Author: Ever since I started posting my vegan cheese recipes, I have gotten asked (probably a million and twelve times) if I had a nut-free version. Well, my friends, I finally do! Welcome to my new shiny vegan sunflower seed cheese recipe. Applause!
This vegan cheese is also so super simple to make! Just 9 ingredients, blend, chill, done. The result is a vegan cheese that is creamy, tangy, spreadable, and completely addictive. You can taste the sunflowers seeds in this cheese but it just adds to the depth of flavour. And because this cheese is nut-free that also makes it school safe so you can pack it in your lunch box!
You know this vegan cheese is a keeper because as I was testing this recipe, some non-vegan family stopped by and had a taste. They immediately asked for the recipe -it's a win for vegan cheese!
To make vegan sunflower seed cheese:
You will first need to soften the sunflower seeds. Softening them will make them easier to blend and will result in a smoother cheese. You can either boil or soak the seeds. To boil: put the sunflower seeds in a medium-sized pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 10 - 15 minutes until the sunflower seeds have softened. Drain and rinse before using. Or to soak: place the sunflower seeds in a bowl and cover the seeds with water. Soak overnight until tender. Drain and rinse before using.
Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
Prepare your mold(s) by lining them with plastic wrap or parchment paper, or you can use a silicone mold. You can use any mold, dish, or bowl you like, I used two of these mini springform pans to make two wheels of cheese about 4 inches wide, perfect for a cheeseboard.
Once the cheese is blended, scoop the cheese mixture into a mold of choice and smooth the top. Cover and chill in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight to let the cheese firm up. The cheese will be firmer right out of the fridge but will soften as it sits out.
The vegan cheese will keep well in an air-tight container in the fridge for about a week or this sunflower seed cheese also freezes well. Just wrap tightly then store in an air-tight container and freeze.
Serve this vegan cheese with crackers or bread, spread on a sandwich, add to a salad, or use it anywhere you like!
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Sunflower Seed Cheese
Servings: wheels of cheese (about 4 inches diameter)
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Ingredients
- 2 cups raw sunflower seeds,, softened (see step 1)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup refined coconut oil
- 4 teaspoons white miso paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt, (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
To soften the sunflower seeds:
- You will first need to soften the sunflower seeds. Softening them will make them easier to blend and will result in a smoother cheese. You can either boil or soak the seeds. To boil: put the sunflower seeds in a medium-sized pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 10 - 15 minutes until the sunflower seeds have softened. Drain and rinse before using. Or to soak: place the sunflower seeds in a bowl and cover the seeds with water. Soak overnight until tender. Drain and rinse before using.
To make vegan sunflower seed cheese:
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
- Prepare your mold(s) by lining them with plastic wrap or parchment paper, or you can use a silicone mold. You can use any mold or dish you like, I used two of these mini springform pans to make two wheels of cheese. Once the cheese is blended, scoop the cheese mixture into a mold of choice and smooth the top. Cover and chill in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight to let the cheese firm up. The cheese will be firmer fresh out of the fridge but will soften as it sits out.
- Serve this vegan cheese with crackers or bread, spread on a sandwich, add to a salad, or use it anywhere you like!
Notes
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕
Julie says
Coconut oil is so unhealthy. Is there any substitute?
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Julie, the coconut oil is what helps it become solid when chilled. If you don't want to use it, just simply omit the coconut oil. It won't get firm, it will stay a spreadable texture, but it will still be delicious. Enjoy!
Mandy says
Five stars for taste. 4 stars for difficulty to blend without breaking my equipment. Well...it's just so hard to blend. I tried my food processor. didn't really do too much. transferred all to my vitamix. For over half an hour I've been scraping it down, pulsing a few seconds. stopping. scraping down pulsing quickly again.I took a break to make lunch. Now all go back to it but I can't see it being "set" for the dinner party I was going to bring it to tonight now. It tastes great but I think I should have started making it yesterday.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Mandy, I'm thrilled you loved the taste!💛 Just a few troubleshooting thoughts in case it helps for next time: Did you boil the sunflower seeds until they were really tender? Boiling makes a big difference and usually helps them blend much more easily. Did you make the full recipe? If you halved it, that can actually make blending harder since there's less volume to catch the blades properly. I’ve found that a food processor works better than a blender for this one, since it’s a thicker mixture and food processors are better at handling solids. Blenders are awesome for liquids, but this cheese can be a bit dense for them! And just to set expectations, this cheese won’t be perfectly smooth—it should resemble the texture shown in the photos and video. If you haven’t seen it already, there’s a video in the post that shows what the final texture should look like, so feel free to check that out too! I hope that helps!
Mandy says
Thanks for responding Sam! You know I only have a mini food processor, good for small stuff. I need a regular sized one. My option was to use the Vitamix in case the mini didn't work. Eventually it did but like I said, yes, lots of work. I chose not to boil the seeds, I wanted to try ro retain as much nourishment as I could, so I soaked them instead. Not sure why I think that would retain more health benefits but anyway....to make things trickier I DOUBLED the recipe and the swollen sunflower seeds, 4 cups, were A LOT and not easy to grind for that reason. My fault of course. I wanted to take some to a dinner party as an appy and have some for us to use in wraps and whatnot at home. The regular recipe makes quite a lot so I didn't need to double it. But I'm glad I did! My friends, non-vegans, really enjoyed it. I'd put them in little wreath-like shaped silicone molds, decorated with pistachios and a sprig of parsley that I grow at home....so they looked pretty too. Friends kept leftover one to use for themselves! Yay! Thanks Sam! Next time I won't be so greedy and will just make the recipe for "1x"!!!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
We're sorry it was so much work but thrilled to hear it turned out so well and was a hit with your friends!
Bonnie says
This is the first vegan cheese recipe I attempted…fell in love:))) I made it a number of times with variations. First time was as printed-delicious and inspiring. Next couple of times I split the cheese into 2 portions and formed balls and rolled in chives, fresh basil, and seeds like sesame-black and white/poppy/fennel/caraway the last 2 chopped. The next batch i tried adding a probiotic and hung it in a cheese cloth for 24-48 hours (i read about this). It gave it a slightly tangy/fermented flavor. Our family loved all of the options. Thank you Sam and staff for beautiful healthy recipes:)))
I see a number of comments asking about coconut oil substitutions due to health concerns. Please do a little research-no trans fats, yes to saturated fats…this is beneficial fat, very similar to avocado. We have been misled for many years about the different kinds of fat unfortunately.
Christopher says
A lunch box staple.
Sarah says
It's delicious and a nice change from cashew based cheese
Meg says
Oh oh oh!
I literally licked out the bowl. I spread a bit of it from the bowl on a cracker and said to (meat eater)…I made cheese. Yum was the response!
Can’t wait for the cooled product.
(Oh and I used hybrid boil/soak seeds… poured on boiling water and left it for maybe half an hour)
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Wonderful! So thrilled you enjoyed the cheese so much Meg 🙂
Aurélie says
It doesn't specifically say if the coconut oil should be melted before using to make the cheese? I'm going to assume so and try it that way...
Margaret says
Do I have to take the "skin" off the sunflower seeds? I did not know and bought a package with skins on...Thanks
Suzy says
I finally broke down and purchased a VitaMix. Can I use it for this recipe instead of my food processor, which is good, but doesn't seem to produce a nut-product that is truly creamy. Hoping to take this as my holiday treat! Thanks!!
Dee says
What can I use instead of coconut oil?
M says
Was thinking the same thing, would like to use olive oil instead thats more heart healthy.
Genevieve Fynnyx says
I would suggest vegn butter. I say this because the coconut oil gets firm in the cold and olive oil won't act the same.
Elaine Lindley says
This looks awesome!
Is there a miso substitute I could use?
Thank you for your recipes! Not only are they works of delicious art, have helped me changed my life!
Barbara says
Oh, that was fun!! I created (thanks to you) something with an entirely different flavor from anything I've tasted. Makes me think of when I first tried pesto or falafel, ages ago, how my taste buds sat up and said, "Whoa! What is THIS?" This is great!
I couldn't get all my sunflower seeds ground us, but I liked having that texture. Next time, I might add in some roasted, salted sunflower seeds at the end, to add both flavor and texture. Or maybe chives. Or maybe currents, lots of possibilities.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That's exciting! A brand new flavor sensation! We're so happy you enjoyed the experience. 🙂
Carrie Xie says
This was very easy to make and it tasted amazing! I did find it very hard to blend/smooth out in my food processor and had to use a bit more coconut oil. Maybe my processor isn't strong enough. Do you think it would still work if I added some water (also increasing the seasoning so it doesn't lose flavour) during the blending and then strain out any excess liquid with a cheesecloth that it might help the blending process go smoother and that the cheese will be smoother?
TIA!!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That sounds like a great way to try and get the texture even smoother! Let us know how it works out!
Maryam says
I was working with only half the recipe so it seemed i might not have the mass i needed to get a good grind. I didn’t want to add any water to move the stuff off the walls of the container back down onto the blades so i thought of using oat cream, but i was in a hurry so i used 1/4 of oats and 1/4 of water and that worked a charm. Great recipe, thanks!
Patricia Richards says
Is there a substitute for coconut oil? Trans fats are not something I would consider part of a healthy diet. Thanks!
Will says
Coconut oil doesn't have trans fat, it has saturated fat. I just leave it out and the cheese is still very good.
Alice says
Would this cheese work for Mac n cheese? Or other recipes which may need melted cheese? My daughter has dairy, egg and nut allergies so this would be perfect for her to try.
Alexader says
I only have yellow miso. Would that work just as well or do I need to find white?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Yellow miso should work fine, but it is saltier so you may want to adjust for that.
Glenys says
Hi Sam, I am thrilled to have found your recipe, the only change I made was using a small packet of miso instant soup as I didn't have any plain miso but it was perfect! Loved this and will be making it again. It's just gone into the fridge but to be honest whether it's soft or firmer won't worry me as it will be a great spread or dip also.
Thanks heaps - I'm still learning as although I cook heaps of vegetarian food I have only recently given up dairy - but this is GOOD... .
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed!!