Easy Vegan Sunflower Seed Cheese
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This creamy vegan sunflower seed cheese is a simple nut-free cheese spread made with sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon juice, and chives. It’s tangy, savory, easy to make, and much more affordable than store-bought vegan cheese.
Unlike many vegan cheese recipes made with cashews or almonds, this sunflower seed cheese is completely nut-free, making it a great option for those with nut allergies or who need nut-free school lunches. Serve it as a spread, dip, or bake it for a warm appetizer with firmer texture.
This Almond Feta is a delicious dairy-free cheese, but having a nut-free vegan cheese option is helpful since so many people need or want to avoid nuts these days.
Sunflower seeds have a bit of a stronger flavor than almonds, but adding garlic and chives makes this cheese taste even more delicious.
Why You'll Love This Sunflower Seed Cheese
Here's why I think you'll love this recipe. It's
- a nut-free vegan cheese
- a super easy blender or food processor recipe
- cheaper than store-bought vegan cheese
- of course delicious
Ingredients
You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this creamy sunflower seed cheese. The miso and nutritional yeast are optional, but both add extra savory, cheesy flavor.
- raw sunflower seeds
- lemon juice
- extra virgin olive oil
- garlic
- salt
- chives (loosely chopped)
- miso (optional)
- nutritional yeast (optional)
Instructions
This sunflower seed cheese is very easy to make. Blend everything until smooth, then serve it right away or bake it for a slightly firmer texture.
- Add ingredients to blender or food processor.
- Blend or process to combine.
- Form and serve raw or bake in the oven (or put on the grill) for an even better result.
- Top with chopped chives if desired.
Serving Ideas
There are so many ways to enjoy this sunflower seed cheese. Try it as:
- a spread on wraps or flatbread
- a dip for vegetables
- a topping for burgers
- a spread for crackers
- a pizza topping
- an addition to salads like this broccoli salad or this spaghetti squash salad
- or a warm topping for main dishes like this Gluten-Free Chili Mac or this Gluten-Free Hamburger Helper
So many options!
Recipe Notes
- Note that the miso and nutritional yeast are optional. They add a nice extra flavor, but the sunflower cheese tastes great even without!
- Paleo : If you're eating paleo and are concerned about miso, you can leave it out, however some die hard paleo eaters do eat miso due to its stellar nutritional profile, including the fact that it is fermented.
- Soy-free: You can substitute chick pea miso for the soy miso if necessary.
- Storage: You should be able to store this vegan cheese in the fridge for about a week.
- Baking Notes: Baking the cheese isn't needed, but it will result in a firmer top and sides, which I personally love. It's a very spreadable cheese whether it's baked or not.
Other Vegan Recipes You'll Love
- almond feta – another fantastic dairy-free cheese.
- snickerdoodle cookie dough – a super fast sweet treat.
- vegan ranch dressing – tastes great on everything.
- dairy-free chocolate ice cream – super rich and so easy to make!
- dairy-free sugar-free whipped cream – a lovely topping for desserts and more.
Garlic and Chive Sunflower Seed Cheese (Dairy and Soy Free)
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup chives (loosely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon miso (optional)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
Instructions
- Soak sunflower seeds at least 8 hours or overnight (up to 24 hours) in water with 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Drain and rinse.
- Place the sunflower seeds and the remaining ingredients in a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
- While processing, you can stop every so often to scrape down the sides of the blender / processor if needed.
- Taste the mixture, and add more seasoning if desired.
- Form the cheese into whatever shape you'd like. You can free form it, make one or a few smaller wheels of cheese, or use a silicone mold to make it into any desired shape.
- Serve raw, or you can also bake this vegan cheese recipe for even better results. Following are the directions to do so.
- Preheat oven to 200F. Spread the mixture or form into a disk a parchment paper lined pan,approximately ¾ inches thick.
- Bake for about 40-50 minutes.
- Top with chopped chives, if desired.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
-
- Raw vs. Roasted Seeds: It's very important that you use raw sunflower seeds for this recipe. Roasted seeds will give it a completely different taste, and you likely won't enjoy it.
- Miso and Nutritional Yeast Options: While the miso and nutritional yeast are optional, they add a nice extra flavor.
- Paleo: If you're eating paleo, and are concerned about miso, you can leave it out, however some die hard paleo eaters do eat miso due to its stellar nutritional profile, including the fact that it is fermented.
- Soy-free: You can substitute chick pea miso for the soy miso if necessary.
- Storage: You should be able to store this in the fridge for about a week.
- Baking Notes: Baking the cheese isn't needed, but it will result in a firmer top and sides, which I personally love. Either way, this cheese will still be very spreadable.
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 how you like this sunflower seed cheese after you try it!
Hi Candace, Can you tell me where you get your sunflower seeds from. All the ones in the stores near me are all made in a facility with other nuts and my grandson is allergic to nuts. I think he would just love this recipe. Thank you
I get mine from Country Life Natural Foods. You might want to check them out.
Thanks for replying Adrienne. It’s unfortunate but I just checked out Country Life and they do process in a facility with peanuts and tree nuts. My search continues.
Their 25 pound bags are different. I would call them and ask. I have always purchased in bulk from them b/c of allergies, especially in years when we were worried about cross contamination. These years we are not as concerned about it but I still do it to save money almost all the time :).
Hi Laura,
Cross-contamination has not yet been an issue for us but I am getting more and more sensitive to things so I may have to find another supply. I am going to check into the big bags of Country Life and see. Thanks for the tip Adrienne!
I have been googling for a sunflower seed “cheese” for a couple of hours now, and you recipe looks great and manageable, yay! I just wondered if you know how long it will keep in the fridge? I have never made one before, and I wasn’t sure how long it keeps for.
Hi JJ,
I am so glad you found this recipe. It is super easy, especially with the Vitamix but I am sure it can work with other appliances. Honestly I keep this in the fridge for two weeks. There is no science behind this decision, that just seemed right to me. It does make a lot of “cheese” although I don’t think we’ve ever had any last two weeks. However, I might freeze some next time. I have not tried freezing but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. But to answer your question I say 2 weeks. Adrienne, how long do you say for your almond feta?
P.S. I am working on a fermented sunflower seed cheese…yum…I hope =).
I make no claims either Candace :). I haven’t made it in awhile and my son devours it whenever I make it. He is the one deathly allergic to dairy. :).
Thank you both for your replies 🙂
I have halved the recipe to start with, but after trying it, I don’t think it will hang around long enough to be stored for two weeks!
I might try making a bigger batch next time and freeze some.
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Great!!!
So glad you liked it JJ! If you do happen to freeze some before I do please let me know how it works out!
The sunflower chive &garlic cheese is so good we eat it on celery
I’m so glad you like it. I can’t believe I haven’t tried it on celery, what a great idea, thanks for sharing!
Quick question, how important is the lemon juice? Id love to make this more my multi allergic 1 year old and citric fruits are a no no. Thanks!
Hi Ashely,
Sorry for the delay. The lemon juice adds tang, so it might taste less “cheesy” without it. I have not tried it but perhaps some nutritional yeast or even some rhubarb juice would work as a substitute. Or even some water kefir or kombucha vingear! I am going to have to try that myself! I hope that helps!
I found this post through the Homestead Barn Hop at The Prairie Homestead. I can’t WAIT to make this cheese! It sounds delicious. Thanks for the great read!
I hope you enjoy it Raven!
Thanks for this!!! I’ve just never been able to make a good cheese substitute, I just can’t wait to make it 🙂
xo,
Cassidy
Hope you like it!!!
I had the same question as Joya, so I contacted Candace. She was so nice and got back to me right away. Here is her response: “Thank you for getting in touch with me. It looks like that direction is something that Adrienne popped in there and I can see why you are confused.
I do not soak and dehydrate first. I soak them overnight or up to 24 hours, rinse, and make the cheese. So just to be clear the seeds are wet when I do it. Maybe she knows something we don’t though!
I will talk to Adrienne to clear this up, thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I hope you enjoy the cheese! ”
I received a second email (wow, great follow-up!): ”
The recipe has been updated. Adrienne keeps soaked and dehydrated nuts and seeds on hand so that is where she was coming from. So glad you reached out.
Thank you again!”
I am so happy I found this recipe. Three people in our family must stay away from dairy. I can’t wait to try it!
Hope you like it! Let us know :).
Thanks for posting this Debbie!
Hi there! So when making the garlic & chive sunflower cheese, after you soak the sunflower seeds, should you then dehydrate them? Your ingredients say yes but your directions do not mention the dehydrating process…. Thank you!
I finally made some raw mayo, and love dips, so I had to pin this to my healthy eating board.
Ooh, raw mayo sounds great! I wonder if you blended some of that mayo with this recipe –might make a great party dip?
I need to try this! It really sounds tasty!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!