This smokey vegan cheddar cheese wheel is covered in a savory herb crust and made with a deliciously spreadable base of creamy cashews and pumpkin!
As the title suggests, this cheese has a lot going on. But also, as I confirmed with my family over the Thanksgiving holiday, this vegan cheese has got it going on.
Most notably going on here: pumpkin! Not that the flavor is super-pumpkiny, but pumpkin isn’t normally a thing you’d find in vegan cheese.
Here’s the funny thing though: I made this way back in mid-October and froze it for Thanksgiving. Then, when I served it as a pre-Thanksgiving dinner appetizer, my family, who loved it, quizzed me on what was in it, and I totally forgot about the whole pumpkin thing. I was all, “Oh, just the usual, some cashews, nutritional yeast…that kind of stuff.” It was definitely smoother and more orange than normal though, and I couldn’t figure out why! Then when I went to write this post, I referred to my trusty kitchen notebook, and there it was — pumpkin!
The other thing that’s different, though not so different for me, is the smoky flavor. (Here’s my other use of smoky vegan cheese on this site.)
I got it in my head that I needed to make a smoky vegan cheddar. At some point a few years back I had a regular old smoked cheddar and loved it, but since I gave up regular old cheese shortly after that, I haven’t had a chance to enjoy it. I’m also really into the whole flavoring up my food with liquid smoke thing. A lot. I’m sure you’ve noticed. (No apologies!)
So smoky vegan cheddar it was, and since the end-of-year holidays are just about upon us, I decided to get all festive with some herbs, which were delicious, even if I’m not the most skilled of herb-crusters. (I dressed up the wheel a lot for the pics. In real life it wasn’t quite as pretty.)
Since Thanksgiving is over, maybe you can make it for the end-of-year holidays. It’s perfect Christmas/New Year’s material — savory, creamy, (potentially) nice to look at, and perfectly spreadable on a cracker. What this is not, is sliceable. Maybe someday I’ll work on a sliceable vegan cheese recipe, but for now, I find the spreadable variety just as delicious, while requiring less fuss.
Herb-Crusted Smoky Pumpkin Vegan Cheddar Wheel
Ingredients
For the Vegan Cheddar Wheel
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours and drained
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil*
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt to taste, if needed
For the Herb Crust
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
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To make the vegan cheddar wheel, place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. Season the mixture with salt to taste.
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Line a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and then transfer cashew mixture to the cake pan, spreading it out evenly.
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Cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator until set (about 4 hours). It should be a bit firmer than your typical cream cheese.
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While the cheese wheel chills, combine the herbs in a small bowl.
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Invert the cheese wheel onto a dish and remove parchment paper. Press herbs onto the surface. Serve with bread or crackers.
Recipe Notes
I used unrefined coconut oil, and the coconut flavor was very subtle -- nobody could detect it until I pointed it out. If you want to avoid the coconut flavor altogether, use a refined coconut oil.
Hi. Do you think smokey paprika or chipotle powder would work here in place of liquid smoke?
Do you buy cashews in bulk? They are so expensive in the small bags.
Thank you.
I think the flavor would be a bit different, but still very tasty. I’d just add a bit at at time and taste test until you like it. :) And yes, they can be so expensive! I’ve found Trader Joe’s to have the best prices on cashews, so if you have one in your area I’d definitely check them out.
Some stores (in the bulk area) cashew pieces cheaper than whole cashews. I buy the pieces almost exclusively unless I need “pretty” cashews for a specific recipe.
Hi, do you need the crust? That’s $10 of herbs here. Would a reduction for dried work, or would it be better to coat it like a cheeseball with nuts? I feel like it would taste too nutty..
You could definitely coat it with nuts, or even a mixture of nuts and dried fruit. I did a couple of cheese ball recipes like that – here and here. The cheese itself doesn’t really taste nutty, so the nut crust wouldn’t make it taste too nutty as a whole.
I guess almond would be fine as well in this recipe? And in my zero waste mind, I wonder if I could use a cloth instead of parchemin paper?
The pumkin seems like a fiiiine idea!!
I’m not sure if almond would work – I always find that cashews blend up much smoother than almonds. And cloth should work just fine. Enjoy! :)
So, so good! I made a 1/2 batch since there are only 2 of us and glad I did because we put a serious dent in it all by ourselves. Looking forward to making pimento style sandwiches later this week. Thanks for the super cheezy recipe.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Carla!
I’m going to try this recipe. You said you’d made it and froze it. It’s a month before Christmas now; would it be better to make and freeze it, or to make it fresh? If it’s been frozen, do you then thaw it in the fridge over-night, or something like that? I’ve just begun to make purely plant-based recipes. I’ve never tried a cheese… so I’m curious.
I think it’s probably best fresh, mainly because of the herbs, but either way is totally fine – I’ve made and froze this a few times and it’s always excellent. :) And it’s best to thaw it in the fridge so it doesn’t soften up too much. Overnight should be plenty of time. I hope you enjoy it!
Maybe thaw it out then put the fresh herb crust on it afterwards…
LOVED IT my first vegan cheese recipe. I replaced the herb crust with a dried cranberry ( Craisins) and chopped up almonds crust and it was the perfect mixture
Yay!! Dried cranberries sound like a delicious way to switch it up!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This is the best home made vegan cheese I’ve ever tasted……and I’ve searched endlessly for many and made many! It’s skiceable and tasty and voted the best so far by the family. Oh… and I covered mine in chilli flakes. Thanks Alissa.
That sounds delicious!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Have you tried making a roll encrusting with smoked almonds?
I haven’t, but I think it would be delicious!
Can you use olive oil insteam of coconut oil?
The coconut oil helps the cheese to firm up, since it’s solid below room temperature. So you could use olive oil, but the cheese would be much softer and probably won’t hold it’s shape.