Author: 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. Tofu is cooked during production, so it's safe to eat straight raw. Learn more in my Tofu 101 guide. 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: 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.
(click stars to vote)
Quick and Easy Vegan Cottage Cheese
Servings: servings (recipe makes about 2 cups of cottage cheese)
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Ingredients
- 1 300g block soft or silken tofu (about 1 ⅓ cups), drained
- 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
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I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Bon appetegan!
Sam.
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Deb Zak says
Hi Sam, Do you press the tofu before making this dish? Can't wait to try.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Deb, nope! I always include all of the instructions needed in a recipe, so if I pressed the tofu I would say to do so. Enjoy!
Laura says
Hi Sam,
My mom pretty much always filled her half cantaloupe w cottage cheese. She was from Chatham/London area. An Ontario thing?
I’ve missed cottage cheese I’ll try this out 🙂
Jill says
Hi thanks for another interesting recipe. Jist made it and found the silken tofu had too strong a taste and it was too liquidy.
. I decided to drain a lot of it out. I think next time I’ll try a different brand of silken tofu this was Nasoya). I also think I’d press the firm or even extra firm tofu before added it in.
I’ did add more “ nooch’ and put it in the fridge. Hoping it looks as good as yours !
Sam Turnbull says
Sorry you didn't enjoy it more.
Sonya Davidson says
Hi thanks for this awesome recipe. What brand tofus did you use?
Sam Turnbull says
I'm not picky about brands of tofu, but the last time I made it I used Sunrise brand. Enjoy!
Jamie says
Hi,
I've been craving cottage cheese lately and I made your vegan seitan steaks for my family's Christmas meal and they were fabulous so I know this recipe will be too! I was wondering how long will this last in the fridge once it's made?
Sam Turnbull says
4 - 5 days. Enjoy!
Lydia Claire says
I am going to make this for my mom! Cottage cheese is one of the main things she misses now that we're vegan. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
I hope she loves it!
larry says
Sam... your site has nearly over-nite become my most favorite.... love everything I have made so far... many many thanks for all the wonderful recipes... 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
That's so awesome, Larry!! Thrilled you are enjoying it so much. Thanks for saying hi!
DDX says
Thank you so much for this recipe! The texture was absolutely perfect and the flavor was good, but there was a definite raw tofu taste on top that was off-putting. I'm thinking about keeping the "whey" based but crumbling a vegan cheese into it rather than using the firm tofu. I'll let you know how that works out!
Sam Turnbull says
You can absolutely try that. You may also want to experiment with different brands of tofu as some have more flavour that others. Enjoy!
DDX says
It worked great! I used Miyoko FreshMozz vegan cheese, chopped it into small pieces, and added it to the whipped silken tofu mixture. It's delicious! And no tofu taste at all. Thank you!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!
Sandra says
Wow you have a great blog. Congrats Sam! Thanks for this recipes. I send you regards from Cuernavaca Morelos México.
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you so much, Sandra!!! Welcome, and regards from Toronto, Canada 🙂
Kristi says
Whoa Sam! I saw this when you posted it, thought it was cool and then sort of forgot about it. I read your post today for blue cheese dressing and went out to buy silken tofu immediately so I could make it. I already decided to bring a salad for lunch tomorrow, and was trying to figure out what to do for the dressing, so that post was perfect. I knew I'd have some silken tofu left, and then saw this recipe at the bottom of that post. I made half the recipe so I could try it and finish the silken tofu. It. Is. Delicious! I used to love/hate cottage cheese. The right texture and I loved it, otherwise it made me gag. LOL Loved that I could crumble the tofu to whatever texture I wanted. Another fantastic recipe, thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!!!! Thrilled you're a fan of yet another recipe, Kristi! I think you should become an official It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken recipe tester, hahaha! Thank you for your rave review 🙂
Kristi says
YES!!! I would love that title! I give your website to everyone that shows any interest in how I eat. I've loaned the cookbook out to a lady at work but only because I knew she was responsible and could be trusted to return it to me! If I had to choose just one source for recipes, I'd definitely pick you!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh my goodness, you're truly too kind, Kristi!!!! 😀
Micheala says
This is one of those times I almost cried over something ridiculous. I had a massive craving for cottage cheese and peaches, and was really down about it until I thought to search for recipes. And here I landed! This is so amazingly delicious. I about ate the entire batch in one sitting because I was so happy to have a cottage cheese alternative. THANK YOU.
Sam Turnbull says
WOW! That's amazing!! Thrilled you loved it so much Micheala. 🙂
Amanda says
I will definitely have to try this. I am pregnant with my third child and, although not vegan by any means (nor am I vegetarian), I seem to have developed a dairy allergy complete with difficulty breathing. A couple months previously, my sister randomly became lactose intolerant. We were talking about what we're missing - cottage cheese, pizza, quesadillas, enchiladas, etc. I am glad to see this. I usually dislike tofu but I may just see if I can convince my brain it is cottage cheese, not tofu. I enjoy challenges in the kitchen as much as you seem to - I made a GF/eggless/dairy-free (but with goat milk) chocolate cake last year for a friend that called for 4 eggs and aced it in one try! It was fluffy and rich and delicious (and at 7800ft above sea level, no less!). I brainstormed at 5am all the properties of eggs in baking and figured out how to use more leavener, bananas, pumpkin, almond milk coffee and flax seeds to recreate the same thing. Thank you, fellow kitchen scientist, for the new recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
You're welcome, Amanda, I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Sean says
Fabulous recipe! Should I dump out the tofu liquid, or include it?
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you! Yes, drain off the excess water. Enjoy! 🙂
Mary says
How long does vegan cottage cheese last in fridge? Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
I would say about 4 - 7 days. Enjoy!
Kerstin Decker says
This cottage cheese is soooo good, but i am from Germany live in the US and like my cottage cheese more creamy and thats what I did just add all and swoosh all is creamy and so good thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it!
Ali says
Found this on a recipe search... made it... LOVED it! Now I’m ordering your book! Nicely done!! Ali
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! That's awesome! So happy you loved it, Ali. I hope you love the book too! 😀
Puranapal says
Question! Where I live they don't sell nutritional yeast. What is the function of that ingredient? Will I lose out nutritionally or is it just a flavor thing?
Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
It's mainly just for flavour. Nutritional yeast has a cheesy nutty flavour so I use it a lot in my vegan cheese recipes. You could try upping some of the other flavours to taste to replace it, but the result will be slightly different. Hope that helps!
Rori says
Same here! Did you try it without the Nutritional yeast? How was it?
Puranpal Kaur says
I did! For flavor I added a whole bunch of raw garlic cloves in the blender with the tofu. Maybe not exactly cottage cheese, but the result was delish!
Christina Gisela says
Amazon
Christina Gisela says
Oops! I was trying to reply to the person who said they can’t buy nutritional yeast in their area... I always buy Braggs brand from amazon
Sarah says
Your cottage cheese snack as a kid was way healthier than mine. Whatever you do, do not dip potato chips into your cottage cheese - it is addicting!
Sam Turnbull says
Ah!!! Now that's all I want to do!! Hahaha
Maeve says
I’m so excited to try this! I’m vegetarian and normally have regular cottage cheese, but now I think I’m gonna try this recipe out! It’s not only more fresh, and not harming any animals in the process, but it has even better-for-you ingredients!
Sam Turnbull says
Ooooh I hope you love it, Maeve!
Valentina says
Hello there! I was just wondering if you had to drain/dry out the firm tofu like you do for other recipes....I'm new to cooking with tofu! Thanks in advance!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Valentina, nope not for this recipe. I am always clear when tofu needs to be pressed so you never have to worry about it unless I say so. Enjoy! 🙂
Spark my nature says
Lovely idea! Cannot wait to try this on jacket potatoes. Thank you for the inspiration
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, enjoy!
Stephanie Perez says
I made this yesterday it was soooo good! I added a 1/4 teaspoon onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon garlic so it wouldn't taste as watery/tofu-y. it was perfect. thanks.
Sam Turnbull says
Thrilled you loved it, Stephanie 🙂