Creamy Almond Feta Cheese–Only 5 Ingredients
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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, who has a lot of great gluten-free and sugar-free recipes.
This almond feta is 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 just choose not to do it.
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. You might wish to add the salt gradually to adjust to taste. 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
I'd love to hear what you think about this—let me know by commenting below!
Hello,
the only nut my kids can have is cashew, and a very little hazelnut/pecan. Does anyone have any experience with those before I possibly spoil the raw materials by trying?
Thanks
Cashew makes a very nice dairy free cheese. I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but I think it would work. This recipe has a link to a very nice cashew cheese. https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/low-carb-lasagna-zucchini-lasagna/
Hi Adrienne,
I am a die hard dairy (especially cheese) fan from Wisconsin who now lives in Denmark, Europe. I have recently found that I have an intolerance to dairy :(. I have 3 questions. The first, what makes raw almonds a better choice? The second, have you heard of any raw almond providers in Europe (so we have the same risks)? And thirdly, can you freeze this cheese? Thanks! Kirsten
Raw almonds will have the enzymes intact. I have no idea about the raw almonds in Europe but I suspect they are more prevalent. I do think freezing will work fine – hope that helps!
Hi Adrienne,
This is truly an awesome recipe! I use it in some other recipes such as salads, I was wondering if you mind if I post a link to this page when I include your almond feta in some other recipes I make? Thanks!
You may of course post a link- just please don’t post the recipe. Thank you! So glad you like it!
This looks like a yummy recipe!
I am a little curious about the baking while you want to keep the almonds raw?
I have a raw cookbook that has a recipe for blanched almonds. After soaking place the almonds in boiling water for 7 seconds then plunge into ice water immediately. You can then peel the skins with ease. I am sure that raw food purists would find this method not up to scratch. I prefer to eat my nuts/seeds raw but I do use this method with almonds because it makes them very quick and easy to peel – the skins just pop off when you pinch them, once you get the knack of it you can do it very fast. The almonds do tend to shoot out of their skins so I recommend doing this into a bowl that has been placed in the kitchen sink. It makes a much smoother almond milk/cream (but I don’t have a high powered blender). I’m not sure if this amount of time would cook the almonds or just soften the skin – I am sure they would not be consider 100% raw anymore but they taste raw and it’s totally worth it to me 🙂
I don’t think they’d like that method either. Raw foodie purists won’t like baking it so just don’t :).
Hi, I was excited to see almond feta cheese, so I will try this. I’m currently buying Almond mozzarella cheese and almond cheddar at my local health food store. I would love to save on making my own. Do you have a recipe?
Thank you for all that you do. I love all the good advice and experience that you are bringing to my table!
No, I don’t. Sorry but you can try google. I am sorry it’s so late. Swamped here.
Hi Adrienne!
I’d love to know your source for the raw almonds. I’m part of a co-op in WI and we are looking for raw nuts in bulk. Please share!!!
I can’t share publicly. I don’t know if I will do it this year but you can email me. I am swamped though so please be patient.
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! I’m thinking of adding some Mediterranean herbs to the “cheese” making it into crumbles and dehydrating for a little while to remove some of the moisture. Yummy! My question is, you stated you didn’t want to blanch the almonds to remove the skin because they would no longer be considered raw, but doesn’t baking it expose the almonds to the higher temperatures associated with the breakdown of raw enzymes? Thanks for all the info & amazing recipes, your blog is packed with great information for newbies like me 🙂
Yes, you are right about the baking. I have never baked this dish – basically my son and hubby eat it before I can even do that :). Thanks for the kind words – I’ve gotten so many sweet comments today and it’s been a rough day. Bless you!
This recipe looks great! Im in south Texas and don’t have great resources when in comes to anything “raw” or organic. I and curious about the almonds you buy. Im unfortunantly too far away to be in your coop, but I didn’t know if it was something I could somehow get down here.
Hi! Did you see the Just Almonds ad in my sidebar? They are good for sure. I have sent the across country before. Email me and maybe we can figure something out :-).
Adrienne,
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It is so good. I am just beginning with Gluten-free/casein free cooking and my son wants cheese so bad. This recipe really helps. Great in Greek Salad.
Just a tip that it is not necessary to boil the almonds to remove the brown skin. After soaking them it slips off really easily just squeezing them between your fingers.
Thanks again,
Frances
So happy to hear! My son has been begging me for another cheese recipe so I hope to work on another one. Love your email addy. I call myself Kanga to my son’s Roo sometimes :-).
Here are 2 other nut cheese recipes for you to try…I know cashews are not the greatest but it turns out really smooth and nacho flavored, the macademia is great too but gives more of a cheddar flavor and not quite as smooth.
(blog is gone so links were removed by blog owner)
Hope you enjoy!
I LOVE cashews but my son is allergic. Thanks!
Yes, it was very good; and yes I use Nutritional Yeast – on popcorn. Speaking of popcorn, I made the Popcorn Herb Spice (without Lavendar). It is something I may have to develop a taste for. But. . . I do like Nutritional Yeast on popcorn. Sorry, I don’t have a recipe for you to make NY cheese. I mostly stay away from dairy; it helps me snore, so I look forward to your adventure and magic in developing some Nutritional Yeast Cheeses.
Sorry about the popcorn. You may like the other one better (special seasoning). I really like that one and it you mix them together it’s great too. Now that I’ve had the other one I don’t like the Herbes de Provence as well, but boy did we like it at first. I think we like either. I have a fruit dip I hope to post soon, but I have to work on a family project tomorrow so not sure when I’ll get it posted. A little too much going on here :-).