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It’s by far the best-tasting nut cheez I’ve ever made. I’ve got a thing or two against commercial vegan cheezes but still felt like I was missing out, so this recipe is a great addition to my list of vegan staple items. Slap a slice or two of this stuff between some red chile tortillas, grill – and you will be a very happy camper indeed.

Smoky Pesto Cashew Cheez [Vegan]

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Ingredients You Need for Smoky Pesto Cashew Cheez [Vegan]

For the cheese
  • 1 oz. agar flakes or powder
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 cups raw cashews, ground into a fine powder
  • 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp. Liquid Smoke
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. onion flakes or powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 cup quick, oil-free pesto (recipe follows)
For the quick oil-free pesto
  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
  • dash ground black pepper

How to Prepare Smoky Pesto Cashew Cheez [Vegan]

For the cheese
  1. Clean and dry the bowl of the food processor and grind the cashews. Either lightly oil a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan or use medium-sized ramekins to get round cheezes.  One loaf pan is perfect for this recipe, but if you go smaller, you will need more than one pan or dish.
  2. In a medium-sized sauce pan, bring the 3 cups of water and agar flakes to a boil and keep the mixture at a nice, rolling boil for 5 minutes, whisking often.  Meanwhile, add the remaining cheez ingredients – but not the pesto or the water/agar – to the food processor.  Process until everything is combined and you have a thick paste.  When the agar mixture has boiled for 5 minutes, remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the cashew mixture.  It will start off rather chunky, but will melt into the agar.  Once it’s all whisked and smooth, quickly dump in the pesto and stir only one or two times.  You don’t want to fully incorporate the pesto – you’re looking for streaks and lumps.
  3. Quickly pour the cheez into the prepared pan(s) or dish(es).  Pop into the ‘frige and allow to firm up.  Once the cheez is firm, you can remove it from the pan(s) by running a knife around the edges.  Serve sliced, as is, or use in quesadillas or grilled sandwiches.
For the pesto
  1. In a food processor, pulse the basil, garlic and pepper until finely chopped.  Remove from processor and set aside.

 
$2.99
Save Trees. Print Less. But if you must, we charge $2.99 to encourage less waste

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About The Author

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Annie Oliverio

See My Recipes

Annie Oliverio's recipes are all plant-based, and many are free of oil and refined products such as white flour and white sugar. She doesn’t buy or eat processed foods and aims for ingredients to be as “whole” as possible. You can find her recipes on the blog Unrefined Vegan.

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