Vegan Ricotta made with Almonds and Tofu

Here it is. I featured this ricotta as a part of my recipe for poutine, but as promised, here is my versatile vegan ricotta recipe. This ricotta is soft, creamy, slightly sweet, super versatile, great on its own or in a recipe, and super quick and easy to make. 

I eat this vegan ricotta all the time. It’s great on toast and bagels, stirred into pasta, as a layer of lasagna or perogy casserole, in a wrap, dolloped on roasted veggies, or anywhere you would use a savoury application of ricotta. This particular recipe is not suited to sweet ricotta applications due to the garlic, however if you omit the garlic I would bet you could use it in a sweet application. I intend to experiment with this soon, so stay tuned for that (cannoli anyone?! :o). 

**UPDATE** I have added the instructions in the recipe below for how to use this recipe for sweet applications (like my incredibly decadent vegan cannolis)! 

As I’m writing this, I’m thinking about all kinds of vegan ricotta applications to try. Pesto and ricotta rigatoni, spinach and ricotta canneloni, ricotta and avocado toast with balsamic drizzle, ricotta on crackers… oh man, I have to wipe the drool off my keyboard!  

For this ricotta I use a combination of almonds and tofu. I find the almonds contribute to that bit of sweetness you are used to from a traditional ricotta. The tofu helps with the softness (as well as affordability, it really helps stretch out the almonds to make more cheese). 

How to make this cheezy delight:

To make this, first you take 1 cup of raw or blanched almonds and soak them for 3 hours or overnight.

Then drain the almonds. If using raw almonds, like I did, you will have to peel them. FEAR NOT, this is not hard! Once the almonds have soaked you just squeeze the nut and the skin pops right off. I was a skeptic, but it’s true. I watched 2 short youtube videos while I peeled my almonds, it only took about 10 minutes!

Next, you assemble the rest of your ingredients. Miso, yogurt, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, tofu, and garlic. If you don’t have non-dairy yogurt or sour cream you can use just a bit of unsweetened non-dairy milk in its place, start with half the amount in case it gets too thin. The  yogurt simply helps give the cheese a cheesy tanginess.

Place all of the ingredients in the food processor and blitz away. Blend until it is the grainy texture of ricotta cheese.  Taste. Add more lemon juice for tartness, salt for saltiness, olive oil for rich mouth-feel, or yogurt for tang. 

Store in the fridge. This should keep for about 2 weeks covered in the fridge

(if it’ll last that long!)

Vegan Ricotta made with Almonds and Tofu (Sweet or Savoury versions)

This ricotta is ultra versatile. Below are the ingredients for either the sweet or savoury versions of this ricotta. Choose the best version for your purposes.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Soaking time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Servings 2 cups

Ingredients

  

SAVOURY Ricotta

• 1 cup soaked peeled almonds soaked 3 hours or overnight
• 4 oz extra firm tofu not silken
• 1 clove garlic
• 7 tsp olive oil (3 tbsp + 1 tsp)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp miso
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp non-dairy yogurt or sour cream

SWEET Ricotta (for dessert-type applications)

• 4 oz extra firm tofu not silken
• 7 tsp canola oil (or another neutral oil) (3 tbsp + 1 tsp)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp non-dairy yogurt or sour cream
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla optional

Instructions

 

• Soak the almonds in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight. If not already peeled, you must peel the almonds after they are soaked. This is easy, the soaked almonds slip right out of their skins.
• Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until it is the texture of traditional ricotta.

Notes

-If you want your ricotta to be runnier/creamier then just add a bit more of the yogurt or a splash of unsweetened non-dairy milk.

 

If you make this recipe, please rate/comment below. Thanks! 🙂

Also be sure to tag @kindnesskitchen1 or #kindnesskitchen1 on Instagram if you make and photograph my recipes! I love to see it when you make my food 😀