Vegan Ricotta Cheese made with slivered almonds, vinegar, yogurt, water and salt. So easy and tastes so authentic and like True Food Kitchen’s ricotta cheese! It is creamy, smooth, rich, thick and heavenly.
Does the fact that ricotta cheese is made with dairy stop me from creating the most amazing, authentic vegan ricotta? Nope. It’s fantastic and so real that I was giddy with how delicious it turned out, all without any oil either. I sneakily asked a close reader to taste test it yesterday to see if she thought it was just as good as we did. She said “spot on” and loved it. Vegan almond ricotta for the win.
We love the almond ricotta cheese at the restaurant, True Food Kitchen, so that was the inspiration here. And, I’m happy to report, that it tastes even better. It has more flavor. I knew I had a winner.
The great thing about this Vegan Ricotta Cheese is that it has no nutritional yeast.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
For this Vegan Almond Ricotta Cheese you will only need 5 ingredients total, including the salt/water: (exact measurements and details on the recipe card below)
- raw, slivered almonds
- plain coconut or soy yogurt (or whatever you like as long as it is not sweetened/flavored)
- white vinegar (key to the best cheesy flavor, as evidence in my Best Vegan Queso and my Cream Cheese Alfredo)
- salt
- water
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN RICOTTA CHEESE
Tip: You will need a food processor for this, a blender will not work, not even a vitamix because of the small amount of water used. Trying to use a blender will yield gritty ricotta and trying to add more water to compensate will yield a really bland taste, so a processor is a must here.
Step 1: Add the almonds to a large bowl and cover completely with boiling water. You must use boiling water here. Soak for a minimum of 6-8 hours or simply overnight.
Step 2: Add the soaked almonds to a food processor along with the yogurt, water,white vinegar and salt. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
This is how the texture should look. Smooth and creamy with a classic ricotta texture, but not gritty.
The combo of the vinegar and yogurt give it the perfect subtle ricotta cheese flavor. I love ricotta because it is a subtle cheese flavor, unlike mozzarella or other cheeses, yet the amazing creamy, thick texture makes it such a delicious addition to so many dishes.
WAYS TO USE VEGAN RICOTTA CHEESE
- Now, one amazing way is to use this vegan ricotta on pizza, of course!
- My favorite way to use it is in these Vegan Stuffed Ricotta Shells with Spinach.
- Spread the cheese on toast and add green onions for a delicious breakfast.
- Add dollops of the ricotta over pasta for a delicious cheesy touch!
HOW TO USE VEGAN RICOTTA ON PIZZA
Before baking…add desired toppings or any veggies you like. I usually don’t like too many toppings, olives and basil or spinach. I wanted basil but when I went to Kroger, they had NO basil, can you believe that? Weird. So, I used spinach instead. Still yummy. I always use my favorite 5 minute pizza sauce.
BAKED and delicious.
The first bite into that delicious smooth and creamy ricotta had both my daughter and I so happy! I mean, look at that texture.
MORE VEGAN CHEESE RECIPES TO TRY
- Best Vegan Queso
- Vegan Pimento Cheese
- 5 Ingredient Strawberry Cream Cheese
- Blueberry Cream Cheese
- Smoky Black Pepper Cream Cheese
- Baked Smoky Cashew Cheese
- Baked Herbed Cashew Cheese
- Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese Sauce
- Nut-free Fat-free Vegan Cheese Sauce
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Vegan Ricotta Cheese
Ingredients
- You will absolutely need a food processor to make this cheese, a blender will not work.
- 1 1/2 cups (210g) slivered almonds (not whole!)
- 5 tablespoons (75g) HOT water
- 2 teaspoons (10g) white vinegar
- 4 tablespoons (60g) unsweetened plain dairy-free yogurt (I like the So Delicious plain coconut yogurt, as well as the Kite Hill almond plain yogurt, both are SO good.)
- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
NOTE
- If you absolutely cannot find a plain, unsweetened yogurt anywhere you live, you can try a vegan sour cream. OR sub for full-fat coconut milk, starting with 2 tablespoons and adjusting only if needed.
- I use this food processor
Instructions
- You will need a food processor for this, a blender will not work, not even a vitamix because of the small amount of water used. Trying to use a blender will yield gritty ricotta and trying to add more water to compensate will yield a really bland taste, so a processor is a must here.
- Add the almonds to a large bowl and cover completely with boiling water. You must use boiling water here. Soak for a minimum of 6-8 hours or simply overnight. You MUST soak them this long and do not try to rush this step or do a quick 30 minute boil. Since so little liquid is used to blend up the almonds, the soaking is required. This is what will yield a richer, flavorful ricotta, as opposed to having to add a bunch of water to get it soft during blending.
- After soaking the almonds, drain and rinse them and add them to a food processor.
- Process the almonds into small pieces, but not fully. Add the 5 tablespoons hot water, vinegar, yogurt, salt and process until it resembles ricotta and scraping the sides several times, as needed. It will seem too dry at first, but keep processing until it is smooth and no longer crunchy bits of almond remain. Please understand that food processors can greatly vary in both size and power, so yours may take several minutes to get smooth. You just simply need to be patient. Do NOT stop processing until it's smooth. The recipe works perfectly to get smooth if you do this. I literally let mine go a few minutes without stopping and it gets creamy and fluffy and perfect. Once it reaches the smooth texture, taste and if you desire more tang, add more yogurt or salt. If using the coconut milk, it will not taste as tangy or cheesy so you may want to add a tiny bit more vinegar if needed. The ricotta should be subtle but have a nice mild tangy cheesy flavor.
- To use this on pizza, just add it with your other toppings before baking. If you want it to stay thick and round, just use rounded spoonfuls. If you want it more flat or spread out, that works too, just press it down a bit before baking. It bakes lovely.
Hi,
I am very excited to try this recipe out! I was wondering if there was any chance I could use cashews instead of almonds? Or will the taste be off then?
I’m so sorry Madison, I’m just seeing this. I have not tried cashews and they will likely make the ricotta more creamy/heavy versus light and fluffy that the almonds give, but you are welcome to try it! Almonds also provide a more nuetral flavor here so it truly tastes like ricotta, whereas cashews are a bit more strong in flavor.
Will this recipe be enough for lasagna or should i double it?
I know many readers who use this for lasagna, not sure if they double it. But it makes a good amount to stuff the ricotta shells recipe linked in the post, so I think it should, depending on how large your recipe is!
Dear Brandi, I’m sincerely delighted with this recipe for vegan ricotta cheese as well as my sons and husband. What drew me tois just it’s simplicity and the result is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!! I don’t remember any more the taste of common ricotta because I’ve been vegan for almost 15 years, but my friend tried yours and she said:” OMG!!! This is it! This is Ricotta!!!!” Thank you again and please recive nice and thrilled greetings from Croatia ❤️🙏😘😘😘😘
That is so amazing Anita, thank you so much!!
Well, I *did* read the directions!
So instead of asking you to repeat those, I am wondering what could work if one does not want to go buy a food processor.
I have many great appliances, and one more is one more than I can handle.
Great as it is, a Vitamix can’t blend small amounts that sit below the blade, whether it is high or low water content. (And their expensive small cup gets poor reviews from Vitamix fans for poor design.)
Might a small stick blender work?
They are very high-speed even on the low setting, so I’m not sure.
You can always try it! I just don’t know since I have never tried it. It may work in a small bowl so the cheese is not too shallow and you can repeatedly move it up and down.
Perfection! I have been longing to make a homemade version of True Food Kitchen’s ricotta and this is it! I finally made a GF DF and low carb Lasagna – this ricotta put it over the top. My husband had 3 helpings!! I only soaked the almond slivers for 2 hours and it still turned out incredible. Thank you!!!!
Still making this, years later. It’s the best!!! Thanks Brandi.
Hi! I may be the only male of the species posting a comment. And that’s OK!
I had vegan pizza at True Food Kitchen and really loved the almond ricotta on it. Not a fan of nutritional yeast, so this recipe works for me in every way. In fact, this is the second time I’m making it. Thanks!
Oh Brandi, that ricotta cheese is only the second recipe I use from your website but I can say: you are my favorite vegan recipes author and I cannot wait to make them all! I totally agree with your husband and daughter who don’t find delicious the vegan cheese from the supermarket and they are so lucky to have you at home! This ricotta is so delicious and I looooove the taste of almonds. Thank you so much for sharing all your recipes with us!
Does this “cheese” melt in any way? It looks like it does not. I plan to try it either way!
Hi! No, it’s similar to dairy ricotta, it doesn’t melt like mozzarella, for example. It gets soft, but stays uniform.
Amazing! I just made this for Blueberry lemon pancakes. Superb. Another #10 from Brandi
What a fabulous idea Sue!!
They look delicious. I would like to make them but was wondering if I could use another nut instead of almond. Maybe cashews?
Cashews are sweeter and more creamy so it will change the result, so I’d keep that in mind!
This ricotta was so amazing in the vegan lasagne I made. Incredible! Will be using this recipe a lot!
Love your recipes!!! Mine turned out too runny. I struggled with what to add to compensate. I put in some nutritional yeast. Any ideas what I could have done? I should have gone easy on the liquids on the front end. Thank you!!!
Oh no, so odd! What kind of yogurt did you use??
I’ve made this recipe twice now and it is AWESOME!! I know the sauce can be made ahead, but how far ahead can I make the cheese? Can it be frozen?
You could make it a week in advance! I’ve never tried freezing it.
Made the ricotta again this morning 😊
I only had whole almonds so I soaked them and had to add a quarter cup of raw cashews as I didn’t have enough almonds. Which added up to two cups total. I love the “pop and snap” method to get them out of their skins. I didn’t bother to sliver any, just put them in the food processor and then followed the recipe exactly. Turned out amazing as usual! Now I’m going to have ricotta and raspberry jam on toast for brunch… mmmm
Processed for about 20 minutes and added extra yogurt, vinegar and salt.
Was PERFECT for farmers cheese for pierogi!!
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe!
So glad you loved it!
Thank you for this delicious vegan cheese recipe. I’m so glad it does not contain tofu. Thanks
Can I use chopped up whole almonds or do they have to be skinless?
No skinless needs to be used here or it might be gritty
Has anyone tried this recipe for a sweet dish or dessert? I’m wondering if it would work in a cannoli filling, but all comments have been for savory dishes.
It’s very tangy and not sweet at all so you could maybe try it by adding white sugar?
Hi Brandi!
I just love this ricotta!
I decided to freeze about 1/2 cup (didn’t want to waste any if it didn’t work) in a pyrex glass
container, it’s been just over a month and it was just as good as freshly made👍 I let it thaw in the fridge and just mixed it with a fork.
Today I’m having it on rye Wasa crackers along side my salad and tomorrow I’ll be putting it on my pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup. It’s so versatile!
Thanks again for such a great recipe😊
That is so wonderful to hear Linda!!
Would slivered almonds work in this recipe?
Yes, they should!