Creamy Vegan Ricotta

This vegan ricotta is fluffy, flavorful, and oh-so delicious. Use this recipe for some homemade lasagna or yummy stuffed shells.

simple, soft, delicious vegan ricotta

This vegan ricotta is key to so many of the recipes I make at home. Whether it’s stuffed shells, ravioli, or a cheesy lasagna, you have to have good vegan ricotta. It’s the heart of so many wonderful dishes.

Ricotta is typically a light, creamy, and slightly textured cheese. The flavor is delicate, subtle, and a tad sweet, making this cheese perfectly suited for a variety of dishes. You can also use it as a spread on crackers with a variety of fresh toppings and herbs as a lovely hors d’oeuvre.

This recipe is super easy and can be ready in under 5 minutes. It utilizes both soaked cashews and tofu to create the perfect nutty yet smooth blend.

how to make vegan ricotta

Start by soaking the cashews. I try my best to always have some cashews soaking in the fridge. If you don’t have any on hand and can’t wait until the next day to prepare this, you can use boiling water to soak the cashews in place of cold.

If you soak the cashews in boiling water, they will need a minimum of 10 – 15 minutes of soaking time. This shouldn’t affect the texture too drastically since it’s not a perfectly smooth cheese anyways.

After the cashews have finished soaking, add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until you reach the desired texture. For me, this usually takes around 1 – 2 minutes but varies depending on how smooth I need the ricotta to be.

Now your vegan ricotta is ready for use. Pretty easy, huh?

making this ricotta allergy friendly

A lot of vegan ricotta recipes tend to use either nuts or tofu. This recipe uses a blend of both for the best texture and flavor. That being said, it does make it slightly less allergy friendly.

However, it’s not hard to make this nut or soy free. If you are looking to make this soy free, use 1.5 cups of cashews and omit the tofu. If you are looking to make this without the cashews use 1.5 blocks of tofu and omit the cashews.

The end result will be slightly different, but it will still be delicious however you use it.

The recipe is already gluten-free, dairy-free, raw, and low-carb/keto friendly.

Ways to enjoy this vegan ricotta

Ricotta is used in a variety of dishes and snacks, ranging from super savory to super sweet. This recipe strikes me more for savory use, but with a few tweaks, I bet you could make it work for sweet dishes as well. (see note below) Here are some ideas and recipes you can try this ricotta out with:

*note: if you are using this ricotta for sweet purposes, omit the onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and lessen or omit the salt. Feel free to add agave for added sweetness!*

Savory:

Vegan Stuffed Shells – Food With Feeling

Vegan Mediterranean Ravioli – Rabbit & Wolves

The Best Vegan Lasagna – Hummusapien

Tofu Ricotta Crostini with Pickled Beets – Veggies Save the Day

Sweet:

Vegan Cannoli Recipe – Italia Plant Based

Sweet Potato Galette – The New Baguette

How will you use your ricotta?

I’d love to see how your vegan ricotta turns out. If you share any pictures online, be sure to tag me @alderspirit or use #alderspirit so there’s no way I can miss your post.

Leave me some feedback and/or a rating in the comments section below. I’d love to hear what you think! If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to me here.

Happy creamy cheese makin’!