it, warm it up in the dehydrator or oven. As for the nuts, you can use any you prefer: cashews, almonds, walnuts pine nuts, walnuts…

Ingredients:

1 cup nuts (of your choice)

1-2 cloves garlic

2-3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

¾ cup water

herbs and spices of your choice

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Place in cheese cloth that is draped in a colander, sitting in a bowl. For 2 days let the cheese rest on top of the fridge, then transfer it in the fridge and let it rest for at least 2 weeks. The day you want to serve it, warm it in oven or dehydrate.

7. Diary-free Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients:

1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

½ cup coconut butter, softened in warm water

¼ cup nutritional yeast

¼ teaspoonVitamin-C crystals

½ teaspoon salt

½ cupcoconut oil, melted by putting the jar in lukewarm water

Preparation:

In a blender place lemon juice, add coconut butter, nutritional yeast, Vitamin C crystals and salt. Process well until smooth. Then add the coconut oil and process again until smooth and quite thick. Add a bit more lemon juice if you need more liquid. Pour into a freezer-safe container and freeze until solid.

8. Raw Vegan Holiday Cheddar Cheese

This creative recipe is not complicated at all, it is prepared in only 10 minutes, but it requires lots of ingredients. If you want give it a try, here’s a full recipe for you.

9. Almond Cheese

This recipe is very simple and you’ll need only few ingredients to prepare it.

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds, soaked, drained and skins removed

¾ cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic

pinch of salt

Preparation:

Soak almonds overnight in water. Drain and pop off skins. Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Place nut mixture in nut-milk bag or colander lined with cheese cloth. Squeeze lightly and place in refrigerator over night. If you want the cheese more firm, place it in the dehydrator for at least six hours (at 115 degrees) to form a rind.

10. Oatmeal Vegan Cheese

Great sliceable vegan cheese, extremely delicious. Here’s the full recipe for you.