With vegan cheese, you must either buy an expensive one or make one with expensive ingredients. Not to mention, it might not be good (unless you’re already familiar with the brand). Hence, I’m thrilled to share a version that’s way cheaper than other recipes that call for cashews, nutritional yeast, and other fancy ingredients.
Here in the Philippines, you might need help finding vegan ingredients readily in your neighborhood. But this recipe calls for stuff that’s widely available at most supermarkets. Serendipitously, my go-to plant-based milk brand approached me to collaborate with this vegan cheddar. I like Vitasoy because they’re almost everywhere, including at convenience stores. It’s also very affordable, but the quality is premium. It’s rich and creamy, perfect for making vegan cheese at home (and other stuff that calls for creaminess).
Another great thing about this vegan cheddar recipe is that it uses vegetables like potatoes, squash, and taro. If you would like a darker color or hue, add carrots as well. Your vegan cheddar will have all kinds of nutrients! And it’s guilt-free and cruelty-free, too!
- 1 cup boiled potatoes
- 1 cup boiled taro
- 1 cup boiled squash
- ¼ cup olive brine (preferably kalamata olives)
- 2 tablespoons coconut vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sea salt, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 cups plant-based milk (I prefer a rich and creamy kind like Vitasoy Plus Milky)
- Add the boiled and softened squash, taro, potatoes, olive brine, coconut vinegar, salt, tapioca starch, coconut oil, and plant-based milk in a high-speed blender. Blend on high until smooth.
- Turn off the blender and adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Transfer and pour into a medium-sized pot. Cook over low heat and continuously mix with a spatula until you have a very thick mixture. It's a simple process that takes about 5-8 minutes, giving you a delicious result.
- Turn off the heat and transfer the mixture to a mold or container. You can also drizzle and serve on top of nacho chips, mix in mac-and-cheese noodles, slather on bread for a grilled cheese sandwich, and many more applications.
If you'd like a sharper tang, double the amount of coconut vinegar.
Many thanks to Vitasoy for partnering with me, and I gotta say that it’s a great match because I have been using the products not just for making vegan cheese, but even as creamer to my coffee almost every day. So you can just imagine how thrilled I was that I reached out for a collaboration.
If you’d like to also use Vitasoy, you can always check your local supermarket, grocery store, even online. I hope you enjoy!