Today there are many restricted diets for people who have food allergies. Some people choose these diets to loose weight, eat healthier, or for personal reasons. I hardly call these diets (fad diets). I think most people are doing it because of the methods used to raise animals and grow fruits and vegetables. Something is causing people to have an increase in food allergies. The food industry is carefully labeling products for people who have allergies. This was not done until the past few years from my observation.

There are different types of vegetarian and raw vegan diets. Some vegetarians will consume dairy products while strict vegetarians will not. A raw vegan diet is usually consisted of unprocessed foods cooked no higher than 104 degrees F using a food dehydrator and consuming raw food. When I was a vegetarian I did not know very many people who were vegetarians and finding great tasting recipes was a challenge. Thanks to the internet there are many available now. For this instructable I will show you how to make a great tasting vegan cheese.

This recipe is a crowd pleaser for almost anyone except those with nut allergies. Raw nut cheese is easy to make requiring few ingredients. I used to make a strict vegetarian brick cheese years ago using kosher gelatin. I altered My hard cheese recipe to make two raw nut cheese versions. I will show you how to make raw pepper cheese and raw dill cheese for this instructable. I like this raw vegan cheese recipe because it can be made in many different ways by switching out the seasonings.

This is an entry for the Raw Food ( vegan) contest here on instructables. If you like it, your vote will be appreciated. Lets make some delicious nut cheese!

Step 1: Ingredients and Tools

Ingredients List is for 2 different types of cheese:

Raw cashews

Lemon

Garlic cloves

Red or yellow diced bell pepper

Un-refined sea salt

Dried (raw) dill or add choice of fresh or dried herbs.

Optional nutritional yeast 1-2 Tablespoons

Nutritional yeast optional for vegetarians this adds a lot of flavor but is not considered raw vegan. Many vegan recipes include nutritional yeast because of its nutritional value. Don't worry I will list the recipes for the pepper and dill cheese later.

Tools:

Blender or food processor, mandolin, knife, spoons, and small covered mixing bowls.

Step 2: Pepper Cheese Recipe

Pepper cheese recipe:

1/2 Cup raw cashews washed and soaked for 6 hours

Approximately 4 Tablespoons raw diced red or yellow bell pepper add more if desired

1-2 Garlic cloves crushed

Pinch sea salt

About 1 /4 cup water slowly added as needed

Optional 1-2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast if vegetarian

I might have added a raw Serrano pepper to give it a kick but I did not have one.

Step 3: Soak the Cashews

Method for both types of cheese:

Wash and soak the cashews in water. I used 1/2 cup

Soak for about 6 hours. The longer you soak them the softer the cheese.

Drain the water off the cashews.

Step 4: Preparations for Pepper Cheese

Method:

Wash and dice the bell peppers I used about 4 tablespoons.

Step 5: Add Ingredients to the Blender

I made two variations. One with bell pepper and one with dried dill.

Bell Pepper cashew cheese:

Place the cashews, diced bell pepper, garlic, salt, and nutritional yeast if desired and slowly add 1/4 cup of water as needed into the blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Place the cheese into the dish and chill covered for a couple of hours.

Serve with raw vegan crackers or use as a dip for fresh veggies.

Dill cheese:

Place cashews, dill or fresh diced or dried seasoning of choice, garlic, and salt into the food processor or blender slowly adding a little water until it is smooth.

I added lemon juice for the dill.

Place the cheese into a dish, cover and chill for a couple of hours.

Serve with vegan crackers or fresh vegetables.

Step 6: Sunshiine's Final Thoughts

I tried to make a raw brick cheese but did not achieve the results I wanted so I made the pepper and dill cheese instead. I may post a vegetarian brick cheese sometime because it is really good. The flavor of the bell pepper cheese tasted a lot like nacho cheese. We liked both but our favorite was the pepper cheese.

I hope you try this recipe. It disappears quickly because it is so good.

I wish to thank contributors for making this a great place to share. Thanks so much for stopping by and do have a Happy Spring!

sunshiine