Vegan Almond Ricotta Cheese made with slivered almonds, vinegar, yogurt, water and salt. So easy and tastes so authentic and like True Food Kitchen’s ricotta cheese! It is creamy, smooth, rich, thick and heavenly.
VEGAN ALMOND RICOTTA CHEESE
Does the fact that ricotta cheese is made with dairy stop me from creating the most amazing, authentic vegan ricotta? Nope. It’s fantastic and so real that I was giddy with how delicious it turned out, all without any oil either. I sneakily asked a close reader to taste test it yesterday to see if she thought it was just as good as we did. She said “spot on” and loved it. Vegan almond ricotta for the win.
We love the vegan almond ricotta cheese at the restaurant, True Food Kitchen, so that was the inspiration here. And, I’m happy to report, that it tastes even better. It has more flavor. I knew I had a winner.
The great thing about this Vegan Ricotta Cheese is that it has no nutritional yeast.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
For this Vegan Almond Ricotta Cheese you will only need 5 ingredients total, including the salt/water: (exact measurements and details on the recipe card below)
- raw, slivered almonds
- plain coconut or soy yogurt (or whatever you like as long as it is not sweetened/flavored)
- white vinegar (key to the best cheesy flavor, as evidence in my Best Vegan Queso and my Cream Cheese Alfredo)
- salt
- water
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN RICOTTA CHEESE
Tip: You will need a food processor for this, a blender will not work, not even a vitamix because of the small amount of water used. Trying to use a blender will yield gritty ricotta and trying to add more water to compensate will yield a really bland taste, so a processor is a must here.
Step 1: Add the almonds to a large bowl and cover completely with boiling water. You must use boiling water here. Soak for a minimum of 6-8 hours or simply overnight.
Step 2: Add the soaked almonds to a food processor along with the yogurt, water,white vinegar and salt. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
This is how the texture should look. Smooth and creamy with a classic ricotta texture, but not gritty.
The combo of the vinegar and yogurt give it the perfect subtle ricotta cheese flavor. I love ricotta because it is a subtle cheese flavor, unlike mozzarella or other cheeses, yet the amazing creamy, thick texture makes it such a delicious addition to so many dishes.
WAYS TO USE VEGAN RICOTTA CHEESE
- Now, one amazing way is to use this vegan ricotta on pizza, of course!
- My favorite way to use it is in these Vegan Stuffed Ricotta Shells with Spinach.
- Spread the cheese on toast and add green onions for a delicious breakfast.
- Add dollops of the ricotta over pasta for a delicious cheesy touch!
HOW TO USE VEGAN RICOTTA ON PIZZA
Before baking…add desired toppings or any veggies you like. I usually don’t like too many toppings, olives and basil or spinach. I wanted basil but when I went to Kroger, they had NO basil, can you believe that? Weird. So, I used spinach instead. Still yummy. I always use my favorite 5 minute pizza sauce.
BAKED and delicious.
The first bite into that delicious smooth and creamy ricotta had both my daughter and I so happy! I mean, look at that texture.
MORE VEGAN CHEESE RECIPES TO TRY
- Vegan Pimento Cheese
- Smoky Black Pepper Cream Cheese
- Baked Smoky Cashew Cheese
- Baked Herbed Cashew Cheese
- Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese Sauce
- Nut-free Fat-free Vegan Cheese Sauce
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Vegan Almond Ricotta Cheese
Ingredients
- You will absolutely need a food processor to make this cheese, a blender will not work.
- 1 1/2 cups (210g) slivered almonds (not whole!)
- 5 tablespoons (75g) HOT water
- 2 teaspoons (10g) white vinegar
- 6 tablespoons (90g) unsweetened plain dairy-free yogurt (I like the So Delicious plain coconut yogurt, as well as the Kite Hill almond plain yogurt, both are SO good.)
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- optional for extra tang: 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
NOTE
- If you absolutely cannot find a plain, unsweetened yogurt anywhere you live, you can try a vegan sour cream. OR sub for full-fat coconut milk, starting with 2 tablespoons and adjusting only if needed.
- I use this food processor
Instructions
- You will need a food processor for this, a blender will not work, not even a vitamix because of the small amount of water used. Trying to use a blender will yield gritty ricotta and trying to add more water to compensate will yield a really bland taste, so a processor is a must here.
- Add the almonds to a large bowl and cover completely with boiling water. You must use boiling water here. Soak for a minimum of 6-8 hours or simply overnight. You MUST soak them this long and do not try to rush this step or do a quick 30 minute boil. Since so little liquid is used to blend up the almonds, the soaking is required. This is what will yield a richer, flavorful ricotta, as opposed to having to add a bunch of water to get it soft during blending.
- After soaking the almonds, drain and rinse them and add them to a food processor.
- Process the almonds into small pieces, but not fully. Add the 5 tablespoons hot water, vinegar, yogurt, salt and process until it resembles ricotta and scraping the sides several times, as needed. It will seem too dry at first, but keep processing until it is smooth and no longer crunchy bits of almond remain. Please understand that food processors can greatly vary in both size and power, so yours may take several minutes to get smooth. You just simply need to be patient. Do NOT stop processing until it's smooth. The recipe works perfectly to get smooth if you do this. I literally let mine go a few minutes without stopping and it gets creamy and fluffy and perfect. Once it reaches the smooth texture, taste and if you desire more tang, add more yogurt or salt. If using the coconut milk, it will not taste as tangy or cheesy so you may want to add a tiny bit more vinegar if needed. The ricotta should be subtle but have a nice mild tangy cheesy flavor.
- To use this on pizza, just add it with your other toppings before baking. If you want it to stay thick and round, just use rounded spoonfuls. If you want it more flat or spread out, that works too, just press it down a bit before baking. It bakes lovely.
This recipe never disappoints. I put it on toast with honey, on ANY pasta dish, as a topping for soups, Buddha bowls, and so much more. Thank you for this! Iāve used this recipe for years!
Love this Anna!! I love it on soups too!
This recipe is fantastic! I loved it!! Based on previous comments I used 1-1/2 cups of almonds and 1/2 cashews (2 cups total), I also added 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 4 tsp lemon juice. It’s next level, sooooogooooood!!!
Do you use distilled white vinegar or does it matter?
Yes distilled white vinegar!
How many cups of ricotta does this make? I want to make vegetable lasagna thatās vegan and itās calling for 15 ounces of nonfat ricotta cheese
This makes enough for a full stuffed ricotta shells recipe in a 13×9 dish, so I would think it would be enough for your recipe. It makes more than a cup’s worth, but you could double it I suppose if you are concerned.
I continue to love this excellent recipe š»
This recipe worked out so well! I couldn’t believe how good it tasted. I did use whole almonds, skinning them before putting them in the Cuisinart. As you said, giving the recipe extra time in the Cuisinart yielded a great texture. I have been searching for vegan cheese recipes that don’t use nutritional yeast, as I seem to be allergic to it. Thank you for this recipe.
So happy to hear that!
So delicious and easy to make. My Vitamix didnāt work, as you mentioned – haha – but the single cup Vitamix option did! That being said, I think I will buys a food processor.
I believe your ricotta recipe tastes superior to the Kite Hill brand. I processed the almonds and left them with a very slight texture. I used my homemade coconut yoghurt that I activated for 48 hours to give it the perfect tang. I cannot believe this ricotta tastes so good! Thank you for this and your many delicious recipes!
Would slivered almonds work in this recipe?
Yes, they should!
Hi Brandi!
I just love this ricotta!
I decided to freeze about 1/2 cup (didnāt want to waste any if it didnāt work) in a pyrex glass
container, itās been just over a month and it was just as good as freshly madeš I let it thaw in the fridge and just mixed it with a fork.
Today Iām having it on rye Wasa crackers along side my salad and tomorrow Iāll be putting it on my pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup. Itās so versatile!
Thanks again for such a great recipeš
That is so wonderful to hear Linda!!
Thanks for letting us all know it can be frozen!
Has anyone tried this recipe for a sweet dish or dessert? I’m wondering if it would work in a cannoli filling, but all comments have been for savory dishes.
It’s very tangy and not sweet at all so you could maybe try it by adding white sugar?
Can I use chopped up whole almonds or do they have to be skinless?
No skinless needs to be used here or it might be gritty
Thank you for this delicious vegan cheese recipe. I’m so glad it does not contain tofu. Thanks
Processed for about 20 minutes and added extra yogurt, vinegar and salt.
Was PERFECT for farmers cheese for pierogi!!
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe!
So glad you loved it!
Made the ricotta again this morning š
I only had whole almonds so I soaked them and had to add a quarter cup of raw cashews as I didnāt have enough almonds. Which added up to two cups total. I love the āpop and snapā method to get them out of their skins. I didnāt bother to sliver any, just put them in the food processor and then followed the recipe exactly. Turned out amazing as usual! Now Iām going to have ricotta and raspberry jam on toast for brunchā¦ mmmm
Iāve made this recipe twice now and it is AWESOME!! I know the sauce can be made ahead, but how far ahead can I make the cheese? Can it be frozen?
You could make it a week in advance! I’ve never tried freezing it.
Love your recipes!!! Mine turned out too runny. I struggled with what to add to compensate. I put in some nutritional yeast. Any ideas what I could have done? I should have gone easy on the liquids on the front end. Thank you!!!
Oh no, so odd! What kind of yogurt did you use??
This ricotta was so amazing in the vegan lasagne I made. Incredible! Will be using this recipe a lot!
They look delicious. I would like to make them but was wondering if I could use another nut instead of almond. Maybe cashews?
Cashews are sweeter and more creamy so it will change the result, so Iād keep that in mind!
Amazing! I just made this for Blueberry lemon pancakes. Superb. Another #10 from Brandi
What a fabulous idea Sue!!