A simple & delicious dairy-free macadamia nut cheese recipe. Made with a few essential ingredients, lemon, garlic, nutritional yeast, and salt, then rolled in finely chopped fresh herbs.
I'm hoping this recipe might persuade you (if you've ever wondered how) to have a go at making vegan cheese. It takes just a few minutes overall to put together. Plus, there's no cooking.
As a nut cheese, it's not going to taste like one made with dairy, but this is really good and worth doing. It may surprise you. This raw vegan cheese is fantastic in salads or served on a platter with fruit, olives and crackers.
I particularly love it in Summer time sitting outside with a nice glass of something cold.
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Ingredients
I use raw nuts for this macadamia nut cheese recipe. Soaking them overnight in water (for 5-8 hours) makes them easy to blend. In addition, the fat contained in the nuts gives this dairy-free cheese its creaminess.
- macadamia nuts
- lemon juice
- fresh garlic
- nutritional yeast - optional, but adds some cheesy flavour
- salt
- fresh herbs
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This recipe couldn't be more straightforward as it's so simple to make and fun to do!
You add the ingredients to a blender, blend it until it's completely smooth, and then use a piece of parchment to roll it into a log shape.
Freezing for about half an hour will firm up the texture and help it stay in a pretty log shape like a goat's cheese.
Add ingredients to a blender.
Blend until smooth & forms a ball.
Turn out onto parchment & roll into a log shape.
Roll in finely chopped herbs.
Variations
If macadamia nuts are an issue, you might try using soaked almonds, cashews or sunflower seeds instead.
Or change up the flavours a little more with some alternative ingredients. Here are some suggestions:
- Spicy - add a sprinkle of chilli pepper flakes to the mixer when blending.
- Herbs - change the herbs for some other flavours. I like to use whatever's in season. Finely chopped chives with a bit of rosemary works well.
- Miso - half a teaspoon of fresh miso paste for a slightly salty umami flavour. You might like to use miso instead of nutritional yeast or both even. I recommend doing a taste test while mixing before adding any salt, as you may find it doesn't need it.
Storage
Pop this cheese in an airtight container, and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
This macadamia nut recipe will freeze well. However, it's best to freeze it before rolling it into chopped herbs. Defrost in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before using it to allow it to soften. Once it's defrosted, roll in fresh chopped herbs until covered.
Recipe
Macadamia Nut Cheese
Equipment
- 1 a blender or food processor with an s-blade.
- 1 Lemon squeezer.
- 1 Spatula.
- Parchment paper.
- 1 sushi matt optional
- 1 Chopping board.
- 1 Paring knife.
Ingredients
- 100 g macadamia nuts
- ½ lemon juice of
- 1 small garlic clove crushed
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon salt sea salt or himalayan pink salt
- 4 tablespoon fresh parsley a few large sprigs
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves approximately 1 sprig
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to a food processor with an s-blade and blend until nice and creamy smooth throughout. Stop the food processor every so often to remove the lid then go in with a spatula, scrape it all away from the edges and back into the middle. This takes my food processor about 4-6 minutes and then the mixture will start to form a soft ball shape.
- Lay out a sushi matt onto your work surface and cover it with a layer of parchment. Now scrape the nut cheese out onto the middle of the parchment and, using your hands form it into a log shape. I like to use a sushi matt to roll the parchment over the cheese quite tightly so that it makes a nice firm shape. Remove the matt. Fold down the edges of the parchment under the raw cheese and place it into the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up.
- While you're waiting for it to firm up, take the herbs, remove their leaves from the stalks and chop finely using a paring knife. Mix the herbs together with your fingers then spread them out evenly across the chopping board.
- Take out the nut cheese from the freezer and remove the parchment. Place it on the chopping board and roll it into the herbs so it's fairly evenly covered. Serve in whatever way makes you happy 🙂
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