Roasted Garlic and Sun Dried Tomato Vegan Cheese
Roasted Garlic? That’s not raw! No, it isn’t. But in this post I am going to show you one of the ways I incorporate cooked elements in my raw recipes to make over the top delicious bites to dine on. For me, food isn’t just about putting nutrients into your body. Food is about delighting your senses with wonderful, healthy edibles.
Cashew cheese is a great entry recipe for making raw, vegan cheese. It takes a couple of days but the actual “hands-on” time is minimal. You just have to be a little patient. I love using rejuvalac to make my cheese because it works great and is very cost effective. But you can substitute a probiotic powder if you don’t want the hassel.
You can make this recipe with roasted garlic (not raw) or raw garlic, which would keep it’s raw status. But I encourage you to live a little and try the roasted garlic version.
I have had a lot of people asking me for recipes that use left over nut-milk pulp. So, I am including a raw recipe for BBQ crackers (shown), which I made with nut-milk pulp.
My favorite nut milk is an almond and cashew blend. I use it 95% of the time. The nut milk pulp I used was this blend. Pure almond pulp would be fine also. Just make sure you are using pure nut milk pulp…with nothing else (ie dates) added. I will note that raw crackers made with nut milk pulp tend to have a little chewier and tougher texture than the ones I make from ground nuts. But they are still tasty and a worthy way to use the pulp.
You can find truly raw cashews here: Raw Cashews
*A note about the pulp. I collect my nut milk pulp over the course of a month or two. When I make the milk, I just throw the pulp in a glass container in the freezer to batch dehydrate (dry) later or immediately dehydrate it and store it. When I have enough saved up and dried, it gets a quick whirl in the high-speed blender and presto! Nut milk pulp flour.
Roasted Garlic Sun Dried Tomato Cashew Vegan Cheese
Cheese
- 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup rejuvelac (recipe here)
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced (you want softened tomatoes)
- 1 head roasted garlic* (2 cloves if using raw)
- Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
- Blend cashews and rejuvelac in blender until smooth. Spoon mixture into cheese cloth lined strainer, cover and let sit on the counter overnight. It may release liquid so have something to catch that.
- Remove cheese to bowl. Squeeze garlic cloves out of their skin and stir the cloves along with the sun dried tomatoes into the cheese mixture.
- Form into desired shape and refrigerate 12-24 hours to set. (You can use a ring mold
for this step.)
- If a rind is desired, dehydrate at 115 for 3-4 hours.
*To roast garlic, cut the top off of a garlic bulb. Pour in a little olive oil and wrap the bulb in foil. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until garlic is soft.
BBQ Nut Milk Pulp Crackers
- 3 cups nut mik pulp flour
- 1/2 cup ground golden flax seeds
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon BBQ spice mix (make sure yours doesn’t have sugar in it)
- Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
- Mix all ingredients together. Let “dough” rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll out 1/4 inch thick on non-stick dehydrator sheets and score.
- Dehydrate at 145 for 30 minutes, then 115 until dry (8-10 hours) removing the crackers to a screen half way through the drying.
Yalisa Dumont wrote on January 25, 2015
Hi this sounds so good!!! Do you need a rejuvelac or probiotic?
Susan wrote on January 25, 2015
Hi, Yalisa, I have included rejuvelac in the recipe. You don’t have to have it but it gives a nice sharpness and introduces good bacteria.
Marilyn wrote on December 5, 2014
Hi there. I want to get into raw foods n just love the idea of making the cheese. Whatsort of dehydrator should I buy. Love the recipes. Thanks Marilyn
Chemese wrote on December 4, 2014
For the BBQ Nut Milk Pulp Crackers, do I have to dehydrate at 145 for 30 min? Or can I just dehydrate at 115 the whole time?
Elitsa wrote on August 17, 2014
Hello,
just one question, do I add 1/2 cup Rejuvelac (just the drink) or the actual sprouted wheat berries?
Susan wrote on August 21, 2014
You just use the Rejuvelac. Not the wheat berries. Cheers!
Carrie wrote on August 17, 2014
Hi Susan,
I went online to search for something other than the cashew cheese that I’ve made many times now. I love it but I’m ready for more variety. I just discovered your site and would love to make this “cheese.” Maybe this is a silly question, but if I use proboitoc powder instead of the rejuvelac, what liquid can I substitute? I’m very new to vegan and raw food so I’m at a loss. (Maybe you can’t answer this because you do note in the FAQ that you don’t provide info on substitutions, but I thought I’d ask just in case. I won’t hold you accountable if it the recipe doesn’t work!)
Susan wrote on August 21, 2014
Hi, Carrie, I would just take a minute to figure out how much water you are omitting and add it back in. Cheers!
Diego wrote on August 9, 2014
I tried this recipe and loved it!!! I think aging this cheese would make wonders, but I don’t know how to do it.
Have you ever tried aging cheese? If you have how do you do it?
Susan wrote on August 21, 2014
Hi, Diego. I would have to write a whole post about aging cheeses. Maybe that is something I need to look into! Cheers!
Wendy wrote on May 11, 2014
I am very inspired to make this ! I can smell the yumminess of it already 🙂
What would the measurement be for using probiotics instead of rejuvelac ?
In Joy
Wendy
Susan wrote on May 17, 2014
You can use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon. But you will be eliminating liquid and may have to adjust. Cheers!