This quick recipe for dairy-free Pistachio Nut Cheese is easy and foolproof. It slices, grates and will go golden brown when grilled. The only difficult part is not eating the pistachio nuts as they are!
It’s better to make this vegan cheese than just eating the pistachio nuts as they are sprouted, meaning the goodness and nutrients are more easily digested by the body.
The cheese is oil-free and contains heart healthy fats from the pistachionuts. Most vegan cheeses are dairy free but not healthy as they contain hard oils, flavourings an emulsifiers. This nut cheese recipe is made just from whole food ingredients and it tastes as good as it looks.
Also full of B vitamins and you can use a brand of nutritional yeast with B-12 to get that elusive vitamin. Suitable for vegan, dairy-free, paleo, plant-based, gluten-free. and general healthy diets.
This nut cheese will probably take other ingredients as flavours really well. Next time I may try it with dried apricots, rose essenceor dried cranberries.
I love vegan cheeses with my palm oil free oatcakes recipe. They are made from gluten-free oats and a mixture of five different seeds. However you can use whatever seeds you have in your cupboards.
This vegan cheese ended up more yellow than the bright green I was hoping for, but this isn’t really surprising as the pistachio nutsinside are mostly yellow and the nutritional yeast is yellow.
To make the pistachio cheese a bright green I would suggest adding 1/4 tsp of green powdersuch as spirulina, wheatgrass or barley grass. You won’t taste it but it will give a deepergreen colour and a nutrient boost.
I’ve found that this dairy free cheese is great to have with berries. The nutty green cheese looks and tastes great with tart raspberries.
I use pre-shelled unsalted pistachio nuts to make this. I believe this type of nuts has been lightly heated to help remove the shells, but at a lower temperature than normal shelled roasted and salted pistachios. So strictly they wouldn’t be considered raw but most people on a raw food diet would be fine with shelled nuts.
Prep Time10 minutes
Additional Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup / 150g Pistachio Nuts, shelled
- ½ cup / 40g Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tbsp Maple syrup / any sweetener
- 1 tbsp Agar agar powder
- 2 cloves of Garlic
- ½Lemon juiced
- 1 tbspApple Cider Vinegar
- 1½ cups / 350ml Water
- 2 pinches of Salt
Instructions
- Soak the pistachio nuts in water with a pinch of salt for an hour or overnight.
- Place half the water and everything else apart from the agar agar into a blender.
- Blend nut mixture until smooth in a powerful blender.
- In a pan put in the remaining half of the water and the agar agar powder.
- Simmer for 5 mins stirringconstantly. Make sure no lumps of agar agar form at the bottom.
- Take off the heat and stir in the pistachio mixture until combined.
- Pour nut cheese mixture into a mould and then chill for 2 hours. Line with greaseproof paper to give a great look.
- Enjoy Pistachio Cheese within 3 days and keep chilled.
Notes
I use a 3" springform mould to make this but anything like a bown can be used instead. Check out my sunflower cheese recipe to see what it would look like set in a normal cereal bowl
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Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1
Amount Per ServingCalories 53Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 0mgSodium 48mgCarbohydrates 4gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 3g
The pistachio nuts for this nut cheese are soaked in salted water to sprout them and make the nutrients more bioavailable. This is called activating nuts and apparently was part of several ancient cultures like the Aborigines. If you are short of time then just soak for 15 mins, but it’s best to soak for 8 hours or overnight.
Think of this recipe as a base recipe to add different flavours to suit your tastes. Please do let me know how you get on in the comments or tagging me on social media @nestandglow on Instagram.
If you like this recipe but are looking for a nut free vegan cheese check out my sunflower seed cheese. It’s another dairy free healthy cheese that can be sliced and grated!
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Tags: nut cheese, Pistachio Cheese, vegan cheese
FAQs
What Ingredients Are in Vegan Cheese? Vegan cheeses are 100% animal-free and made using vegetable proteins. Usually, they're made from soy; nuts, such as cashews and macadamias; and vegetable oils, such as coconut oil. You can also find cheeses that derive from agar, tapioca, peas and arrowroot.
Can dairy free people eat vegan cheese? ›
Yes, vegan cheese is completely plant-based and does not contain the lactase enzyme, making it suitable and a great alternative for any with lactose intolerance.
What cheese goes well with pistachios? ›
Pistachios lend their lovely greenish-purple color and delicious flavor to cheese plates. The nut looks and tastes its best when paired with creamy, light-colored cheeses. Serve pistachios with ricotta, fresh goat cheese, feta, and triple crème cheeses.
Is vegan cheese better for you than dairy cheese? ›
Is vegan cheese healthy? In terms of health, vegan cheese is generally considered better for you than dairy cheese as it's lower in saturated fat and often has added vitamin B12, which contributes to a healthy nervous system.
What cheese has no dairy? ›
Let's get to our ranking: the good, the bad and the shredded!
- Moocho Dairy-Free Mozzarella Style Shreds.
- Miyoko's Creamery Organic Liquid Vegan Pizza Mozzarella. ...
- Violife Smoked Provolone Slices. ...
- Kite Hill Dairy-Free Chive Cream Cheese. ...
- Babybel Plant-Based Cheese Alternative. ...
- Follow Your Heart Finely Shredded Mozzarella. ...
Violife has continued to be our all-around favorite! The dairy-free mozzarella cheeses are perfect for pizza night or my Gluten-free Dairy-free Lasagna. And a good cheddar or Mexican cheese is perfect for my Enchiladas or Enchilada Bake Dip!
What is a no dairy diet called? ›
A vegan diet excludes all animal products, including dairy, eggs, meat, and fish, whereas a dairy-free diet bans all milk products but not necessarily any other animal products.
Why am I intolerant to vegan cheese? ›
Beware of hidden allergens in convenience food
Sometimes it is easy to tell that a product is not suitable for certain allergy sufferers: Vegan cashew cheese, for example, is unsuitable for people with nut allergies, and those who suffer from gluten intolerance have to be careful with oat milk.
Does 100% vegan mean dairy-free? ›
Despite common public understanding that the word 'vegan' means free from animal products, there is no legally binding definition for the term in the UK and EU. This means that products labelled 'vegan' can contain trace amounts of eggs or dairy.
What pairs best with pistachio? ›
Flavor pairings
- Chocolate (dark, milk or white)
- Citrus: orange, blood orange, lemon, Meyer lemon.
- Candied orange.
- Orange blossom water and rose water.
- Wildflower or orange blossom honey.
- Dried fruits: dates, apricots, raisins.
- Spices: saffron, cardamom, clove, sea salt, pink peppercorns.
How to pair cheese with nuts
- Soft/Fresh cheese - Mozarella, Feta, Cottage, Goat. Fresh cheese are soft and not aged at all. ...
- Semi-hard/soft - Camembert, Brie, Edam, Emmental, Gouda. ...
- Hard cheese - Cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere. ...
- Blue cheese.
Orange flower water works as an aromatic to amplify the inherent flavors and aromas in pistachio. Roasted pistachio oil intensifies the overall flavor, and improves the texture of the paste.
Is it OK to eat vegan cheese everyday? ›
Much like regular cheese, vegan cheeses can have a place at the table as part of a healthy diet — but they shouldn't be relied on as a sole source of nutrition. Too much of any single food could be unhealthy, especially if it's replacing other vital nutrients or food groups.
Is too much vegan cheese bad for you? ›
Plant-based cheese is almost 10% saltier than regular cheddar and equally high in saturated fat, despite its perceived “health halo”, Action on Salt has warned. The organisation found that plant-based cheeses have the highest salt levels, containing an average of 1.91g per 100g.
Does vegan cheese raise cholesterol? ›
Unlike traditional cheeses, vegan cheeses contain no cholesterol. They are an excellent option if you want to appreciate the great taste of cheese without causing your cholesterol levels to rise! And even better, plant-based cheeses are known for their high content of phytosterols (or plant sterols).
Is dairy-free cheese healthy? ›
Much like regular cheese, vegan cheeses can have a place at the table as part of a healthy diet — but they shouldn't be relied on as a sole source of nutrition. Too much of any single food could be unhealthy, especially if it's replacing other vital nutrients or food groups.
What allergen is in dairy-free cheese? ›
However, many dairy-free cheeses rely on a base of seeds or nuts, ranging from sesame and sunflower seeds to almonds, cashews, peanuts and pine nuts. Soybeans are also common allergens, and it's fairly common for vegan dairy substitutes to use soy as a milk alternative.
What are the ingredients in fake cheese? ›
Components of typical imitation cheese include water, vegetable fat, rennet casein, emulsifying salt, sodium chloride, and a preservative (O'Riordan, Duggan, O'Sullivan, & Noronha, 2011). Starch can be used for full or partial replacement of rennet casein.
What does it mean when a cheese is dairy-free? ›
Dairy-Free Means No Milk or Milk Products
Dairy-free products contain no milk or milk products. Typically, these products are made using plants, nuts or grains. For example, almond milk beverages are considered to be dairy-free alternatives.
