This recipe is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. All opinions are 100% my own.
Creamy vegan ricotta is nut-free and so simple to make! Tofu ricotta is perfect for recipes like stuffed shells, baked ziti, and stuffed mushrooms.
This vegan tofu ricotta works well in any savory recipe that calls for ricotta cheese. I kept the flavor mild, but I'll include some variations below, in case you want to make seasoned vegan ricotta!
Recipe notes
When you're making your vegan ricotta, you definitely need to press your tofu. Pressing gets the excess water out, so your tofu is ready to soak in the seasonings!
I press my tofu using the EZ Tofu Press. The EZ Tofu Press gets ½ cup of water out of your tofu, on average.
The EZ Tofu Press is easy to use and easy to clean. It's dishwasher safe, though I rarely put mine in the dishwasher, because it's so easy to wipe clean by hand.
After pressing, use clean hands to crumble your tofu into a large bowl. Then, add the remaining ingredients.
Now, it's mix and mash time. You want to mash your tofu vigorously until it goes from crumbly to creamy. Take out some pent up aggression on that bowl!
I can't overstate how important it is to keep mixing and mashing here. If you stop before it gets creamy, you'll have lackluster vegan ricotta, and I don't want that for you!
After your mixture turns creamy, give it a taste and adjust the salt. Add a pinch, mix well, and taste again. Repeat until you have it salted to your taste.
Flavor variations
Want to spice up your vegan ricotta game? Try these additions:
- ½ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes -- You can also replace the olive oil in the tofu ricotta recipe below with the oil from the jar for an extra flavor punch.
- ½-3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1-2 teaspoons of dried rosemary and/or thyme
- 2-3 tablespoons minced, fresh parsley
You can also mix and match the ingredients above. Have fun with it!
How to store
Store your tofu ricotta in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for around four days.
When you take the container out of the fridge to serve, there may be some separation, which is totally normal. Just stir until everything is recombined, and you're good to go.
I do not recommend freezing this vegan cheese, because freezing alters tofu's texture, and you want this cheese to stay nice and creamy!
Vegan ricotta recipe
Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu - pressed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt - or more, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, crumble the pressed tofu, then add the remaining ingredients and use a fork to mix it all together. Stir and mash until the tofu mixture clumps together and becomes creamy.
- Taste the ricotta, and add more salt, by the pinch, until it reaches your desired flavor.
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