No lies, these are the BEST cheese fries!
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vegan cheese
Vegan Beer Cheese Dip
Vegan Blackberry, Basil and Ricotta Pressed Sandwich
Vegan Watermelon, Mint and Feta Bites
Vegan BBQ Tempeh Nachos
Vegan Everything Bagel Cheese Ball
Everything bagels are my favorite bagels. That is all I used to eat, and I didn’t branch out until I got a little older. I love the flavor combination, it is so delicious. It is comforting and perfect. I have been wanting to make my own everything bagel spice blend for a while, and use it in an imaginative way! When I finally realized that the best thing to go with this particular spice blend, is cheese. A cheese ball with everything bagel spice mixed in, and then crusted in the spice was what I decided, and it is so G.D good. …
Vegan Pimento Goat Cheese Spread
One of our favorite restaurants in town serves Southern food with a modern twist. They have a all kinds of really awesome things that I think are really genius. However, the idea that always strikes me as brilliant is their Pimento goat cheese spread. My husband gets it all the time, and the fact that it is not vegan is not going to stop me from making some. I told my husband I was going to make a Vegan Pimento Goat Cheese Spread that would taste even better than the one he always eats. That is a challenge, and the challenge was accepted….
Vegan Spicy Cheesy Bean Dip
So, I hear that the Super Bowl is coming up? I don’t know, I hate football. Every year my husband and I come up with some kind of anti-super bowl party idea. However, we still make all the same food you would have at a football type gathering, just vegan, of course! Then we watch the Puppy Bowl or something! Now, I want to make sure you know, I am in no way saying you shouldn’t watch football, and I am well aware that I am part of the minority on this subject (especially living in a major college town), so this recipe will work really well even if you are going to actually watch sports!
Just because you watch football, it doesn’t mean you can’t stay vegan and have all the same amazing foods and flavors that go with a sporting event! You just have to get creative!! The basic Super Bowl party foods I feel like you need are chips and dips, wings, maybe jalapeno poppers. I decided to work on a vegan version of all of these, and this is where my spicy cheesy bean dip comes into play! It is so delicious, I had to stop myself from eating it all alone, in a dark corner, sobbing.
This recipe is about as easy as you can get. You are just blending ingredients in a blender, and then heating everything together in a skillet. The only thing you really need to think about is how spicy you want it! It is also rather healthy I am going to say. The base is raw cashews, there is no gluten and no refined sugar, and to make myself feel even better, I baked tortillas until they were crispy and ate the dip with those. You can make that happen with flour or corn tortillas, and with corn you can keep it completely gluten free!
I highly recommend making this super easy, low stress dip for your next sporting party! It tastes so cheesy, spicy and perfect. I promise that everyone will love this, and you can join me to continue the mission to make everyone a vegan(at least part time?). I hope you enjoy! As always, if you have any questions or feedback, I would love to hear it!
Vegan Spicy Cheesy Bean Dip
2017-01-11 10:52:09
Serves 15
Cheesy dip mixed with black beans, tomatoes and spices!
Prep Time
4 hr
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
4 hr 15 min
Ingredients
- 1 C. Cashews, raw (soaked for at least 4 hours)
- 2/3 C. Vegetable broth
- 2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp. Turmeric
- 2 tsp. Chili powder
- 1 tsp. Onion powder
- 1 tsp. Garlic powder
- 2 tsp. Salt
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 Can Black beans
- 1/2 Can Crushed tomatoes
- A few dashes of Hot sauce
Garnish
- Cilantro
- Green onion
- Limes
- Tortilla chips
Instructions
- Soak raw cashews for at least 4 hours up to overnight.
- In a blender, add soaked cashews, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, spices and lime juice. Blend on high until nice and creamy, this will take a few minutes.
- In a skillet, add the black beans, tomatoes, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Cook on medium high, and once the cheese sauce is ready, stir into the skillet with the black beans and tomatoes.
- Cook all together for 5-10 minutes on low heat until piping hot and creamy. Stirring every minute or so.
- Taste and adjust flavor to your liking, you can add more hot sauce or chili powder if you want it hotter, more lime for acid, and more salt if you need it!
- Top with cilantro and green onions and serve with tortilla chips!
Notes
- If you are having this at a party, and it gets cold after a while and starts to firm, you can throw it back on the stove and reheat! It tastes great reheated!
Rabbit and Wolves https://www.rabbitandwolves.com/
Vegan Ricotta and Roasted Grape Crostini
A fairly new tradition my family has started is to have a cheese, wine and appetizer party on Christmas eve. We have been doing this for about 5 or 6 years, and I love it. I also love trying new vegan options to have, that not only I fall in love with, but that also keeps the omnivores coming back for more. I love making different cheese balls with various nuts, coming up with flatbread pizza, tiny skewers of delicious bite sized appetizers, and last year, my husband made vegan carrot and tomato soup shooters with vegan grilled cheese dippers. This year though, I may have developed something that will top all other years. A crispy baguette sliced and perfectly toasted, topped with outstanding cashew ricotta, roasted grapes and fresh thyme.
Literally a flavor explosion, I don’t think I have tasted much better. This year, these beauties will be placed alongside regular cheese and bread and crackers, and I promise it will hold it’s own. Crispy, creamy, chewy, sweet, and salty. The ultimate handheld food. I like to peruse old Southern Living magazines and cookbooks, and a while ago I came across something similar, of course with regular ricotta. I though what a great appetizer to try to veganize, and what a perfect time to try. This would be great for any holiday party, and I am convinced it would be perfect for New Years Eve paired with crisp, bubbly champagne!
What are your beloved holiday family traditions? Or do you love to spend the holidays with friends? Either way, give this a try. Just casually incorporate it into any holiday potluck, and be the biggest hit at the party. For real.
This is a really easy recipe, it is just sightly time consuming and a bit involved. Just the cheese making process, the roasting of the grapes is a very quick and easy thing that you can do right before serving. The cheese though, I suggest making in the morning, or it would be very easy to make a day or two ahead of time and be kept in the fridge. Then you can just toast the bread, roast the grapes and take the cheese out when it is assembly time! The cashews also need to soak for at least 8 hours, but overnight would be better. So also something you can do a few days in advance. After the cashews soak though, all you have to do is throw everything in a blender. Easy peasy. Place in a cheesecloth and let drain. Ready to go!
I love bites of food I can have ready before guests arrive, so that I don’t have to spend time in the kitchen once friends and family are there. To me, the holidays are about remembering what and who are important to me. Make the best of my time with loved ones is the most important thing, and being ready at party time is a perfect way to do just that. These can be served room temperature, so you can do this when the time is best for you! I want a cocktail in my hand and my favorite people by my side!
I hope you enjoy! Happy holiday parties to you, and here’s to showing everyone you can happily make it through the holidays living an all plant based life.
Tools I used:
Pure Acres Farm 100% Unbleached Cheese Cloth, 18 Sq Feet
Ninja Professional Blender (BL610)
Lodge L8SGP3 Cast Iron Square Grill Pan, Pre-Seasoned, 10.5-inch
Pour
Vegan Ricotta and Roasted Grape Crostini
2016-12-10 11:54:31
Serves 20
Crispy bread, creamy cashew ricotta and sweet roasted grapes make the perfect appetizer.
Prep Time
10 hr
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
10 hr 15 min
Cashew cheese
- 2 C. Cashews, raw (soaked for 8-24 hours)
- 4 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
- 4 Tbsp. Almond milk
- 3 tsp. Salt
- 2 tsp. Pepper
- 2 tsp. Garlic powder
Roasted Grapes
- 2 C. Purple grapes
- 2 tsp. Olive oil or grape oil
- 1 tsp. Salt
For serving
- 2 Baguettes (make sure they are vegan, there are also some good gluten free baguette options of you want)
- 2 Tbsp. Fresh thyme
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in water for at least 8 hours, I like to just leave mine over night.
- When the cashews are ready, drain and place in a blender with the remaining cheese ingredients.
- Blend on high for a few minutes until it starts to become creamy. You still want a little texture, so stop when it looks like there are no more cashew chunks, but not so creamy that it looks like sauce. This should only take a couple minutes.
- Pour into a cheesecloth and tighten, tie off and place in a colander over a bowl. Let drain at least three hours, but this can be done overnight as well.
- When the cheese has drained, you can squeeze a bit of liquid out yourself as well, it should look like a ricotta texture, place in the fridge.
- When you are ready to serve, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the grapes on a baking sheet and toss evenly with oil and salt.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes.
- Slice and toast the baguette while the grapes are roasting.
- When grapes are ready, they will burst a bit.
- To assemble, spread cashew ricotta on toast, place a few grapes on top and top that with thyme, serve when ready!
Notes
- Want this to be gluten free as well? There are some really great gluten free baguette options as well!
Rabbit and Wolves https://www.rabbitandwolves.com/
Vegan Feta Cheese
Seriously guys, you can not tell this is not feta cheese. Period. Hands down. I love feta, and used to think it was really fancy cheese when I was a kid. I would put it on everything, especially all my salads. A few things I have made with this vegan feta recently, that I currently can’t stop thinking about include but are not limited to: Mediterranean couscous salad with olives, vegan feta, artichokes and oil and vinegar. Holy crap! Everyone in my family immediately said that could not tell it wasn’t cheese; a Greek vegan chicken salad with feta! Dear lord! I know I have made a winner when I take a bite and scream “I am a f#$@%ing genius!” I also had a wrap recently with hummus, feta and veggies. My mouth is watering while I type this.
You literally can’t mess this up, you are so close to having all the cheesy goodness you can ask for. I love having staples like this in the fridge, so when I get really busy, I can just throw together a quick lunch. There are so many options with this recipe. As always, let me know if you have any questions about this recipe, any others, or just vegan cooking in general.
Vegan Feta Cheese
An amazing vegan feta alternative.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 Block(15oz.) Extra firm tofu
- 1/2 Cup Olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon juice
- 2 Teaspoons Caper juice, from a jar of capers
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- 2 Teaspoons Dried Basil
- 1 Tablespoon Chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Squeeze some of the liquid out of the tofu. and cut into small cubes.
- Sprinkle tofu with a bit of salt, and bake for 5-10 minutes at 375, so they get a little firmer and dried out, but don't brown them.
- Make the marinade, by adding all of the other ingredients in a bowl and whisking.
- Let the tofu cool for a few minutes, and then add the tofu to marinade, cover and let sit overnight. You can keep this in your fridge for a few weeks, and it actually just gets better! Enjoy!