These recipes and go-to vegan cheeses have made it wayyyy easier for me to live dairy-free for over 3 years now. Some are definitely nutrient-packed, and others are just super convenient for vegan pizzas, lasagnas, and whatever other cheesy delights you love 🙂
Whether you’re looking to skip the dairy to de-bloat, do an elimination diet, because you watched Forks Over Knives, or because you’ve gone vegan, I can bet you’ll LOVE these dairy-free cheeses as much as I do.
I’ve tested ’em out, made lots of not-so-good ones in the process (super disappointing when you LOVED cheese) and now I’m sharing my absolute faves with you, as a Holistic Nutritionist and basically a good person (seriously, if you have vegan cheese recipes, you must share them, yes?).
So rock out, and make these with me the next time you’re thinking you’d like to experiment with the final touches (or main part) of your meal. Your body is going to love you for it. 🙂
Bring on the vegan cheese! Here they are:
1. Daiya Cheese *Super fast, because you don’t make it
I had to include daiya in the mix because they’re pretty awesome, at most stores now, and readily available. Which basically makes life easier sometimes when you’re super busy. Daiya does a pretty awesome line-up of meltable, easy-to-use, fairly mild cheeses. They’re not as nutrient-dense as lots of the home-made cheeses, but DAMN do they satisfy a craving, and they’re found in most grocery stores now.
2. This Parmesan Cheese Recipe (From Veggieful.com) *Super fast to make
This is awesome on our quinoa pasta, as another cheese in a super cheesy vegan lasagna, and even just, truth-be-told, to grab a spoon of and eat (yummm). Even my little sister loves this one, and often let’s me know when her ‘veeeg parm’ is out, so I can make her more. 🙂 Click here for the cheese recipe.
3. This Baked Almond Feta (from MapleSpice.com) *Medium-fast to make (super fast if you don’t bake it, but if you use it raw, use less garlic! 😉 )
While I wouldn’t say it’s super lots like a feta, this one is a go-to for my vegan lasagnas, on tomatoes in the summer, in sandwiches, or spread on toast or as a dip with crackers. You can grab this recipe here. I think of it kind of like a cream cheese or soft cheddar.
4. This Cheesy Nacho-Type Sauce (from AmandaNicoleSmith.com) *Super fast to make
Great on nachos, fabulous as the third cheese in my lasagnas, and great as a cheesy dip for your favourite veggies. You can find this recipe here, as the third recipe down.
5. This Brie from the best-ever VegNews Artisan Cheese Magazine (from food.com and VegNews.com) *Slow to make. We’ve made it without the thickeners, and used it as more of a creamy buffalo mozzarella, which then makes this pretty fast 🙂
A vegan brie? Isn’t that enough said? Yummm. I love this on fresh, late summer tomatoes, as a vegan caprese salad with basil, and pretty much on anything you could put cheese on, ever. You can grab this recipe here, and you should. Yum!
6. This Oh She Glow’s Life Affirming Nacho Dip (from Oh She Glows, Featured on Dreena Burton’s Plant-Powered Kitchen)
This is awesome as a meal, and we love it. Grab a nice bag of organic tortillas or tortilla chips, and go at this dip. It’s seriously good. Grab the recipe here, and seriously make this. It’s a good time investment. Promise.
In all seriousness, I’ll probably come back to this often and update it, since there are SO many awesome recipes out there (especially now that I’ve got Miyoko Schinner’s book Artisan Vegan Cheese!). But for now, these are some AWESOME starting points in your dairy-free cheese making adventures! Xo, Nathalie
Now I want to hear from you. Be awesome-sauce and share YOUR favourite dairy-free cheese with me in the comments. I can’t WAIT to test them out! 🙂Â
