Name: Vegan feta cheese
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 cup blanched almonds (soaked if necessary); 2 Tablespoons lemon juice; 2 Tablespoons olive brine (or sauerkraut juice); 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste); 1/4 cup water; 1 clove garlic

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Vegan feta cheese adds creamy, tangy flavor to salads, mezze platters, and wraps.

Made with blanched almonds and baked in the oven, it has the perfect dense but creamy texture. Vegan, soy-free, and gluten-free.

Slices of vegan feta cheese on plate by charcuterie.

I love a good vegan feta cheese. It sets off garlicky and briny flavors just right.

I used to buy store-bought vegan feta alternatives. But once I started making my own, it was a game changer.

Now I always have this staple in the refrigerator or freezer, ready at a moment’s notice.

A lot of homemade vegan feta recipes use tofu. And that’s okay.

But for a really dense, creamy yet crumbly texture, almonds do an amazing job.

They add fat & oomph to this mouthwatering dairy free cheese.

Pro tip: Whenever I make this recipe, I make a double batch. It’s easier to blend, and it’s not much more work. Plus, you get double the amount of feta!

In this post:

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Ingredients
Step by step instructions
Make it your own
Serving ideas
How long does it last?
Does it freeze well?
📖 Recipe

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Blanched almonds: For the best creamy texture and bright white color, blanched almonds are a must for this baked vegan feta recipe. You can find them in grocery stores, like Natural Grocers.

Or you can skin raw almonds yourself. That’s not hard to do. Check out the details in this post, how to blanch almonds.

Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed has the best flavor.

Olive brine: Olive brine is my secret ingredient! I use the brine from Castelvetrano olives, which are my favorite. They have a light, bright quality that works especially well here.

However, any kind of olive brine will do. If you’re not a fan of olives, don’t worry. It doesn’t take over at all. It just adds a tangy background tone.

Olive brine can be replaced with the juice from a jar of sauerkraut or pepperoncini peppers.

Extra virgin olive oil: This adds flavor & fat. It can be replaced with regular olive oil.

Salt: Cheese is known for its saltiness. So a little salt is a must.

Garlic: Fresh garlic adds bite. If you’d prefer, it can be replaced with ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder.

Step by step instructions

Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the following in a high-speed blender:

Blanched almonds – store-bought or skinned by hand
Lemon juice
Olive brine
Extra virgin olive oil
Water
Garlic clove

Blend until smooth.

Softened almond cheese in Le Creuset cocotte.

Put a square piece of parchment paper into an 8-ounce mini cocotte or ramekin.

(This is the same size cocotte I use for my mini vegetable pot pie.)

Smash the parchment down into the container to line it fully. Then cut off any excess from around the top.

Pour the creamy almond cheese mixture into it, and smooth the top with a knife.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

You’ll know it’s done with the top is cracked and lightly brown around the edges.

Allow it to cool slightly before removing from the cocotte or ramekin.

Baked almond feta with crackers on board.

You can serve this feta warm with crackers as-is. The exterior reminds me a little of puff pastry.

Or put it into the refrigerator to cool & firm further.

When you’re ready to use it, crumble it into uneven pieces with your hands.

Make it your own

Crumbled almond feta in bowl by mezze platter.

You can make this plant based feta cheese your own by varying/adding certain ingredients.

Instead of olive brine, use the liquid from a jar of sauerkraut or pepperoncini peppers
Vary the amounts/types of oil
Add your favorite seasonings like dried oregano, dried basil, dried rosemary, and/or lemon zest

Serving ideas

Obviously you can enjoy this baked almond feta right out of the oven with bread or crackers.

But there are so many more options – like Greek salad or on pasta!

Put baked feta on a mezze platter with olive tapenade, hummus, baba ganoush & pita chips
Use it as a topping on olive hummus
Add it to a spinach salad with strawberries, tomato cucumber salad, or fall salad
Make feta cheese-filled fried olives
Stir it into Mediterranean pasta or bowtie pasta salad
Sprinkle it in a veggie wrap with vegan chick’n strips and tahini dressing
Use it as a topping on vegan shakshuka or a falafel bowl
Add it to gravy smothered fries for vegan poutine
Put it on black bean tacos, refried beans, or tortilla soup like a vegan cotija cheese

How long does it last?

Apple cider vinaigrette being poured onto salad.

Store vegan feta cheese in a covered container in the refrigerator.

It will last for two weeks.

Does it freeze well?

Yes!

Freezing does change the texture slightly, but it’s not enough to make an enormous difference. After freezing it’s slightly more dense.

To really make this last, I like to freeze it in crumbles. It’s easier to grab just a few pieces if it’s already crumbled.

To freeze it, put the crumbled cheese in a freezer safe container. Then when you want some, use a butter knife to break it up in the container to free it loose.

Let it thaw in the refrigerator.

Or you can use the defrost function on the microwave. But be careful! You don’t want to microwave it for long and make it hard.

Simply use the defrost function, and stay close. It typically needs less than 30 seconds. You don’t want the cheese to get warm – just softened.

Vegan feta cheese with almonds (No tofu!)