It’s no secret I love to play with color. With all the colors of the rainbow to be exact. Today it’s time to highlight yellow and orange because I made two delicious vegan cheeses (in fact, the best I’ve ever made!): baked cashew cheese with lemon and roasted red pepper. I used cashews as they work perfectly in this recipe to give the right creaminess, and they’re quite mild in taste letting the other ingredients – lemon and roasted red pepper – to shine through. To show you my love for vegan cheese (cashew cheese to be specific), I’ve made a little series – this is Part 1/3 of my Cashew Cheese Series.
The recipe is pretty simple, which is one of the reasons I make this cheese quite often. The other reason is of course the taste – it’s unlike any cheese I’ve ever tasted, because it has more flavor than dairy cheese, and still has cheese-like qualities. This cheese can be used like dairy cheese (except this cheese doesn’t melt) in toasts, salads etc but is a perfect snack on its own too. It is spreadable but still firm, which is why I love to eat it like this: generous slices on top of toast. Featuring the first two mini tomatoes from our garden 🙂
The perfect savory & sweet snack for two: toasts with cashew cheese accompanied by sweet toasts with almond butter, coconut cream and berries. Featuring the last pineberries of the season from our garden.
- [b]Baked lemon cashew cheese[/b]
- 1 cup soaked cashews
- 1/3 cup water
- 2,5 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- dash of black pepper
- + 1 tbsp olive oil
- [br]
- [b]Baked roasted red pepper cashew cheese[/b]
- 1/4 heaped cup roasted red pepper (1 small red pepper)
- 1 cup soaked cashews
- 1/4 cup water
- 1,5 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1,5 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- + 1 tbsp olive oil
- [b]Preparations:[/b] Soak 2 cups of cashews in warm water and 1 tsp salt for a minimum of 4 hours (or overnight). Drain and rinse cashews.
- Preheat oven to 440F / 225 C to roast the red pepper.
- Cut red pepper in half and scoop out all the seeds. Roast red pepper cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for ~15 minutes or until the skin in charred.
- Let cool and peel of skin (don’t use the skin). Measure a heaped 1/4 cup to be used in the cheese.
- Lower the oven heat to 375F / 190C.
- [b]Baked lemon cashew cheese:[/b] Blend all cheese ingredients except the olive oil in a high-speed blender until completely smooth and creamy. Add olive oil and mix it in with a spoon.
- Pour the cheese mixture in a small baking tin lined with parchment paper. I used a 5″ x 5″ / 12,5 cm x 12,5 cm tin.
- [b]Baked roasted red pepper cashew cheese:[/b] Same as above, blend all ingredients except olive oil in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy. Add olive oil and mix it in with a spoon. Pour the mixture in a small baking tin lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the cheeses ~35 minutes until they are firm. You can also bake the cheeses ~25 min for a softer consistency or more than 35 min for an even firmer texture.
- Enjoy these colorful vegan cheeses on top of toast, in salads, in pasta dishes and as a snack on its own!
I have this notion in my head that homemade vegan cheese has to be ultra complicated and take like 4 days and 22 steps and bacteria and stuff, but you are slowly breaking that one down for me one homemade cheese recipe at a time. And not only proving that it can be easy, but also that it can be SO pretty <3 These colors are magnificent! And another good way to get in some turmeric. That sweet and savory toast spread look like the perfect snack 🙂
Hello lovely!! I always add turmeric to everything 🙂 But this cheese takes turmeric to a whole new level as it turned really vibrant yellow when baked!! I’m all for homemade vegan cheese right now as I need lots of good snacks. Heheh actually I need snacks all the time anyway. But the best thing about this cheese is that it’s really kid-friendly. My kids don’t like store bought vegan cheeses, so I’m happy to give them an alternative 🙂 Hope your weekend has been fun <3
Woow Tiina, this cashew cheese looks soo so good and I love adding nutritional yeast into nut “Cheese”. The orange color makes it even more pretty. Hope you are doing well. All the best. xX, Annelina
Hi sweetie 🙂 Thank you so much! I really love adding nutritional yeast to “cheese” too, and to sauces. It’s a really good seasoning! Hope you’ve had a good relaxing weekend so far 🙂 Lots of love <3
That sounds so good, I just made my first Cashew cheese and it was so good! Will try this one for sure! Thank you!
Thank you so much Verena 🙂 I really love all kinds of cashew cheese but baking the cheese gives it such a lovely texture. If you try this recipe, please let me know how you liked it. Happy Sunday <3
Amazing!!! How long do these keep for? Can they be frozen?
Thank you Krista! I’d say they keep well for at least 4 days in a well sealed container. I’ve just frozen this for the first time, and don’t have results yet 🙂 But I think it will be perfect e.g.in pasta sauces or on top of pizza. Happy day to you!
Awesome! I’ll definitely be making this once I finish my juice cleanse. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Thank you so much for the lovely comment 🙂 And awesome that you’re doing a juice cleanse!! Have a wonderful new week!