Name: Vegan Cashew Ricotta
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients: 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least two hours, drained and rinsed; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast; 1/3 cup water; 1 teaspoon mellow white miso; 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

This vegan Cashew Ricotta cheese tastes even better than “the real thing!” Use it on sandwiches, in lasagnas, with pasta, and on pizza!

My Go-To Basics

With my posts for Spinach Pesto and Cashew Cheese Sauce, you may have noticed that my recent recipes have been for basics. I’ve decided to create a series of blog posts with some of my go-to sauces and condiments for two reasons. First, I’ve been hard at work on my second e-book (which is now available!), and I haven’t had much time to create new recipes. And I also wanted to share these basics because I use them often in other recipes, and they’ve never been featured in their own posts. Quite often I copy and past this Cashew Ricotta or my Spinach Pesto from one post to another because I’ve used it in a new recipe, and I finally realized that it would be easier to just give each one its own post. Plus, I think that they’re all good enough to be in the spotlight on their own! Look for more of my “basics” in the upcoming weeks.

Cashew Ricotta

Life changed when I realized that I could make cheese from nuts about 7 or 8 years ago. Suddenly, I became one of those people who hoard ingredients, and I was scouring the internet looking for the best deals on bulk cashews. Bowls of nuts soaking in water filled the fridge, and my Vitamix was constantly whirring away on the counter. How did I not know about this earlier??

I like to use vegan Cashew Ricotta on sandwiches, in lasagnas, and with pasta. One of my favorite ways to serve it is on a pizza with spinach pesto and some veggies. It’s so good that I sometimes have to stop myself from eating it straight out of the food processor with a spoon!

If you don’t like cashews, you can use other nuts such as almonds or macadamias in this recipe. Since they’re harder than cashews, they will need to soak for at least 8 hours, and they need a little more time in the food processor.

What’s your favorite way to serve ricotta?