Alisa Fleming ~ This vegan cheese alternative recipe is a sampling from the cookbook, Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner. According to Miyoko, this vegan cheese alternative has a creamy, smooth, buttery texture that melts in your mouth, or on a hot sandwich! Served cold, it pairs beautifully with apples and pears for a snack or a beautiful appetizer platter for entertaining.
Though Miyoko uses some unusual ingredients, she promises end results that match the complexity and sharpness of their dairy cousins. I’ve included links in the recipe to help you locate the lesser known ingredients, all of which are sold online and should also be available in some natural food stores.
Because Muenster is a mild cheese, the base for this vegan version isn’t cultured (as many of the vegan cheese alternative recipes are in Artisan Vegan Cheese), making for a meltable cheese that’s almost instant!
- 1 cup plain, unsweetened nondairy yogurt (there is a homemade version in Artisan Vegan Cheese or store-bought options are available from Whole Soy & Co or Wildwood)
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup tapioca flour/starch
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon carrageenan powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Put all the ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth and creamy,occasionally stopping to scrape down the blender jar and move the mixture toward the blades.
- Pour the mixture into a heavy medium saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly with a wire whisk, until very smooth, thick, gooey, and glossy, 3 to 5 minutes. It’s important to cook it until there is an obvious sheen, or the cheese won’t melt well.
- Pour the mixture into a glass or nonreactive metal mold and smooth the top. Let cool completely at room temperature.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until firm.
Coloring Note: If you want a reddish tint on the surface of the cheese to resemble traditional Muenster, lightly sprinkle paprika on the outside.
24 Comments
Can you think of any substitute for the oil? I TRY to follow Dr. Esselstyn WFPB no SOS but would like to try to make this. Any ideas? Like leave out and replace with??????Thanks
I’m not familiar with those acronyms, so I’m not sure what you are trying to avoid – fat, canola oil, etc? You can use another oil. The fat provides richness. I don’t have a good substitute to recommend as I don’t think it would taste good or perform well if you made it fat free.
this looks amazing Alisa! I’ll have to substitute the carrageenan too but can’t wait to try this recipe :))
Canola oil is as bad for you as any of the other processed vegetable oils!
What can I use instead?
You can use any neutral-tasting oil Peg.
There is also Avocado oil. We use it all the time in making salad dressings and our own mayonnaise.
Can’t rate this recipe yet, b/c we haven’t tried it yet, however it looks good, with the exception of the canola oil, which stands for Canada oil and comes from the rape seed, which when it was fed to their livestock, caused them to die and many of them to go blind before they died. 🙁 Rape seed oil was also used during WWII, without the refining that the oil goes thru now to go on your table, for lubrication of machinery.
I just made this and of course had to lick the spoon. Yum!
I now don’t know if I can wait till it’s set.
The waiting is always the hardest!
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Is there a possible substitute for the yeast flakes. I can’t consume yeast or dairy…but I love cheese. When I did try yeast flakes, I hated them. Any suggestions would be truly appreciated.
Without testing, it is hard to confirm, but you can trial miso for a similar pungency, though it will also add some saltiness.
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Wow, this looks really good! I love the texture of spreadable cheese and this looks like a great alternative.
Is there an acceptable substitute for the carrageenan? I’m allergic to it.
I would imagine agar.
I have to avoid agar too. It’s the same as carrageenan. Not sure what would work. 🙁
I have been looking into carrageenan substitutes as well. What about Guar Gum?
If you are not vegan I imagine gelatin would work.
Thanks for the great post…..the cheese is really yummy!
Oops. I mean I made the meltable mozarella. Still, this one is next.
Hah! I just made this yesterday and I’m trying out konjac powder instead of xanthan gum. I can’t tell you how much I absolutely adore this book. A word though, it calls for soy yogurt in many a recipe and i just replace it with my homemade nut or coconut based yogurts with no problems. Buy one for yourself for Christmas everyone.
This sounds delish! I keep trying to find meltable cheese at the store that doesn’t have casein in it, but I haven’t had any luck so far.
I’ll have to try this out!