You asked and I delivered. I recently posted a reader question on my Facebook page "What recipe/product/dish do you wish was vegan?" There were all sorts of requests, some of the requests I had already posted on the blog, some recipes are waiting for you in my cookbook (can't wait!), but there were some that I didn't have an answer for...yet. The dish that had the most votes was for vegan cottage cheese. Who knew!?
I had a Google around, and you guys were totally right. I didn't find any store-bought brands. There were a couple of recipes, but they either used too weird of ingredients, or seemed too complicated for such a simple food. So, I rolled up my sleeves... well I didn't, I was wearing a tank top... but I got to work either way and taste tested my way to my new Quick & Easy Vegan Cottage Cheese. Boom!
Pret-tay cool right? And it's totally healthy too!
So what is this madness made out of? Our fine friend tofu! I used a silken tofu for the liquid-y part, which I blended and seasoned just so. (I think I've gotten pretty good at recreating dairy flavours if I do say so myself). Then I crumbled in firm tofu for the texture. My parents happened to be stopping by, so I was able to get them to taste test it for me, and they agreed, it is pretty dang close to traditional cottage cheese. Woot woot!
Did anyone else ever used to eat cottage cheese out of a cantaloupe, or was that just a me thing?
So here you go my friends, vegan cottage cheese. I'm always eager to make vegan cooking your favourite thing, so if you have any more recipe requests, drop them in the comments below.
To make Quick & Easy Vegan Cottage Cheese:Â Add the silken tofu to a blender along with the spices and mix until everything is completely smooth.
Now, this saucy part is slightly more on the creamy-yellow side of the white scale due to the nutritional yeast, but that hardly seems like a big deal to me when the flavour friends are are all there. It does whiten up when the firm tofu is added, but still isn't bright white. Just a heads up.
Now take the firm tofu and crumble it into the silken tofu mixture.
Stir to combine. See, I told you that was a quick & easy vegan cottage cheese recipe!
Enjoy as is or it should work almost anywhere you would use traditional cottage cheese.
Quick & Easy Vegan Cottage Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 300g block soft or silken tofu (about 1 â…“ cups)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ of a 420g block firm tofu (210g or about 1 ½ cups), crumbled
Instructions
- Add the soft or silken tofu to a blender along with the nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and salt. Mix until everything is completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
- Pour the soft tofu mixture into a medium bowl. Crumble the firm tofu into the silken tofu mixture. Mix to combine.
Nutrition
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
If you enjoyed this recipe you might also like:
Eileen Van Tassel says
While this does not taste exactly like dairy cottage cheese on it's own, eaten with soups or stews or with other things, it is remarkable! I will be trying it on an old favorite, Cottage Cheese Loaf. I think it will work wonderfully. I did add about 1/2 tsp of lactic acid to the recipe, as I like my cottage cheese a little more tangy. Thank you Sam, I appreciate your recipes and have purchased your cookbook.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
Ashley G says
Pretty good on its own and excited to try in a recipe!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Thanks for sharing!
Jordan says
How long will this last in the fridge?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
It should store well for 3-5 days.
Collette says
The one thing I have missed since going vegan is large curd or dry curd cottage cheese. (hard to find these days). But not anymore! I missed it on crackers, on peaches and pineapple, and especially in retro lime Jello salad! (Do you have a recipe for that)?
This recipe is the best I have ever had! I love it!! ...waaay better than the mushy, slimy dairy cottage cheese. I made one small change. I used Super firm tofu that comes vacuum packed... (only because it was the only tofu I had on hand). Because it is so firm, I drop it on a small food processor (in chunks) and pulse it until it forms large curds. I like it a hundred times better than the dairy version!
Thank you Sam!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That sounds great, so we're so glad you enjoyed it! No retro lime jello salad recipe at this point. 🙂
M says
While this recipe has a similar consistency to cottage cheese, it does not really taste anything like it. It’s a good recipe if you eat cottage cheese with other things but not if you like snacking on it alone. No matter how much nutritional yeast I add or however many ways I adjust the portions I can’t really help but just taste flavored tofu.
deb says
I'm used to making cottage cheese with vegan yogurt and when I first made this recipe my thought was "there is not enough nutritional yeast in the world..." but I added a little more of everything and after 48 hours in the fridge it's not half bad.
Jaden Kohen says
Your recipe doesn't specify how well to drain the tofu, if at all.
Can you please clarify?
Jan McIntyre says
Would this work in a vegetable lasagna recipe? I prefer cottage cheese to ricotta. Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, but it will not melt. Hope that helps!