Cashew Ricotta Cheese

I have always been a huge cheese lover and I will admit that it was definitely the hardest thing for me to give up when adapting a plant-based lifestyle. Let's face it, dairy is in everything and cheese is well, pretty darn delicious to say the least. However, the more time that has passed and the more my palate has changed, I have to say that the one thing I would never be able to give up now is cashew cheese! 

Seriously, this genius idea of turning cashews into cheese might be one of the best of all time and it is a concept that I use weekly in many of my recipes. Cashews make the best ricotta cheese, insanely amazing sour cream, and even cheesecake! Who would've thought?!

I also love how simple cashew cheese is to make and how little ingredients it requires!

Cashew Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried basil, optional
1/4 tsp dried oregano, optional
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Soak cashews overnight or for at least 2-3 hours to help aid in digestion. 

2. Once cashews have finished soaking, rinse and strain, then place in a blender with remaining ingredients. (A food processor would work to, however, it is harder to get the cheese as creamy so sticking with a blender yields better results.)

3. Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy, and resembling ricotta cheese.

4. Remove from blender and store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Lasts for up to a week!

This cheese tastes great with pasta, on pizza, in lasagna (check out my recipe, here!), or even as a dip or spread!

I hope you all love this delicious cashew ricotta cheese and all of the amazing ways to enjoy it!

xo Natalie