Give Them Something Better

Category: Vegan Cheese

  • Hearty Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta

    Hearty Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta

    Vegan lasagna with Tofu Ricotta cheese recipe

    Are you a lasagna lover, but now that you’ve adopted a plant-based or vegan lifestyle, you’re at a loss for what to cook for special occasions? I’ve got you covered with my delicious vegan lasagna recipe featuring tofu ricotta cheese. I’ve served this dish to literally hundreds of people, and everyone loves it. Stick around because, at the end, I’ll share a special ingredient that can turn even the most hardcore meat lover into a fan of this lasagna.

    3 Components of  thePerfect Lasagna

    The perfect lasagna has three main components: sauce, a cheese mixture, and noodles. If each of these components tastes great, your lasagna will be a hit. Let’s break each one of those down.

    1. The Sauce: Homemade vs. Store-Bought  

    If you think about it the sauce is what brings most of the flavor to your lasagna so it needs to be good! Here is a link to my favorite homemade sauce. While, creating a homemade sauce is easier than you might think, you can opt for a good-quality jar of tomato sauce (just check the label for added sugars or cheese). Whether homemade or store-bought, make sure the sauce is flavorful and suits your taste. You can always add herbs like basil, oregano, and garlic to enhance the flavor.

    2. Tofu Ricotta: Creamy and Dreamy

    For the tofu ricotta, check the recipe below.  It is made with firm tofu and vegan sour cream which makes it really rich and creamy and can be made in just a few minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste, and you have a dreamy, creamy ricotta cheese ready to elevate your lasagna. There are some store bought vegan ricotta’s in some of your larger grocery stores but I cannot vouch for their flavor.

    3. Noodles

    I have tried to take short cut’s with noodles but it is totally not worth it! In the video below I tried the no-boil “oven ready” noodles but as you can see the did not work out. Go ahead and boil your noodles. Once cooked and rinsed drape each noodle over the edge of the pan so they don’t stick together.

    BONUS: A Surprise for Meat Lovers: Plant-Based Italian Sausage

    If you have meat-loving family members, add some plant-based Italian sausage to the lasagna. Crumble it up, brown it to perfection, and it will add extra flavor and a familiar texture to satisfy the carnivores.

    Here is the video to see how I make mine.

    Vegan lasagna with Tofu Ricotta cheese recipe

    Hearty Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta

    Yield: 12 servings
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

    Lasagna is a classic Italian dish that most people love, but don't always realize that it can be made vegan. In this vegan lasagna recipe, we use tofu ricotta cheese to create a delicious and creamy filling. You'll love the flavor and the texture of this lasagna, and you won't believe how good it tastes without any meat or cheese! If you're looking for a delicious and satisfying vegan lasagna, then give this recipe a try

    Ingredients

    • Vegan Lasagna
    • 6 cups Tomato Sauce
    • 12 lasagna noodles, cooked
    • 1 recipe Tofu Ricotta
    • 2 links Plant-Based Italian Sausage
    • ¼ cup nondairy Parmesan cheese (optional)

    Tofu Ricotta

    • 2 packages (14 ounces) water-packed tofu, firm or extra-firm
    • 1 package (8 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed and drained (optional)
    • 1 cup soy sour cream
    • ¼ cup lemon juice
    • ¼ cup cane juice crystals or other sweetener
    • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
    • ¾ teaspoon onion powder
    • ¾ teaspoon garlic powder

    Instructions

    For the Vegan Lasagna

      1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
      2. Ladle 1 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce in the bottom of the prepared dish.
      3. Arrange 4 noodles over the sauce.
      4. Spread 1/2 of the Tofu Ricotta over the noodles.
      5. Add Plant-based Italian sausage if using.
      6. Repeat layers once.
      7. Top with remaining 4 noodles and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan, if using.
        Cover with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour.

    For the Tofu Ricotta

      1. Drain water from tofu and wrap tightly in 2 clean dry dishtowels and let sit for 20-30 minutes, to remove excess moisture.

      2.     In a large bowl, mash tofu with a potato masher or your hands. 

      3.     Add remaining ingredients to tofu and mix well. Add additional salt or sweetener to taste.

      TIP: Be sure to remove all excess water from the spinach or your Tofu Ricotta will turn green.

    © Stephanie Howard
    Category: Meatless Main Dish

     

  • Easy Vegan Queso Recipe (Chipotle Style)

    Easy Vegan Queso Recipe (Chipotle Style)

    Chipotle Notso Queso Cheese Dip

    This chipotle flavored Vegan Queso Recipe is the perfect addition to vegan nachos or tacos. It is the the perfect combination of rich and creamy, spicy and smokey. The funny thing is it started out as a kitchen disaster and turned into a great discovery!

    It was Mexican day at Emmanuel Institute and I was making my regular vegan queso recipe with a white vegan cheese and chopped jalapeños, which by the way is very good. But this time I was in a hurry and turned the heat up too high and slightly burned the cheese sauce. It was not so burnt that it had to thrown away but it defiantly had a smokey flavor.  I didn’t have time to make more cheese sauce the students would be arrive in just minutes.

    All of the sudden I had a thought! Chipotle! it has a nice smoky flavor, maybe if I add some to this sauce it could make it into an amazing vegan queso. I was right! the students nearly drank the cheese sauce they loved it so much, not a drop was left! I have made the chipotle sauce many times since, of course I don’t burn it first. I suppose it is true many great recipes are invented by accident.

    Vegan Queso Recipe (chipotle)

    Vegan Queso Recipe (Chipotle Style)

    Yield: 4 cups
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 7 minutes
    Total Time: 17 minutes

    Rich and creamy chipotle flavored vegan queso recipe made with cashews and nutritional yeast. Makes perfect vegan nachos or as a topping for tacos.

    Ingredients

    • ¾ cup cashew nuts
    • 4 cups water, divided
    • ¾ cup shredded cheese substitute
    • ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
    • 1 teaspoons salt
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • Chipotle pepper to taste

    Instructions

      1. Using a blender, blend cashews and 2 cups of water until very, very smooth, this will take several minutes.
      2. Add the remaining ingredients except for the two cups of water, and blend again. Pour into a medium sized saucepan.
      3. Add remaining 2 cups of water to blender and blend briefly, pour into pan with cashew mixture.
      4. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil and thickens.
      5. Remove from heat, add pasta and stir together.
        Serve as is, or place in a casserole dish and bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes.
    © Stephanie Howard
  • Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese

    Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese

     pepper jack cheese640

    This Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese is perfect for a party! I LOVE cheese and crackers at a party! So I was not going to let this vegan thing ruin my party! Pepper Jack is a favorite so with a little I experimenting I found this vegan pepper jack cheese which is excellent! It is made with cashews and sliceable so it is perfect on crackers.  

    This month I threw a party at the Meatless Monday Supper Club with different kinds of vegan cheese and gave an opportunity for everyone to try them.  I also made a simple sliceable cashew cheese along with my Notso Queso Dip.

    For the Sliceable Vegan Cashew Cheese I used this recipe from a beautiful website called Jennifer’s Kitchen, you should really check out her recipes there is a great variety of healthy and yummy foods. She also posts a lot of Gluten Free recipes for those of you who need it.

    I slightly modified the Pepper Jack cheese from the Vegan Richa website. It is a little different than many recipes I have tried in the past in that it has a few different starches in it. I think the different starches help it to melt nicely but I think it was a little grainy.

    This is my version of the Vegan Richa’s Pepper Jack Cheese next week I will share my Notso Queso Chipotle Cheese Sauce.

    Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese

    Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese Please

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ cups plain non-dairy milk
    • 2 ½ teaspoon agar powder 2 ½ tablespoons of agar flakes
    • 1 ½ tablespoon tapioca starch
    • 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot starch
    • 1 ½ tablespoon chickpea flour
    • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
    • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
    • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
    • ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon onion powder
    • 2 teaspoons jalapeno pepper finely chopped
    • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

    Instructions

      1. Line a bowl or mold with plastic wrap.
        In a blender add ½ cup non-dairy milk with the starches, chickpea flour, coconut oil, vinegar, lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder and salt.
      2. Blend until smooth
      3. In a pan, add 1 cup of non-dairy milk and agar powder. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes.
      4. Add the boiling mixture to the blender with the milk and starches and blend briefly.
      5. Add jalapeno and pepper flakes and pulse to chop.
      6. Pour into prepared mold and place in the refrigerator for several hours.
    © Stephanie Howard
    Category: Miscellaneous
    pepper jack cheese

  • Toasted Cheese Sandwich Meets Pizza…Melty Muffins with video

    Toasted Cheese Sandwich Meets Pizza…Melty Muffins with video

    English muffin spread with cashew cheese and veggies baked until crispA long time ago I uploaded a bunch of videos to YouTube from some of our 3ABN shows and just realized I neglected to tell you all about them. Over the next few weeks I will post them up here with the recipe.

    I am going to start with the Melty Muffins because they would be perfect for getting together with friends. Everyone loves them and they are easy to make, you can make everything several days ahead of time and just bake them when you want to serve them. I have already posted the recipe here. Now you can watch us make them!

  • Meatless Monday! Better than Mac & Cheese

    Meatless Monday! Better than Mac & Cheese

    Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

    I did a cooking school in Iceland just a few weeks ago and was shocked to learn that 99% of the people in my class had never had macaroni and cheese! It’s very strange but true. I am happy to tell you that I was able to remedy the problem. They have all tried it now and loved it! The good news is that they didn’t try the typical high-fat-and-cholesterol bomb that we normally serve here in America. I gave them the healthy variety with whole grain pasta and cashew cheese.  I was also able to serve it at a youth camp meeting and they cleaned it out – they absolutely loved the stuff! So if you are looking for a healthier alternative to the easiest Meatless Monday dish ever here is my recipe for Mac & Cheese.

    Mac & Cheese

    • 1 box (14 ounces) whole grain macaroni noodles, cooked
    • 4 cups water, divided
    • 1 cup raw cashews
    • ½ cup oil
    • ½ cup pimento peppers or bottled roasted red peppers
    • ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
    • 3 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
    • ½ tablespoon salt
    • 2 teaspoons onion powder
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
    2. Blend 2 cups water and nuts in a blender until very smooth and creamy. This can take several minutes, depending on your blender.
    3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, to blender; blend until smooth and creamy.
    4. Combine blended mixture and pasta in prepared baking dish; stir well to mix.
    5. Bake 45 minutes.

     

  • Meatless Monday: Stuffed Shells with Tofu Ricotta

    Meatless Monday: Stuffed Shells with Tofu Ricotta

    Shells_25

    Did you know the people in Iceland love lasagna? I had no idea.  I have been invited to go to Iceland to share a healthy cooking school and cook for one of their camp meetings.  So I am learning about Icelandic food.

    I have decided to show them some fun and easy ways to substitute meat and dairy with healthier alternatives. Two of the things we are going to make are lasagna and stuffed shells.  Both have the same ingredients but look very different.  So you can either make these shells or layer it like lasagna. It’s really up to you!

    Stuffed Shells

    • 1 box jumbo shells
    • 4 cups tomato sauce
    • 1 recipe Tofu Ricotta (recipe below)
    • ¼ cup non-dairy Parmesan cheese (optional)

    1.     Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

    2.     Cook jumbo shells according to the package instructions.

    3.     Ladle 1½ cups of tomato sauce into the bottom of the pan.

    4.     Fill each shell with a spoonful of tofu ricotta and place in the pan on top of the sauce.

    5.     Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan, if using.

    6.     Cover with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour.

    Makes 8 servings

    Tofu Ricotta 

    • 2 packages (14 ounces) water-packed tofu, firm or extra-firm
    • 1 package (8 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed and drained (optional)
    • 1 cup soy sour cream
    • ¼ cup lemon juice
    • ¼ cup cane juice crystals or other sweetener
    • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
    • ¾ teaspoon onion powder
    • ¾ teaspoon garlic powder

    1.     Drain water from tofu and wrap tightly in 2 clean dry dishtowels and let sit for 20-30 minutes, to remove excess moisture.

    2.     In a large bowl, mash tofu with a potato masher or your hands.

    3.     Add remaining ingredients to tofu and mix well. Add additional salt or sweetener to taste.

    TIP: Be sure to remove all excess water from the spinach or your Tofu Ricotta will turn green.