The Baked Cashew Cheese Experiment

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I have a thing for homemade vegan cheese, especially the nut- or seed-based variety. Basically, this has become my go-to recipe for making vegan queso:

• 1c of water
• 3/4c raw cashews
• 2T apple cider vinegar
• 1/4-1/3c nutritional yeast
• whatever spices seem good at the moment

Give it a blend, and you’re ready to dip!

Last week my friend Tracy said she was really digging on this baked vegan cashew cheese from Kathy at Healthy Happy Life, and I knew I had to try it. First of all, the base recipe looks a lot like my tried-and-true queso recipe, and second of all, this thing looked delicious! You can check out Kathy’s recipe right here.

Of course, I never leave well enough alone, so I made a few changes to her recipe. She also gives you some options, and I wanted to let you guys know which ones worked for me:

• When you blend up your cashews with the soaking water, add 2T apple cider vinegar. (More about this below.)
• When the mix is all done, mix in about 1t sea salt, dried spices of your choice, and 1/4c nutritional yeast before baking.

• Like she suggests, I just left my cheeseball hanging over a tall pitcher (like in the photo above) for the whole time that it was in the cheesecloth, moving it to the fridge after a couple of hours. I let it hang overnight.

Here's the cheese ready to go in the oven, after I carefully removed the cheesecloth.

• Baked it at 215F for 90 minutes and served it up warm with crackers for spreading.

YUM! This cheese was delicious! Right out of the oven, it was gooey and spreadable, and it firmed up just a bit as it cooled. The only change I think I’d make to my cheese-making process next time is upping the vinegar. Instead of blending the cashews with 1/2 cup soaking water, I’m going to try 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup soaking water, since I like my cheese pretty tangy.

Have you guys tried any homemade vegan cheese recipes that knocked your socks off? I’d love to hear them!

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