This firm vegan Cheddar Cheese is flavorful and tangy. It slices, shreds, and melts and pairs well with crackers or can be used as a dairy cheese replacement in many recipes! Made in 5 minutes in your blender!
Soak cashews in hot water for 5 minutes. Rinse and drain. Add cashews and all other ingredients except water to your blender.
Boil water and add (carefully) immediately to blender. Place blender lid on tightly (!) and blend until completely smooth for approximately 1-2 minutes. Stop to scrape down sides once if needed.
Pour right away into a mold - either glass, silicone, or metal as you prefer. (No need to line or grease mold.)
Chill for at least 4 hours for optimal firmness and then use a butter knife to assist vegan cheddar cheese block to flip onto a plate. Slice, grate, and devour!
Notes
Pro cooking tip:This cheese starts to set immediately as soon as it begins to cool, so the faster you can get your cheese from the blender to the mold, the smoother the surface of the cheese will be. The great part is that the other side is always perfect. Just flip it over!!Storage: The cheese will last around 5 days in the refrigerator. I recommend wrapping your finished cheese in a paper towel, and then tightly in plastic wrap. Change the paper towel every few days if you think of it. This will help to absorb and moisture if the cheese 'sweats' at all.You can freeze this cheese but it does get a little softer in texture after thawing, but if you think you can’t eat it all, by all means freeze it!
Does this vegan Cheddar Cheese melt?
This cheese does melt if it doesn't dry out first. For example, it will melt well when used in lasagna, will soften over a baked potato, and works well in quesadillas. However if it spread on top of pizza in the oven, it may dry before it melts. If you want a more melty cheese as opposed to a block cheese, I would recommend decreasing the Kappa Carrageenan in the recipe to 1 tablespoon.
Can I use Agar Powder to replace the Kappa Carrageenan?
This is a common reader question. Agar does replace Kappa Carrageenan fairly well in this recipe - the result is not quite as firm or as melty. Use double the amount recommended for Kappa Carrageenan when replacing with agar. (I don't believe that agar is fully activated using this method, but it still does amazingly well.)