Block-style Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese that will simply blow you away and have you coming back for more! It slices, shreds, and melts! SO good, it truly tastes better than dairy cheese! And it only takes a few minutes to make!!!
Historically, there is very little more satisfying to me than a little chunk of cheese. I think I must be part mouse. At any rate, I am presently COMPLETELY head-over-heels with this Vegan Pepper Jack cheese. It is so creamy, so rich, so flavorful, that it really begins to rival dairy cheese. You must try it! It only takes just a few ingredients, and a few minutes of your time! Fabulous!
Important Ingredient List:
You may already be acquainted with these ingredients, but if not, please take just a moment to read through these:
- REFINED coconut oil. Please don’t miss the word refined. I missed that when I first tried to make something like this, and I used Virgin coconut Oil. BIG mistake. Refined coconut oil (Amazon Affiliate Link) doesn’t taste like coconut but it still turns solid at cooler temps and just has that wonderful richness.
- Next important ingredient is Tapioca Flour. (Affiliate Link) There may be equitable subs but again this is unbelievably perfect so you just gotta try it. Local health food sections of your grocery store may carry this. I usually buy it online.
- Now for the most unusual vital ingredient. Kappa Carrageenan. This ingredient is what makes the cheese able to go from liquid to solid and back to melted state. It’s a wonder ingredient and not widely sold: here is the Kappa Carrageenan I use (Affiliate Link).
The Steps to Make Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese:
Seed and dice your jalapeños, add just a teaspoon of REFINED coconut oil to the pan, and sauté until soft. (Photos 1&2)
Assemble the rest of your ingredients (Photo 3).
Rinse cashews under HOT running water for several minutes (Photo 4).
Save aside sautéed Jalapeño, crushed red pepper. Add all other ingredients to blender, adding boiling water last (Photo 5&6).
Blend immediately until smooth, stopping once to scrape the sides of blender. (Photo 7).
Add Sautéed Jalapeño and crushed red pepper and blend or pulse quickly. Pour immediately into mold. (Photo 8,9.)
Note: As soon as the cheese begins to cool, it will start to harden. This is the reason for working quickly.
Tip: Rinsing cashews under HOT running water helps soften them for blending and also largely removes the cashew flavor.
Well, folks, I think that about explains Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese for now. I’m super thrilled for you to try this cheese and share it with your friends – vegan and non-vegan alike. I think you’ll find/create a LOT of new vegan cheese lovers!!
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Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 Jalapeños diced/sautéed
- 1/2 cup Raw Cashews Rinsed under Hot running water for several minutes
- 1/4 cup REFINED Coconut Oil
- 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
- 1.5 tbsp Nutritional Yeast Flakes
- 1.5 tbsp Kappa Carrageenan
- 1 tsp Seasoned Salt
- 1 tsp Himalayan Salt If using table salt instead, use slightly less
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1.5 cup Boiling Water
- 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Instructions
- Wash, seed, and dice Jalapeño peppers. Sauté in a small frying pan with just a bit of Refined Coconut Oil until soft. Avoid browning. Set aside to add to the cheese later.
- Select a heat-safe preferably glass dish that can hold approx 3C and set aside. (This is your cheese mold.)
- Rinse Cashews under HOT water for several minutes.
- Put your water in a small pot on the stove to boil.
- Add all ingredients (except the water! & Jalapeños and Crushed Red Pepper) to the blender. Add the cashews first and then everything else on top of the cashews.
- Carefully add (so you don't burn yourself!!!) the boiling hot water into your blender. Put the blender lid on! And blend immediately until completely smooth.
- Stop blending once if need be to quickly scrape sides of blender and resume blending right after.
- Stop blending one more time and quickly add Sautéed Jalapeño and Crushed Red Pepper Flakes. Now blend/pulse JUST enough to incorporate these ingredients.
- Immediately transfer your cheese to your chosen dish/mold as it will start to solidify quickly as it cools.Place in refrigerator to chill. No need to cover yet.After 1 hour or when fully chilled, remove cheese block from dish/mold and wrap in paper towels and then tightly plastic wrap. The flavor gets better over a day or two but it’s great as soon as it’s hardened, too. Yeay! You are officially a cheese-maker!
Video
Notes
TIPS for Cleaning your Blender:
Right after scraping all the cheese you can into your mold, fill your blender with a couple cups of hot tap water and a drop or two of dish soap. Place the lid on and blend on high for several minutes. This will get rid of the the cheesy stuff in the bottom of your blender and keep you from having to clean around the blades with your hands!Nutrition
Looking at nutritional profile I see same fat and sat. fat content as real cheese but only 1 g protein vs 8 g for real cheese. Any ideas for boosting the protein content?
Also, would pickled jalapenos work? Also use the liquid to replace the vinegar? Thanks.
Thanks for your questions. Pickled jalapeños work great and I love using the liquid in them to replace the vinegar! I think you’ll love that! Also, I probably need to go in and examine the nutritional profile closer. Sometimes the automatic calculator isn’t perfect. This cheese isn’t something I’d recommend eating as a main part of your diet, but it is certainly a wonderful indulgence now and then!
I thought kappa carrageenan would need to be cooked on the stove top to activate it like agar agar. I just made a batch of provolone with KC and I had to cook it for 6 minutes. Does the hot water in the blender do the job of cookIng the KC and AA enough?
You can also cook this recipe on the stove, however the just boiled water works like a charm in the blender and doesn’t separate as sometimes the mixture can do on the stove. The Agar is harder to activate in the blender, and will turn out a softer but still delicious cheese.
How long does it keep before going bad?
It keeps about 5 days. You can freeze leftovers, however, the texture changes a bit…
Hello, I tried your Vegan Mozzarella and OH MY GOD it was the best much much better than the store bought cheese, it melts just like the real one and the taste was yummy ..thnx thnx 👍🏼
Today is the pepper jack recipe😍😍😍
Thanks so much for your comment! So glad you like it! Hope you like the pepper jack too – that one is my favorite!
Can you make ahead and freeze this cheese?
Freezing the cheese changes the texture. It’s still edible but it’s just not the same perfection. So I freeze leftovers when necessary but I wouldn’t freeze for say an event or something like that!
I just finished making this and I tasted it as I was putting it in the mold and it’s so delicious I almost cried! Thank you! Pepper jack was always the favorite cheese in my house. Having it again is like a Xmas miracle 😁
Thanks so much for the comment! This recipe is a family favorite of ours as well! Merry Christmas!
I love this cheese, fantastic flavor and consistency.
Thanks so much for your comment! Glad you like it!
Hi Rebecca. Do I melt the refined coconut oil before adding or add in it’s solid form?
Thanks for the question! You can add it in its solid form, no need to melt it! Have fun!
Do you have to use the carrageenan??
You don’t have to use the carrageenan but without it the cheese won’t be sliceable/grateable. It still has great taste tho, when it is thickened with Agar powder! Double the amount of carrageenan recommended with agar powder and you’ll still have a great multi-purpose vegan cheese!
Will this cheese melt if heated? I want to add it to veggie burger and want it to melt on the burger on the grill.
Yes! This cheese does melt. Not quite like dairy cheese but still pretty great! I use it in quesadillas, on pizza etc. I have some friends who use it on my vegan mushroom oat burgers on the grill and it is soooo irresistible! Have fun!