Creamy, sliceable, shreddable and meltable, this Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese recipe is completely irresistible and can be created in your very own kitchen in just minutes!
I’m so excited to be sharing with you another rendition of my blender-based, no ‘cook’ vegan cheese!! Today we’re going to go over how to make a sumptuous block-style Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese. But first, some questions and answers….
Can you make Vegan Cheese?
That is a million dollar question and I’m here today to tell you YES YOU CAN! A thousand times YES! Don’t let the whole idea scare you. You are going to feel like a master chef in minutes!! This cheese is such a confidence booster!
What does this Vegan Cheese taste like?
Obviously, it’s not quite like dairy cheese – BUT the texture, flavor, richness, and creaminess of this vegan cheese will literally knock your socks off! It satisfies a major cheese craving for me, and it even meets the expectations of my non-vegan friends! They’re like, “this stuff is great”!! Score!!!
Why eat THIS Vegan cheese?
- it’s non-dairy
- it tastes amazing
- it’s cheap
- it’s easy to make
- it cooperates (will slice, shred, melt)
- it is low in fat compared to dairy-cheese
- it is low in fat compared to non-dairy store-bought cheese
- it’s also soy-free & gluten-free
What’s in this Smoked Gouda Vegan cheese??
The one challenge of making this cheese is that it takes a few unusual ingredients that not everyone has on hand – but please believe me – it is SO worth the effort!! Really, only #3 is harder to find. Here’s the short list:
- REFINED Coconut Oil – (Please don’t miss the word refined.) Refined coconut oil (Affiliate Link) doesn’t taste like coconut but it still turns solid at cooler temps, thus adding firmness and richness. It’s available at many local grocery stores in the health food section.
- Tapioca Flour – a thickener with a slightly stretchy texture. I usually buy this online here (Affiliate Link) but again many local health food stores sell this.
- Kappa Carrageenan – This is the most unusual ingredient and somewhat difficult to obtain. A derivative of sea weed, this ingredient is vital because it 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).
- Smoke Flavor – For this recipe I used Wright’s Hickory Smoke Flavor (Affiliate Link). It adds a lovely smoke flavor and can be widely obtained.
- Seasoned Salt – I use Johnny’s that I buy at Costco!
Steps to Make Vegan Smoked Gouda:
Assemble all your ingredients (Photo above). Rinse Cashews under hot running water for several minutes. (Photo 1 below)
Put all ingredients in the blender except for the water. (Photo 2)
Add boiling water to blender and blend until smooth. (Photo 3)
Pour immediately into heat safe dish (your mold) and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours to harden. (Photo 4)
Slice, grate and enjoy!
HOT Tip:
Don’t skip the ‘rinse your cashews under HOT tap water for several minutes’ step. Not only does this soften the cashews for blending, but it removes that ‘cashewy’ flavor so the final cheese doesn’t taste nutty.
Super excited for you guys to experience the joys of making awesome vegan cheese at home! Let me know how it goes, and if you have any questions, leave a comment and I’ll try to help out!! (For a video tutorial of making this style cheese, please see the links for my other cheeses below. Video of Vegan Smoked Gouda coming soon….)
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Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese
Creamy, sliceable, shreddable and meltable, this Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese recipe is completely irresistible and can be created in your very own kitchen in just minutes!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Cashews Rinsed under hot water for several minutes
- 1/4 cup Refined Coconut Oil
- 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast Flakes
- 1.5 Tbsp Kappa Carrageenan
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Sea Salt scant
- 1 tsp Seasoned Salt I use Johnny's
- 1 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Hickory Smoke Flavor I used Wright's
- 1 1/2 Cup HOT (just boiled) Water
Instructions
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!) 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.
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 2-3 hours 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!
Recipe Notes
This Cheese recipe is one of my saltier options. If you're not a salt-lover you may want to scale back on the salt by a 1/4 tsp. I often use Himalayan salt, although not "Kala Namak" or "black salt" in this recipe.
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