Vegan Ricotta Recipe (7 Ingredients!)

GFGluten Free

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Made with only 7 plant-based ingredients, this Vegan Ricotta Recipe is easy, healthy, and delicious! Perfect for Lasagna, Stuffed Shells, and more.

“I would go Vegan, but I just love cheese too much.” If I had a dollar for every time I head that, I would be a very rich lady – but what if I told you you could make your own creamy, cheesy Vegan Ricotta and not know the difference?!

This plant-based ricotta cheese recipe is made from simple (and wholesome!) ingredients, and can be used in both sweet and savory applications. Think stuffed shells, lasagna, cannolis, and more!

Close up photo of vegan ricotta on white plate with gold serving spoon

INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN RICOTTA RECIPE

This Vegan Ricotta Cheese is made from only 7 plant-based and healthy ingredients, plus it comes together in just about 10 minutes! Plus it tastes so similar to the real dang thing, you probably won’t even notice it’s vegan.

Ingredients for vegan ricotta arranged on kitchen countertop. Clockwise text labels read cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, pepper, italian seasoning, salt, firm tofu, and lemon juice and zest

There are a few “secret” ingredients to this Vegan Ricotta, which revolve (1) texture and (2) taste.

  • For texture, we’ll use a combination of Firm Tofu for light-ness and Soaked Cashews for creaminess and densiry
  • For taste, we’ll use Nutritional Yeast for umami flavoring, plus some lemon juice and zest for tang.

This recipe also includes optional savory ingredients; if you’re looking for a plain (or sweet) ricotta you can simply leave them out, but the addition of garlic and herbs makes this plant-based cheese alternative even more delicious in savory recipes!

HOW TO MAKE DAIRY-FREE RICOTTA

Side-by-side photos of ricotta ingredients in a food processor before and after blending

This vegan ricotta recipe comes together with only 10 minutes of prep time! I love to use my food processor with its S-blade attachment to get a nice and fluffy texture, but you could also use a high-speed blender with a tamper and blend on high, scraping the sides occasionally with a spatula as needed.

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor
  2. Process or blend until light and fluffy,
  3. Use immediately, or store in the fridge for up to one week

Vegan ricotta spread on white plate, resting on a cutting board with fresh basil on the side

WAYS TO USE THIS RICOTTA RECIPE:

You can use this tofu ricotta in pretty much any application that calls for Ricotta Cheese, but here are a few other suggestions:

  • Pasta: you can’t go wrong with these Vegan Stuffed Shells! This Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta is also so creamy and delicious, or layer it in your favorite vegan lasagna.
  • Veggie-based dishes: if you follow a low-carb diet, try this ricotta in my Eggplant Lasagna, or these Vegan Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups.
  • BREAD! Dollop this ricotta over some toast with sautéed tomatoes or mushrooms – or put it on some pizza with sautéed spinach and basil (yum!)
  • Sweet Applications: stuff this ricotta inside cannolis, or spread it on sweet toast with fresh fruit or jam.

Vegan ricotta spread on white plate, resting on a cutting board with fresh basil on the side

Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂

Print

Vegan Ricotta Cheese Recipe

Made with only 7 plant-based ingredients, this Vegan Ricotta Recipe is easy, healthy, and delicious! Perfect for Lasagna, Stuffed Shells, and more.

  • Author: Caitlin Shoemaker
  • Prep Time: 10 Minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: ~3 cups
  • Category: Side
  • Method: No Bake
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 14 ounce (400 g) block firm tofu, pressed*
  • 1 cup (140 g) cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours*
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (see notes for “sweet” variation)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon salt 

Optional Savory add-ins:

  • 3 to 5 cloves garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder for a milder flavor)
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or other spices/herbs of choice)

Instructions

  1. Whip it Up: Set up a food processor with an S-blade attachment and add the tofu, cashews, lemon zest, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt. Add the garlic, black pepper, and Italian seasoning as well, if you are going for the savory version. Process the mixture for for 45 to 60 seconds, scraping the sides of the food processor with a spatula as necessary. The final mixture should be creamy and fluffy, with a slight texture that melts in your mouth. 
  2. Serve: Enjoy as-is as a dip, or use as desired in any recipe of choice! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Notes

  • Tofu: use a tofu-press if you have one, or wrap your tofu around a clean kitchen towel and place a heavy object on top. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, ideally. I prefer the softer texture of firm tofu for this recipe, but extra firm tofu will work as well.
  • Cashews: If you forget to soak your cashews ahead of time overnight, you can (1) cover them in boiling water and let sit for 20 minutes, or (2) cover them with water and microwave for 3 minutes, then let sit for 3-5 minutes before draining. If you have a cashew allergy, you can also replace the cashews with blanched slivered almonds, macadamia nuts, or pine nuts.
  • Nut-Free: double the amount of tofu, and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the mixture to keep the ricotta creamy. This version will be slightly less fluffy, but still delicious!
  • Sweet: you can use this ricotta in sweet applications as well, but reduce the nutritional yeast to only 1 tablespoon

Keywords: vegan ricotta, dairy free ricotta, vegan cheese recipe, vegan ricotta cheese

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This recipe was updated with new copy and photos 12/2022, but the original recipe remains the same.

About the Author

Hey there, I’m Caitlin! I make easy-to-follow, wholesome, and budget-friendly vegan recipes that are mostly gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I’m also an avid yogi, love the great outdoors, am chocolate-obsessed, and enjoy eating almond butter straight off of the spoon.

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Comments

  1. Made this yesterday in the Vitamix for a vegan lasagna and it worked out perfectly. Turned into a perfectly gooey cheesy sauce when baked! It was so easy. Thank you!

  2. This is so great! I love the texture of this; it really is so light! I don’t have a food processor, and was afraid I’d over blend it, so I blended everything but the tofu, and mixed it all together with a mixer to retain the grainy texture. I can’t wait to use this in all kinds of ways!

    1. Hi Grace! Yes, you can use all cashews – the texture will change slightly but it will still be delicious!

  3. Wow!!! Great recipe and I appreciate the tofu/cashew combo. Non vegan husband truly didn’t realize that this was non-dairy. A real HIT!

    1. This recipe is a lifesaver. I tried it out of desperation after I made a vegan lasagna with a store bought ricotta. The whole thing was practically inedible due to the store bought ricotta having a very weird and strong aftertaste that was similar to the flavor of blueberries. Does not work in a lasagna, and I never wanted to deal with that again. This was the first and only recipe I ended up trying. Your recipe is so easy and delicious, I’ll never even bother trying a store bought variety again, this is so perfect!! Thank you!

  4. I am not a vegan but love finding plant based alternatives. just made this for a Turkey eggplant lasagne and love the idea of a substitute for ricotta, which I find kinda sweet in lasagne. I usually use a mix of greek yogurt and cottage cheese but I love the idea of using nuts and tofu. I used a mix of sunflower and pumpkin seeds instead of cashews. Next time, I will just use pumpkin seeds since I find they taste the best. Thank you for a creative recipe.

  5. Super simple and so flavorful; I made a batch of this tofu ricotta for a vegan lasagna and it was great! I used the leftovers in a broccoli ricotta stuffed shell dish which was also delicious!

  6. This is the best Vegan Ricotta I ever made. I added a 14oz of firm tofu and an extra 1 tbsp of Nutritional Yeast. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I can see me making many other dishes sweet and savory.

  7. Really great recipe, thank you! I was looking for a lighter ricotta than just cashews and this is perfect! I did it just as written with the addition of 3cloves garlic and some crushed red pepper. Can’t wait to layer my lasagna!!!

  8. Love this ricotta! Very versatile and easy to use! Plus,it’s easy to change up the spices so you never get bored of it! I love it on lasagna, bagels, pizza, crackers- really anywhere you want a delicious herby/ creamy spread! It’s really good spread out then rolled up in tortillas and baked too! So delicious!

  9. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Made it for the first time the other day and it was a hit. Cheers! -Nicholas

  10. Made exactly as directed and used in my vegan lasagna, it was delicious. Actually I like it better than actual ricotta 🙂 Thank you for the lovely recipe!

  11. I made this the other day and used it in a Oaxacan farmer’s cheese pie, very nice. I saw you wrote it would last in the fridge up to a week. I made a bunch and need to keep it longer, so will try freezing it … ok? Bad idea? I don’t have much experience with tofu.

    1. Glad you liked it! Freezing tofu is totally a thing BUT it completely alters the texture. Think tofu chikn strips. For keeping it the way you know it now; a refrigerator is best. If you don’t mind a completely different texture when it comes out of the freezer then that’s cool – just want to give you a heads up!

      1. I thought I’d report back. I had approximately half of the recipe frozen for about 12 days. Thawed it up to use in a recipe (eggplant involtini) and the texture remained quite nice. I had pressed some plastic wrap against the top in the container, in case that helped prevent the top layer from toughening up too much. Anyway, I’d do it again! Making some more today, making polenta lasagna (@nytcooking) tomorrow.

  12. Am going to try this for first time. Adding some spinach and use in Portabella Mushroom large caps, topped with marinara sauce, as a main entry.

  13. Um, what do you mean by “pressed” when referring to the tofu? I am not familiar with pressing tofu. Please explain.

    1. Pressing tofu is a common practice. You can either use a tofu press or put the tofu on a plate, place another plate on top with something like a recipe book (or two) on top to press the tofu down and push the excess water out. Drain off the runoff occasionally over the course for 20-40 minutes.

  14. I made ravioli tonight with this as the filling (I stirred in some spinach.) WOW! This was great, and my decidedly non-vegan fiance said it was a really impressive substitute. This will be my go-to for shells/lasagna/tortellini in the future.

    1. That’s an awesome use for it! Thanks for sharing and glad you non-vegan fiance enjoyed it as well!

  15. Hi Caitlin ! I followed your recipe for this ricotta, I have to say I am very IMPRESSED ! I used it for cannelloni, by mixing the ricotta with some spinach. If I have not made it myself, I would have never been able to tell that this was fully vegan ! Thanks for this one, I will continue to discover your recipes 🙂