Hey there cheese lovers, as promised, here’s another delicious and easy-to-make vegan cheese recipe! This time we’ve got pepper jack, which is pretty amazing, if I say so myself!
Like our delicious smoky cheese recipe, this is also adapted from Somer McCowan’s fantastic Smoked Coconut Gouda recipe. So far we’ve used it for grilled cheese sammies (especially yummy sandwiched between slices of our homemade GF bread!), melted on top of pizzas, eaten out-of-hand, and paninis. Next up, mac and cheese!
Like with the Smoky Cheese recipe, there are only a couple of specialty ingredients you’ll need for our cheeses, and they’re easy to order from Amazon. Here’s a vegan lactic acid powder and a Kappa Carrageenan from Amazon that are both great brands. Find a couple of friends to share with, as the bags will last a very long time!
Please let us know if you make this cheese! We’re so excited to hear what you think of it. #julieandkittee #veganpepperjackcheese
Homemade vegan cheese forever!!
| Servings |
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon oil, neutral tasting (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lactic acid
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons kappa carrageenan
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup pickled jalapeño slices, drained and finely chopped (see note below)
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Ingredients
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1 block
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- In the jar of a strong blender, combine the water, cashews, nutritional yeast flakes, oil, salt, lactic acid, and granulated onion. Blend until super smooth and there aren’t any bits of nuts.
- Add the tapioca and carrageenan, and blend for 5 to 10 seconds until smooth.Add the dried red chili flakes and pickled jalapeño. Pulse or blend on low just until the jalapeños are chopped.
- Pour the cashew mixture into a large saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking continually. Continue cooking, whisking continuously, for about 7-9 minutes until the mixture has thickened nicely and is very glossy.
- Pour the cheese into a smallish container that can contain a minimum of 2 cups volume. I like small loaf pans or glass bowls.
- If properly cooked, the cheese will start to set right away. Allow the cheese to set at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then cover and refrigerate the cheese to finish setting for 3 to 4 hours.
- If the cheese doesn’t set up properly that means you haven’t cooked it long enough, if this happens to you, throw it back into the saucepan and cook for a few minutes more! It’ll re-melt and then you can pour it back into the mold for it to solidify.
- Remove the cheese from the mold and serve.
We've tried this cheese with several different oils, and they all worked great. Olive oil, sunflower oil, melted coconut oil (both refined and un-refined), all did the trick, and didn't have a predominate flavor. We would suggest not using sesame oil though, as it would have too strong of the wrong flavor.
Depending on the heat level of your pickled jalapeños, you should adjust this amount to taste.
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xo Julie & Kittee
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Hi Julie & Kittee!
Love your website and recipes! I’ve heard there are health concerns about carrageenan. Have those been debunked?
I want to make this recipe stat. Looks SO YUM!
Thanks for all you do!
🙂 Sharon
Hi Sharon! We personally aren’t too concerned with it, and eat it in moderation. Here’s a link to what Dr. Greger says about it: https://nutritionfacts.org/2014/04/22/should-carrageenan-be-avoided/
Also this!
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/new-study-says-carrageenan-does-not-cause-gut-inflammation.html
What exactly is vegan lactic acid? I have made vegan cheeses before using agar agar but not the lactic acid. Could agar agar be substituted?’thank you
Hi Elizabeth!
Lactic acid adds a delicious umami flavor to the cheese. It is a by product of fermentation, you can read about it here:http://vegtastic.net/2011/01/is-lactic-acid-vegan/.
Agar agar cannot be substituted for lactic acid. You might be able to use agar agar instead of the carraggeenan, but you’ll have to play around with that yourself, as we haven’t tried it. Agar definitely gives a different texture to the cheese.
Thanks!
Made this last night and ate it for breakfast toasted on an English muffin. So great!
Yay!!!!
Hello! Can Corn Starch be used instead of Tapioca Starch?
Hey Jennifer!
We haven’t tried cornstarch, but I don’t think it will work. Tapioca does more than just thicken, it makes the cheese stretchy and gives it texture.
Thanks!! Also, how lon of a shelf life do you think this has?
Sorry, lots of questions! My local market carries Tapioca Starch/flour. Is that the same thing?
Same thing! I think a week or so on the cheese?
Hi There
Went through the recipe.
I thought I had cooked it long enough – it did start setting, but even in the fridge over night and all day – it still wasn’t set, so I cooked it again as per your instructions.
It is back in the fridge, so will look tomorrow night.
Should it be setup hard like a regular cheese or does it take extra time ?
Hey!
The cheese needs to cook for a solid five minutes after it becomes thick. If you dip a spoon into it, it will harden on the cheese right away-that’s a good indicator the carrageenan has been cooked enough. After you pour it into your bowl or mold, the cheese forms a skin within minutes. It sets up firm enough to grate and slice easily-sorta like a mozzarella.
Hope this helps!
It should be grateable after 1-2 hours.