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Vegan recipes from my kitchen

Tofu ricotta: Easy vegan cheese in minutes

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Text: tofu ricotta. Dairy free ricotta in blue bowl with basil.

Tofu ricotta is a full-bodied, umami-rich addition to your vegan lasagna, stuffed shells, and mushroom pizzas. It’s made with just a few ingredients in the food processor, and comes together in only minutes. Vegan & gluten-free.

Crumbled tofu in blue bowl with basil leaf.

Come sit with me around the fire as we talk about the old days of veganism. When I went vegan in 2007, vegan cheese was sold in bright orange blocks with a vaguely jell-o like texture.

If you squinted, it had the appearance of cheese… It was less convincing once it landed in your mouth.

So instead of buying non-dairy cheeses from the natural grocery store, we’d make them at home.

There was flour-based queso for nachos.

Vegan parmesan was made in the food processor with walnuts, nutritional yeast flakes, and salt.

And vegan ricotta was made with tofu and nooch.

Now we are living in the golden age of vegan cheese. There are high-end varieties for cheeseboards, slices for sandwiches, and shreds for tacos. And the taste is off the charts. I’m thrilled vegan cheeses have come so far.

But you know what? Sometimes I still enjoy the old school classics like today’s tofu ricotta.

It’s like listening to The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades. Those retro hits just feel good.

Crumbled tofu mixture in blue bowl with basil leaf.

Making your own vegan ricotta at home is inexpensive, convenient, really fast, and downright delicious.

It has umami-richness from miso paste, tang from lemon juice, cheesiness from nutritional yeast flakes, and a fatty edge from tahini.

Crumbled tofu, miso paste, nutritional yeast flakes, and lemon juice in food processor.

How to make it

To make dairy-free ricotta, grab a block of super firm tofu in vacuum packaging.

(I use the kind sold by Wildwood or Trader Joe’s. You can see the packaging in my post on favorite Trader Joe’s vegan products.)

Break it up into a food processor along with miso paste, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice, tahini, and salt.

Turn the food processor to low for a few seconds. Then scrape down the sides to incorporate anything that’s sticking. Process for a few seconds longer.

And you’ve got tofu ricotta!

For a family of two (not including cats), I usually make a half batch of this tofu ricotta. Just cut your block of tofu in half, and you can use what’s remaining for a vegan tofu scramble. 

Make it your own

It’s easy to adjust this dairy free ricotta to suit your preferences. Make it your own by adding:

  • Fresh or dried basil
  • Minced garlic or garlic powder
  • Granulated onion

Vegan lasagna on black plate with fresh basil & chives.

What to do with tofu ricotta

Most of the time, I use tofu ricotta for vegan lasagna. It makes a great creamy layer along with lasagna noodles, spinach, fresh basil, zucchini, and/or vegan sausage.

I like to make mine in the air fryer. It’s ready in only 30 minutes!

Use tofu ricotta to stuff shells.

Pizza with Beyond Meat sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and onions.

Or add dollops to pizza. It’s not going to melt, obviously. But it gives body to pizza with added creaminess and cheesy flavor.

Smear vegan ricotta onto crackers or toast. It plays nice with grilled artichoke hearts, olives, olive tapenade, and/or avocado.

Bowl of tofu ricotta with marinara & noodles.

Vegan ricotta in blue bowl with basil leaf.

Tofu ricotta

This dairy-free cheese is a breeze to make! With the help of a food processor & a few ingredients, this tasty vegan cheese is ready to go in no time flat. Use it in lasagna, stuffed shells, or crumbled on pizza.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Italian, Vegan
Keyword: cheese, easy
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 64kcal
Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces super firm tofu in vacuum packaging
  • 4 teaspoons white miso paste
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons tahini
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Use your hands to crumble tofu into food processor in chunks. Then add the remaining ingredients.
  • Process at a low speed until everything is evenly incorporated. Stop once to scrape down the sides, so that all of the ingredients get mixed into the ricotta. You want the texture to be crumbly, not smooth. So don't over process. Time will vary depending on your food processor. However, you'll likely only need about 30 seconds.
  • Remove from food processor. Use right away in pasta dishes or on pizza. Or move the tofu ricotta to a covered container, and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

Notes

You can make this ricotta your own by adding minced garlic, fresh or dried basil, and/or granulated onion to the tofu mixture before processing.

Nutrition

Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Sodium: 294mg | Potassium: 138mg | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Tag @cadryskitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #cadryskitchen!

Want more vegan cheese ideas? Check out this round-up of the best vegan cheese for your every need.

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Posted On: April 16, 2019
Comment: Leave a Comment

About Cadry

Cadry Nelson is the writer, photographer, and recipe creator behind Cadry’s Kitchen, a vegan food & lifestyle blog started in 2009. Through approachable recipes, vegan travel guides, and down-to-earth discussions on the social aspects of being vegan, Cadry shows that living a vegan lifestyle is deliciously uncomplicated. Cadry has been featured on NBC News, Mashable, Today, Reader's Digest, Yahoo, Delish, Shape, and Huffington Post.

Comments

  1. Pixie A Vincent says

    April 17, 2019 at 8:22 am

    “Come sit with me around the fire as we talk about the old days of veganism.” lol I could tell some stories, as well! One of my nursing babies couldn’t tolerate me consuming dairy at all in 1994. I was already vegetarian, but now I had more things to figure out. Silk brand didn’t even exist in our grocery stores – in fact, I’d never seen it anywhere, or heard of it before a new refrigerated shelf showed up with White Wave products in it years later. The aseptic packages on the shelf of soymilk were so thick and strong tasting that I couldn’t stand them on cereal and would put apple-berry juice on it instead for the first year or so. Eventually, we discovered that if you thinned it with water half and half that the flavor was okay. The “cheese” available was so awful that I chose to go without anything that needed it. And recipes? Vegan cookbooks were not in mainstream bookstores. Internet and blogs? Nope. We didn’t even have dial up at our house until 1999! Even if we had, there weren’t blogs yet. I found a few plant-based cookbooks at a Christian bookstore. Most of the recipes were labor intensive and weren’t amazing for all of that work. It was out of this culture that I learned I had to think outside of the box and not follow the “rules” home ec. class had demanded were unassailable, creating my own recipes. My family deserved it. This is the culture that allowed people to invent cashew cream, tofu ricotta like this recipe, and more, and eventually things such as aquafaba of all craziness! lol The inner cry for tasty, exciting food and sharing the new recipes birthed vegan recipe blogs. I’m thankful for your blog, Cadry, and all the good stuff you share with us!

    Reply
    • Cadry says

      April 19, 2019 at 10:09 am

      Thanks, Pixie! It is truly amazing the strides that have been made – especially in recent years. Now there are so many vegan products on the shelves, there’s no hope of even trying all of them. And like you said, we’ve all learned so much about what a person can do with cashews & aquafaba, it makes home cooking a lot more interesting. Who knows what more will be discovered!

      Reply
  2. Susan says

    April 18, 2019 at 12:37 am

    Oh, the old days of veganism! We had this tube of cheese you could get in supermarkets and it was… well, what it was. LOL Now there are so many other options! But when it comes to ricotta, I love a good solid tofu version. Easy to make and oh so tasty.

    Reply
    • Cadry says

      April 19, 2019 at 10:12 am

      Haha! Yes, if only we could use a time machine to go back to those days, and give ourselves some seitan bacon or cashew cheese… Admittedly, there are probably more advantageous ways of using the powers of a time machine. But none more satisfying to the palate!

      I’m glad you agree with me on the joys of tofu ricotta. Easy, fast, tasty, and inexpensive! Some of the classics pass muster.

      Reply
  3. Shell says

    April 24, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    5 stars
    This looks very easy, delicious and versatile!

    Reply
    • Cadry says

      April 24, 2019 at 4:39 pm

      Thanks, Shell!

      Reply

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Welcome

Hi, I'm Cadry Nelson. I'm the recipe creator, writer, and photographer behind Cadry's Kitchen.

Cadry's Kitchen is a vegan food blog featuring comfort food classics. Most recipes are ready in about 30 minutes.

Contact me at cadryskitchen@gmail.com.

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