Spaghetti only really tastes delicious when it’s covered in grated cheese – the same goes for pizza, lasagna and so many other dishes. In the past, vegans were often pitied because they had to refrain from sprinkling cheese over their pasta or eating pizza thickly topped with cheese.
Fortunately, those days are over – spreadable cheese, like many other plant-based cheese alternatives, is also available in vegan, in different varieties to buy or make yourself. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about plant-based cheese: what it’s made of, where to get it, and how to make it yourself.
Ingredients & Alternatives
Conventional scatter cheese is made from cow’s milk – the classic scatter cheeses from the supermarket usually contain grated Emmental, Gouda, Mozzarella or a mixture of different cheeses.
Traditionally, grated cheese is vegetarian – unless the type of cheese from which it is made contains animal rennet – but of course not vegan.
Vegan grated cheese alternatives are not uncommon now and there are several basic ingredients you can use to make them, such as:
- Coconut oil
- Potato starch
- Peas or pea protein
- Soy or tofu
- Nuts
- Tapioca
- Arrowroot
- Chickpeas
What does vegan grated cheese taste like?
Opinions differ on the question of whether vegan grated cheese alternatives taste the same as “real” grated cheese. As is often the case, the answer to this question is both yes and no.
How vegan spread cheese tastes depends – logically – not only on the ingredients, but also on the type of composition and preparation. In fairness, it must be said that even conventional spread cheese does not always have a strong flavor of its own, especially if it is made from Mozzarella, for example.
Various manufacturers of plant-based grated cheese alternatives work with olive, herbs or yeast extracts to create that certain “umami feeling” that often makes cheese so irresistible.
Does vegan grated cheese melt?
An important characteristic of grated cheese is not only the taste, but that it melts when you grated it over pasta or pizza. Depending on the type of vegan grated cheese alternative, some melt better, others worse. The key here is to experiment until you find the brand that works best for you.
How to make vegan grated cheese crispy?
In addition to the melting ability, it is also important for many that the grated cheese becomes really nice and crispy when gratinated. Of course, this also applies to the plant-based grated cheese alternatives. If you’re into cheese crust, make sure your vegan grated cheese contains coconut oil and/or potato starch.
These ingredients ensure that the vegan cheese becomes crispy when you briefly turn on the top heat in the oven – but beware, even grated plant-based cheese can char, so always stick to it and watch.
What are the advantages of vegan grated cheese?
If you eat a plant-based diet, the advantage of plant-based grated cheese alternatives is, of course, that you don’t consume any animal products. For people with lactose intolerance or lactose intolerance, switching from traditional to vegan grated cheese is also worthwhile.
Depending on how it is made and its composition, the vegan grated cheese alternative can also be lower in fat and calories – here it is worth taking a closer look at the ingredients.
Last but not least, one advantage of vegan cheese over normal cheese is that it can reduce the ecological footprint – but here too, of course, it depends on the ingredients, the production method and the associated resource consumption.
Vegan grated cheese: DIY recipe
If you’re on a plant-based diet and don’t want to give up grated cheese, you can easily make yourself a vegan alternative. Granted, it’s not exactly the same, but plant-based grated cheese alternatives also give your pasta, pizza, and baked dishes that extra kick.
In the following recipe, you’ll make a vegan cheese block that’s easy to turn into grated cheese with a grater. Best of all, it’s just four steps from idea to finished vegan cheese!
Ingredients
- 50g cashews
- 150 water
- 2 tbsp nutritional
- yeast/yeast flakes
- 1 tsp miso paste
- 1 tsp agave syrup
- 3 tbsp. tapioca starch (alternative: potato starch)
- ½ tsp. psyllium husks
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vinegar (rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 ½ tbsp. carrageenan powder
- 75 g coconut oil (melted)
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 150 ml boiling water
Instructions
1.Soak cashews until soft – at least two hours, better overnight. Then add the psyllium husks and puree.
2.Add the miso paste, nutritional yeast, vinegar, and all other ingredients except the carrageenan and boiling water, and stir well.
3. In the next step, add the carrageenan with the hot water and blend well again.
4. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and heat while stirring constantly. You will notice that the mixture gels and becomes more viscous. Once it is hard to stir, pour into a baking dish (alternatively: loaf pan) and let cool.
5. Place in the refrigerator and allow to set for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
You can usually get the carrageenan for this recipe at the organic market, but definitely on the Internet. The miso paste and nutritional yeast give the special “umami taste”. When the mixture has cooled and rested in the refrigerator, you can carefully remove the block from the mold the next day and turn it into vegan grated cheese with a standard grater.
Where can I buy vegan grated cheese?
No desire or time to make it yourself? No problem: You can buy vegan grated cheese alternatives in the organic food store, in the conventional supermarket or sometimes even in the discount store.
bedda Mozzarella Style - Vegan grated cheese alternative from bedda
bedda Mozzarella Style is the vegetable grated cheese alternative based on coconut oil and potato starch, of course without palm oil, without soy and without flavor enhancers.
The grated cheese alternative Mozzarella Style is known for melting particularly well and tasting at least as good as conventional grated cheese.
Discover bedda Mozzarella Style – the vegan alternative to grated cheese
