This homemade vegan cheddar cheese recipe will amaze you! It has a rich and creamy texture with a sharp cheddar cheese bite! You can slice it, shred it, and even make it meltable!

Why you will LOVE this vegan cheddar cheese…

It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free!

Finally a good vegan cheese without cashews!

You can whip up a batch in less than 10 minutes.

It can be sliced and grated.

You can make a version that melts and stretches too!

It has an authentic cheddar cheese flavor.

This recipe is much cheaper than store-bought vegan cheese or even homemade cashew cheese!

Most vegan cheddar cheese recipes out there are made with cashews or some other nuts. Unfortunately, my family won’t eat nuts, so I had to come up with an alternative. I developed some delicious cheese recipes from coconut milk like, provolone, mozzarella, and smoked Gouda.

These mild cheeses were delicious with the rich creamy coconut milk, but it took me a while to perfect the cheddar flavor. After lots of testing, I finally did it!

I started to play around with lemon juice, onion powder, paprika, and finally, miso to give it that cheddar bite! It came out amazing and my kids eat it up as fast as I can make it!

What you need to make this vegan cheddar cheese:

Saucepan: To cook the cheese on the stove-top.

Whisk: For stirring your cheese sauce.

Glass Container: to use as the mold. You can use any heat-safe container even just a plain bowl. I like to use Snapware containers because they have a lid that seals tightly and will keep your cheese fresh. (You can also use a silicone mold, but I think it gives your food a funny taste).

What ingredients are in vegan cheddar cheese?

Coconut Milk – a 13.5 oz can of full-fat coconut milk with make your cheese rich and creamy plus 1/2 cup of water.

Or you can use any plant-based milk that you want plus oil instead of the coconut milk: Plant Milk: I like soy milk because it’s fairly rich and thick, but you can use whatever plant-based milk that you like. Just make sure it is PLAIN and not vanilla flavored. You can use sweetened or unsweetened depending on the flavor you want to achieve with your cheese. Oil: I like to use refined coconut oil, but any oil will work. You can also omit the oil if you wish, it just won’t be as rich and creamy.

Agar Agar: This is a clear vegan gelatin derived from seaweed and it’s absolutely essential for making the cheese firm. If you leave it out you will have vegan nacho cheese sauce, This is a clear vegan gelatin derived from seaweed and it’s absolutely essential for making the cheese firm. If you leave it out you will havewhich is delicious, but not sliceable cheese. Use the powdered agar agar instead of the flakes if you can find it. It can be expensive, but it’s a great price if you order it on Amazon.

Nutritional Yeast: This is a yellow powder that has a cheese flavor. This is a key ingredient to give it a cheesy flavor and cannot be omitted. You can read more about it here. This is a yellow powder that has a cheese flavor. This is a key ingredient to give it a cheesy flavor and cannot be omitted. You can read more about it

Lemon Juice: For the tang.

Onion Powder: For flavor.

Paprika: For flavor and color. (The red paprika mixed with the yellow turmeric gives it a beautiful orange color!) You can also use smoked paprika for a delicious smokey flavor.

Miso: For a cheesy bite. This is a key ingredient in giving a cheddar flavor to the cheese. (If you are making this cheese soy-free, you can use chickpea miso).

Water: For dissolving the miso paste

Salt: To give it flavor.

Turmeric: For color. (optional)

Tapioca Starch: If you want a cheddar cheese that melts and stretches you can add tapioca starch. (Tapioca flour is the same thing). This will make the cheese softer, but it will melt easier and get stretchy when it melts. You will need to add 2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. of the tapioca. I know that this is a weird measurement, but that is the exact amount that I have found works the best.

Okay, let’s talk about agar-agar for a minute:

Nearly everyone loves this cheddar cheese recipe and it works great for almost everyone. Getting the cheese firm enough seems to be the only place people ever have trouble. Occasionally people will say that their cheese didn’t set correctly or it’s like jello.

These are my tips if this happens to you:

Use agar agar powder not flakes if you can and measure carefully. Make sure to use 2 full tablespoons, not 2 teaspoons!

I use Telephone brand agar agar , since I can easily find it at my local Asian market. It comes in small packs so it won’t go bad, and I know that it sets well every time. There are many other brands and there seem to be different strengths of agar agar especially in Europe.

If your cheese is too soft or jello-like, your agar agar is not strong enough. Increase the agar agar next time you make it. If it is very soft you can add a tiny bit of water and remelt it and add more agar agar and boil it for an additional 6 minutes.

If your agar agar is not working, swap it out in equal parts for Kapa carrageenan.

How do I make vegan cheddar cheese?

Prepare a cheese mold by spraying a smooth glass container with a little oil. Pour all of the ingredients except for the water and miso into a medium-sized saucepan. Stir the ingredients and turn on the heat to medium. Cook your cheese sauce until it has slowly boiled for 6 minutes while 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 and pour it 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 and then put it in the refrigerator uncovered for 2 more hours until it cools and sets completely. Serve or put in a sealed container.

How to make meltable vegan cheddar:

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

Pro tips for perfect vegan cheese:

Stir the cheese sauce very frequently. Do not walk away from it while cooking.

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Make sure to measure the ingredients carefully ! Slight changes in the amount of liquid, the agar agar, or the tapioca starch can change the texture of your cheese a lot!

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 makes it so you do not kill the beneficial probiotic in the miso.

Use the tapioca starch if you are using this cheese make anything hot like a grilled cheese where you would want it to melt.

Frequently asked questions:

How long does it keep? It says good for about 5 days sealed in the fridge.

Can it freeze? Yes, it freezes well and will stay good up to 3 months if sealed well.

Can I use arrowroot or any other type of starch? No, unfortunately, the only thing that will make your cheese melt and stretch is tapioca starch, if you use something else in its place, it just won’t work as well.

What can I use instead of miso? If you want to make it soy-free or don’t have miso, you can swap the miso out for tahini. This will also give it a little cheddar style bite.

Can I use agar agar flakes instead of powder? Yes, you can, however, it doesn’t melt as quickly, and you will need more of it. You will need to use 3 times as much flakes as powder, so use 6 tbsp of agar agar flakes instead of 2 tbsp of the powder to make this cheese.

Can I add spices? Yes, you can add whatever herbs and spices that you would like. A dash of smoked paprika or liquid smoke is yummy or you can use herbs like in my vegan garlic and herb cheese recipe.

Be sure to check out my other vegan cheese recipes:

If you want a lot more details about making vegan cheeses, check out my post How to Make Vegan Cheese!

If you are interested in learning how to make more homemade vegan staples, like vegan butter, mayo, creamy salad dressings, and plant-based milk check out my cookbook, “The Ultimate Guide to Homemade Vegan Staples.”

Make sure to follow me on Instagram or on Pinterest for daily vegan recipe ideas and tag #thehiddenveggies so I can see yours too!