Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese Recipe (2024)

Published on July 23, 2018 by Kate, Updated on December 21, 2020 - 49 Comments

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Creamy, sliceable, shreddable and meltable, this Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese recipe is completely irresistible and can be created in your very own kitchen in just minutes!

I'm so excited to be sharing with you another rendition of my blender-based, no 'cook' vegan cheese!! Today we're going to go over how to make a sumptuous block-style Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese. But first, some questions and answers....

Can you make Vegan Cheese?

That is a million dollar question and I'm here today to tell you YES YOU CAN! A thousand times YES! Don't let the whole idea scare you. You are going to feel like a master chef in minutes!! This cheese is such a confidence booster and a game changer!

This cashew cheese can be used in any recipe because it is sliceable, meltable, shreddable like regular cheese. It is also fantastic as part of a vegan charcuterie board.

What does this Vegan Cheese taste like?

Obviously, it's not quite like dairy cheese - BUT the texture, flavor, richness, and creaminess of this vegan cheese will literally knock your socks off! It satisfies a major cheese craving for me, and it even meets the expectations of my non-vegan friends!

Why would you makevegan cheese?

it's non-dairy
it tastes amazing
it's cheap
it's easy to make
it cooperates (will slice, shred, melt)
it is low in fat compared to dairy-cheese
it is low in fat compared to non-dairy store-bought cheese
it's also soy-free and gluten-free

What's in this Smoked Gouda Vegan cheese??

The one challenge of making this cheese is that it takes a few unusual ingredients that not everyone has on hand - but please believe me - it is SO worth the effort!! Really, only #3 is harder to find. Here's the short list:

REFINEDCoconut Oil -(Please don’t miss the word refined.)Refined coconut oildoesn’t taste like coconut but it still turns solid at cooler temps, thus adding firmness and richness. It's available at many local grocery stores in the health food section.
Tapioca Flour -a thickener with a slightly 'stretchy' texture. I usually buy online but many local health food stores sell this.
Kappa Carrageenan -This is the most unusual ingredient and somewhat difficult to obtain. A derivative of sea weed, this ingredient is vital because it is what makes the cheese able to go from liquid to solid and back to melted state. It’s a wonder ingredient and not widely sold.
Wright's Hickory Smoke Flavor- It adds a lovely smoke flavor and can be widely obtained.
Seasoned Salt - I use Johnny's that I buy at Costco, but you can also get it here!

Steps to Make Vegan Smoked Gouda:

Assemble all your ingredients (Photo above). Rinse Cashews under hot running water for several minutes. (Photo 1 below)

Cooking tip:

Don't skip the 'rinse your cashews under HOT tap water for several minutes' step. Not only does this soften the cashews for blending, but it removes that 'cashewy' flavor so the final cheese doesn't taste nutty.

Super excited for you guys to experience the joys of making awesome vegan cheese at home! Let me know how it goes, and if you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll try to help out!! (For a video tutorial of making this style cheese, please see the links for my vegan mozzarella cheese recipe below. )

Check out these other vegan cheese recipes:

Vegan mozzarella cheese
Vegan cheddar cheese
Vegan herb cheese
Vegan cheese ball
Vegan feta cheese
Vegan pepper Jack
Best vegan cream cheese
Vegan parmesan cheese
Vegan nacho sauce

If you’ve tried this Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese recipe or any other recipe on my blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME onFACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food!!!

Recipe

Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese

Creamy, sliceable, shreddable and meltable, this Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese recipe is completely irresistible and can be created in your very own kitchen in just minutes!

4.55 from 72 votes

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Course: Appetizer, cheese

Cuisine: American, French

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 people

Calories: 97kcal

Ingredients

▢ ½ cup Raw cashew pieces, Rinsed under hot water for several minutes
▢ ¼ cup Refined coconut oil
▢ ¼ cup Tapioca flour
▢ 1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast flakes
▢ 1 ½ tablespoon Kappa carrageenan
▢ 1 Tbsp Lemon juice
▢ 1 teaspoon Sea salt, scant
▢ 1 teaspoon Seasoned salt, I use Johnny's
▢ 1 ½ teaspoon Onion powder
▢ ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
▢ 1 tsp Hickory smoke flavor, I used Wright's
▢ 1 ½ Cup HOT (just boiled) water

Instructions

Select a heat-safe preferably glass dish that can hold approx 3C and set aside. (This is your cheese mold.)
Rinse the c¼ashews under HOT water for several minutes.
Put your water in a small pot on the stove to boil.
Add all ingredients (except the water!) to the blender. Add the cashews first and then everything else on top of the cashews.
Carefully add (so you don't burn yourself!!!) the boiling hot water into your blender. Put the blender lid on! And blend immediately until completely smooth.
Stop blending once if need be to quickly scrape sides of blender and resume blending right after.
Immediately transfer your cheese to your chosen dish/mold as it will start to solidify quickly as it cools.
Place in refrigerator to chill. No need to cover yet.
After 2-3 hours or when fully chilled, remove cheese block from dish/mold and wrap in paper towels and then tightly plastic wrap. The flavor gets better over a day or two but it’s great as soon as it’s hardened, too. Yeay! You are officially a cheese-maker!

Notes

This Cheese recipe is one of my saltier options. If you're not a salt-lover you may want to scale back on the salt by a ¼ tsp. I often use Himalayan salt, although not "Kala Namak" or "black salt" in this recipe.

Nutrition