coconut milk

Sun-dried Tomato and Garlic Cheese with Coconut Milk

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If you have yet to dive into vegan cheese making, let me urge you to start right now! Seriously! It is not hard at all, errrr maybe I should say difficult because these agar cheeses are actually hard or firm enough to slice, or shred!! They also only take like 10 minutes to mix up and only a few hours to firm up in the fridge!

We use agar agar powder to solidify these cheeses. Agar agar is just a vegan gelatin made from a type of seaweed. Noting too weird, and it can be easily found online on Amazon or even in you local Asian food market. Don’t let an ingredient you may not be familiar with scare you off! Just get some, and keep some on hand. I promise once you make your first batch of vegan cheese, it wont be your last!

I love experimenting with different vegan cheese flavors and bases. I really love using coconut milk because it’s easy and affordable. Unlike nut cheeses were you have to soak nuts and own a pretty powerful blender or food processor to break them down, with coconut milk cheeses you simply have to open the can! And of course a can of coconut milk is way cheaper than cashews! Not to mention these cheeses are more allergy friendly.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a cashew based vegan cheese and have plenty of those recipes on the site as well, but most of the time I opt for for a coconut base because of how easy and affordable they are!

This cheese recipe will yield about 3 “wheels” of cheese depending on the size mold you use. So you can’t beat the price compared to store bought cheeses. You will often pay over $5 for a vegan store-bought cheese, where here you may spend $5 and end up with 3Xs what you would get for the same price at the store!

Making you own cheese at home also means you can make any flavor you can dream up. We have dozens upon dozens on the site if you are stumped for ideas. But really, there are soooo many options!

I am often asked if these cheeses have a strong coconut flavor and the answer is, not really. I always used refined coconut oil which has little to no coconut flavor at all, and all of the spices and other ingredients in the cheese mask the flavor of the milk very well.

I love this particular cheese because sun-dried tomatoes and garlic together are a favorite of mine. This vegan cheese will slice, shred, and even melt, making it perfect for serving with cracker, on sandwiches, salads, or just snacking! This is a quick set cheese and is so simple to make, there is no reason to keep overpaying for store bought vegan cheese! You can have delicious vegan cheese, start to finish in about 2 hours, and for a quarter of the grocery store price!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 can of full fat coconut milk or cream

  • 2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

  • 2 teaspoons miso paste

  • 1 teaspoons of salt

  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

  • 1/4 melted cup refined coconut oil

  • 2 tablespoons agar powder

  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes

  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. In a food processor or high speed blender, add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the milk, and agar.

  2. Pulse a few times to mix it all up.

  3. Now add the milk, and agar to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens to the constancy of a thin pudding.

  4. Add the milk mixture to the ingredients in the food processor, and mix for about a minute. The mixture will quickly begin to thicken as agar begins to solidify at room temperature.

  5. Transfer to the mixture to a few ramekins or small bowls. You should be able to fill 2 or 3 small bowls.

  6. Allow the cheese to harden in the refrigerator uncovered for about several hours.

  7. Once the cheese is set, store in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week.

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easy vegan coconut milk cheese with sun-dried tomatoes and garlic using agar agar

Vegan Lemon Curd

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This vegan lemon curd is quick, straightforward, and can be used in all kinds of recipes.

The base of this vegan lemon curd is coconut cream and is thickened with coconut oil and starch. The curd will thicken up during cooking and more when it cools.

I love all things lemon and can think of a million and ten ways to use this curd!

We use it in our lemon lavender pop-tarts, but it would be delicious on pancakes, waffles, inside cakes or pie, filling of cupcakes or just by the spoonful. No shame!! I will not judge you one bit.

This curd should stay good in the fridge for about 10 days, but it has never lasted that long in our house!

So go make this vegan lemon curd, put it on all the things, and regret nothing!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup coconut cream, divided ( heavy coconut cream in the can, shaken well)

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil

  • 1/3 cup lemon juice

  • 1/2 cup white sugar

  • 1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch. Tapioca will yield a more stretchy curd.

  • pinch of salt

  • Optional: 2 teaspoons lemon zest for extra lemon flavor

Instructions:

  1. In a medium sauce pan, whisk together 1/2 cup coconut cream and remaining ingredients over medium/low heat until the mixture thickens (about 5 minutes.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools.

  2. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup coconut cream.

  3. Allow curd to cool. Store in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 10 days.

Vegan Coconut Kimcheese (Kimchi Cheese)

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I can eat an entire jar of kimchi by myself in a week, and often do.

I can also eat my weight in vegan cheese if given the chance. So for me, mixing the two was a no brainer, and so I introduce to you KIMCHEESE!

I often add sauerkraut to my vegan cheese recipes to give them that cheesy zip, and kimchi works just as well!

This cheese is tangy, spicy, quick and easy, but most importantly it is DELICIOUS! Even my husband who swears he does not like kimchi, inhaled this one!

Vegan cheese making is really so easy, especially quick set agar cheeses like this one. The mix up in minutes and are set in a few hours.

There is not a replacement for the coconut oil in this cheese, however. It is a key ingredient in helping solidify this kimchee vegan cheese. Agar is a vegan gelatin and on its own, the texture is not firm enough for my liking. The coconut milk solidifies once cold and helps get a nice firm texture, and aids in the remelting of the cheese once cooked.

This vegan cheese will shred, slice and melt, so It will work beautifully for snacking, salads, or even the best grilled cheese you may ever eat! If you can not find agar powder locally, check our pantry staples for a link to order on amazon prime!

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of full fat coconut milk or cream

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons miso paste

  • 1 teaspoons of salt

  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

  • 1/4 cup triple refined coconut oil, melted

  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon agar powder

  • 3 tablespoons arrow root or tapioca starch

  • 3/4 cups vegan kimchi

Instructions:

  1. In a food processor or high speed blender, add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the milk, agar, and kimchi.

  2. Pulse until everything is all mixed up.

  3. Next, add the milk and agar powder to a medium sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 minutes, until mixture thickens to the consistency of a thin pudding.

  4. Add the milk mixture to the ingredients in the food processor and mix for about a minute. The mixture will quickly begin to thicken as the agar begins to solidify at room temperature. Once everything is well mixed, add the kimchi and just pulse a few times to get it all chopped up, and mixed in.

  5. Transfer to the mixture to a few ramekins or small bowls. You should be able to fill 2 or 3 small bowls.

  6. Allow the cheese to harden in the refrigerator uncovered for several hours.

  7. Once the cheese is set, store in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week.

Smoky Coconut Milk Gouda

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I make a lot of vegan cheeses with cashews, but it is always nice to have an alternative for those with nut allergies.

There are a lot of recipes out there for coconut milk gouda, and after experimenting with different ones, I finally settled on using coconut milk and adding the coconut oil to help firm up the cheese a bit more! Always look for filtered coconut oil because it does not have strong coconut flavor like regular coconut oil.

People always ask me if coconut milk cheeses taste like coconut and I don’t think they do. All of the other ingredients in the cheese help mask coconut taste.

This cheese is super quick to make and perfect for a beginner. Agar agar makes a quick set cheese, meaning you will have a firm cheese that will slice and shred, start to finish, in just a few hours.

You can easily find agar agar powder on line at Amazon or at your local Asian food market.

You can also omit the liquid smoke and add some dill, or garlic to change up the flavor. You could also add a teaspoon of turmeric, and smoked paprika for a cheddar flavored cheese!

So don’t be intimidated by vegan cheese making, y’all!! It can be quick and really easy! It is also far more affordable and taste better than most store bough versions! So what are you waiting for! Lets make some vegan cheese!!!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 can of full fat coconut milk or cream

  • 2 tablespoon of lemon juice

  • 2 teaspoons miso paste

  • 1 teaspoons of salt

  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

  • 1/4 melted cup triple refined coconut oil

  • 2 tablespoons agar powder

  • 3 tablespoons arrow root or tapioca starch

  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. In a food processor or high speed blender, add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the milk, agar, and liquid smoke.

  2. Pulse a few times to mix it all up.

  3. Now add the milk, agar, and liquid smoke to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens to the constancy of a thin pudding.

  4. Add the milk mixture to the ingredients in the food processor, and mix for about a minute. The mixture will quickly begin to thicken as agar begins to solidify at room temperature.

  5. Transfer to the mixture to a few ramekins or small bowls. You should be able to fill 2 or 3 small bowls.

  6. Allow the cheese to harden in the refrigerator uncovered for several hours.

  7. Once the cheese is set, store in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week.