Almond Feta Cheese--Only 5 Ingredients
You only need 5 simple ingredients to make this delicious Almond Feta Cheese. It tastes amazingly like the "real thing" and pairs perfectly with crackers or veggies and even doubles as a tasty spread.
You'll love it whether you're avoiding dairy or not!
This recipe for almond feta cheese makes it easy to get the great flavor of feta cheese that you love--without the dairy.
Now, I am not opposed to dairy, per se, but my son has a life-threatening allergy to cow's milk, so it is not an option for him. This is one of his favorite things that I make with our raw almonds and boy, is he thrilled anytime I make it and I think you'll love it too.
This recipe is a slight modification from one by Ricki Heller, a great sugar-free and gluten-free blog.
It's quite good whether baked or not. In fact, we almost never bake it. We just eat it as is.
Should You Use Blanched Almonds to Make Almond Feta?
The original recipe for this vegan cheese called for blanched almonds.
You can use blanched almonds to enhance the color of the finished product (it will look white, like feta, but in order to blanch almonds, you need to boil them, which causes them not to be raw anymore.
Almost all almonds in the U.S. are not raw (in fact, even if your almonds are labeled "raw," they almost certainly are not), but I coordinate a large purchase of raw almonds in the early winter months every year so mine are truly raw.
In any case, to keep the enzymes intact in my soaked and dried almonds, boiling them is not a great option, and since the recipe tastes great without blanching, I am all for saving time and effort.
I am sure that there is a slight variation in the taste, but I think the nutrition boost and time savings counteract any loss there.
This would be a great spread on Focaccia Flax Bread, plain or served as a sandwich with grated carrots on it or served with fresh vegetables. Yum!
Almond Feta Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups almonds
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 12 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (only 6 tablespoons are required; up to 6 additional tablespoons can be used for drizzling)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- dried parsley (or other herb to taste; fresh parsley can be used as well)
Instructions
- Soak almonds overnight or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse.
- In a high-powered blender (like the Vitamix), blend the almonds, lemon juice, 6 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, and salt until very smooth. Alternatively, you can use a food processor, processing as long as is necessary.
- Preheat oven to 200F. Line baking pan with parchment paper. Spoon the cheese onto the parchment and shape into a disk approximately ¾-inch thick.
- Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the top is stiff and dry. Cool and chill if you would like to serve it cold, or for a warm cheese dish, immediately top with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with herbs.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
I'd love to hear what you think about this---let me know by commenting below!
Can I use almond meal/flour to avoid the soaking and blending of whole almonds?
Ooh that is a very good question. I poked around online and you could try - I'm not sure about the amount but I'm thinking 2/5 of a cup perhaps? It's hard to sort out. Maybe try less and see if it's too wet - would love to hear how it goes!! I might have to try this!
Fantastic recipe. I'll absolutely be making it again. I put a bit of nutritional yeast into it thinking it'd help, and it's still great, but it actually ruined the 'feta' taste - won't be making that mistake again.
So glad you enjoyed it! Yeah that pesky nutritional yeast thing.....good but not always!
Love the idea of making my own cheese since I am dairy free and don't like some of the ingredients in grocery df cheeses. I am wondering, does this homemade cheese melt like regular cheese? What kind of recipes do you use it in?
Hi there. It could melt a little but not that much. I have personally mostly used it on crackers, alone, or on salad, etc like this recipe: https://wholenewmom.com/brussels-sprouts-salad/
I would like to work on more recipes like this so stay tuned!
Is there any way around using the citrus? My son and I have histamine intolerance issues so try to avoid citrus. Thanks!
I think you could try some apple cider vinegar perhaps but it will be a different flavor. Hmmm..that's a histamine problem as well. I see people w/ histamine issues saying that this kind of cheese is great for them b/c it isn't fermented. I can't think of another option.
you dont have to boil them to get the skins off, if you soak them overnight they will just pop right out of their skins, its a little time consuming but if you want to keep it a raw cheese then there is a way! 🙂
Nice - thanks!
Thanks for the recipe! Can you recommend to someone in Canada where they could buy truly raw almonds? A suggestion to a good online company would be so great!
Sorry, I'm not sure of one.