When people make the decision to remove dairy from their diet cheese is often what they say they miss most. Dairy is NOT healthy (in the future I will do an in-depth post to explain why) , so it is important that we find good alternatives.
Russell James
I recently purchased one of Russell James‘ e-books called Raw Nut Cheese from his Raw Chef’s Recipe Series and decided to give the goat cheese recipe a whirl.
I have made raw nut cheese before and they weren’t as successful as this recipe was (I am eating it as I type…yum!). I think the curing step is key…
INGREDIENTS – day one
2 cups raw unsalted macadamias, soaked 4 hours
1 cup water
1 tsp. probiotics powder (I used New Chapter Organics All Flora)
INGREDIENTS – day two
1 tsp. nutritional yeast
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
Soak the macadamia nuts in filtered water for 4 hours.
Blend the soaked nuts with 1 cup of filtered water and 1 tsp. probiotics powder in your high-powered blender (I used my Vitamix). Make sure all of the nuts are blended well and there are no chunks.
Transfer the mixture to a cheesecloth-lined strainer that has been placed over a bowl.
Fold the cheesecloth over the cheese and place a weight over the top (I used a plate with pie weights over it). Allow this mixture to cure at room temperature for a full 24 hours.
Once the cheese has cured, mix in the nutritional yeast, salt, and lemon juice.
Place the mixture in a Saran wrap lined spring form pan (I used a 5” pan) and place in the refrigerator to firm-up.
When the cheese is more firm (it will never get firm…it will become the texture of goat cheese) and ready to serve, top it with your choice of toppings i.e. pesto, chopped sun dried tomatoes, fresh herbs. The next time I make this cheese I plan on mixing pesto directly into the mixture. This cheese is great served with crackers, on a salad, or in a sandwich.
For a printable version of this recipe click here
beautiful pic at the end, gret! does it taste like macadamia nuts at all or actual goat cheese?
It tastes like actual cheese to me, but then again I haven’t had “real” cheese in a long time 🙂
I miss goat cheese so much! I’ve never tried to make my own cheese, but yours looks great!
This recipe definitely acts as a good replacement. If you make the goat cheese be sure and let me know how it turns out for you.
Pingback: HEARTY VEGGIE LASAGNA | VEGGIE GRETTIE
Wow! I never knew you could make cheese from nuts! That’s amazing! I’d love to try it sometime. 🙂
Pingback: PATRIOTIC CHEESECAKE – Vegan and Gluten Free | VEGGIE GRETTIE
Hi, this recipe looks great. I have made simpler cashew cheeses with rejuvelac, its a bit like cottage or cream cheese. Would yours work as well with cashew nuts? ( In South Africa, Macadamia nuts are very expensive)
I haven’t tried it with cashews, but I think it would probably work as well. Let me know how it works for you!
Is the nutritional yeast optional ? tests have shown it is an excito toxin therefore something I avoid.. it gives everyone in my home headaches anyway.. before we knew what reactions it caused we had it a few times ??
I hadn’t heard that about the nutritional yeast and will have to research that further for my own knowledge. I haven’t made it without the nutritional yeast, but I am guessing that it may work without it (You may have to add some sale for flavor). Let me know how it works out if you try it.
Yum! I made this recently and it was so delicious. The directions were super easy to follow, thank you!!
I am so glad to hear that! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know.
I made this this week, and it went well! After sitting on my counter for 24 hours, I was really struck by the fermented cheesy smell! Thanks for the recipe!
It is amazing what a little fermentation can do. So glad you liked it!
Pingback: Happy Fourth!!! | VEGGIE GRETTIE
Hi I’m not to clear on how to place the mixture in a saran wrap lined spring form pan? Do I pour the mixture on the bottom of the pan and then place the “cheese” on top of it.
Hi Olivia! You line the springform pan with Saran Wrap and then pour the strained mixture on top of the Saran Wrap. I hope that helps.