This ultra-versatile homemade Vegan Ricotta is perfect for lasagna, pizza, snacking, and more! It’s just as fluffy and creamy as the real thing and easy to make in a blender with 5 ingredients.
This is the best Vegan Ricotta recipe, and I don’t say that lightly!
Not only is it easy to make with 5 simple ingredients, but this vegan cheese is just as creamy, fluffy, and silky smooth as the real thing. One taste and you’ll be adding it to your pasta dinners, homemade pizzas, or enjoying it as a tasty snack!
What makes this vegan ricotta cheese so special is the base made from blended slivered almonds (or cashews). Simply throw them in a blender with the other 4 ingredients and your almond ricotta is ready.
The finished result is a versatile nut cheese that’s mild in flavor, creamy, light, and fluffy. It’s a must-have in my Vegan Lasagna, Stuffed Shells, and more!
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Raw slivered almonds – These are my favorite option here, but raw cashews work as well. Raw whole almonds do not work because their skins leave brown flecks in the cheese. If you have a nut allergy and can’t use either almonds or cashews, you can substitute a block of firm tofu for the nuts, and simply add water as needed to blend.
- Lemon juice – Try to use freshly squeezed lemon juice instead of the bottled stuff.
- Garlic powder – For just a hint of savoriness. A small clove of garlic works, too. Feel free to omit the garlic if you’re using the ricotta in sweet recipes.
- Salt – To round out the rest of the flavors.
- Water – This will prevent your cheese from being gritty or grainy. Blend the ingredients with only ½ cup of water to start, continuing to add more until the cheese is silky smooth but still rich and creamy.
How to make vegan ricotta
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Soak your almonds in hot water for 5 minutes or up to an hour to soften.
Add the almonds, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and some water to a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides every so often. You can technically use a food processor, but you won’t achieve that silky-smooth, fluffy texture. It will remain a bit grainy, which isn’t the end of the world, but it’s not nearly as good.
Keep blending until the cheese is fluffy and creamy, adding more water as needed to smooth out the consistency.
Once it’s to your liking, feel free to serve the cheese right away or take it up a notch by stirring dried oregano or basil into the batch. Enjoy!
Serving suggestions
This is a very versatile vegan cheese. It’s easy to cook with and can be used just like regular ricotta, but is still impressive and flavorful enough to serve as a simple snack with crudites.
For more ways to use vegan ricotta cheese, check out the ideas below:
- Lasagna – Use it as an alternative to the tofu-cashew ricotta in my Vegan Lasagna recipe.
- Pasta – Bake it into these stuffed shells or stir it into a bowl of cooked pasta noodles with lemon zest, spinach pesto, roasted vegetables, green peas, and/or wilted spinach. It’s also perfect for creamy pasta bakes.
- Grain bowls – Add a scoop to your favorite grain bowl.
- Toast – Ricotta toast is the best way to make breakfast feel extra special. Spread the cheese over a piece of toast, then top it with avocado slices, sun-dried tomatoes, sliced heirloom tomatoes, and/or fresh basil.
- Pizza – Dollop the ricotta on a homemade pizza before baking.
- Dipping – Enjoy the cheese as a snack with crackers, pita bread, or vegetables for dipping. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil or add a dollop of pesto sauce on top to take it up a notch.
- Dessert – Make the ricotta without the garlic (or replace the garlic with sugar), then use it as a filling in vegan cannolis, as a dip with berries and fruit, or spread it on regular toast or french toast with jam and berries or peach slices and balsamic reduction on top.
Frequently asked questions
You can, but the cheese won’t be as smooth or creamy. A high-powered blender really is the best tool to use because it pulverizes the almonds and yields silky smooth vegan cheese every time. It really is the key to the best ricotta!
Yes, you can make the vegan ricotta without nuts by substituting a block of firm tofu for the almonds/cashews.
The leftovers will stay fresh for up to 5 days. Keep them in a covered container in the fridge.
Yes, it freezes very well for about 1 month. Let it thaw in the fridge before using.
Want more vegan cheese recipes?
- Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Feta Cheese
- Vegan Mascarpone
- Shreddable Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Cheddar Cheese
- Vegan Cream Cheese
Vegan Ricotta
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder optional
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4-1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Quick soak the almonds: Bring a few cups of water to a boil (I use my tea kettle for this). Add the almonds to a measuring cup or bowl and pour the boiling hot water on top to cover. Let them soak for 5 minutes, or up to an hour.
- Blend: Drain the almonds and discard the soaking water. To a high powered blender such as a Vitamix, add the softened almonds, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and 3/4 cup of water. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add up to another 3/4 cups of water and blend until silky-smooth and fluffy.
- Optional herbs: Feel free to add more herbs here, such as a teaspoon each of dried oregano and basil, or a handful of fresh basil.
- Now it's ready to be used anywhere you like, such as in Vegan Lasagna, Vegan Stuffed Shells or dolloped on pizza before baking. Enjoy!
Notes
- Raw slivered almonds are my favorite choice, but raw cashews work as well. If you can’t have nuts, substitute a block of firm tofu, but add water only as need to blend until smooth.
- A high powered blender is essential for making a smooth and creamy ricotta. A food processor technically will work, but it might be grainy and not super smooth.
- May substitute a clove of fresh garlic instead of garlic powder, if desired. Leave out the garlic if you plan to use it in sweeter recipes, like for pancakes.
- Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in a covered container, or freeze if you won’t eat it all before then.
First of all, this is my ONLY site for vegan food!!! I write it down for people who doubt vegan food can taste good at all 🙂
Why is my ricotta not white? Because I used cashews?
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, Nora
Rita
Aw you’re so kind! Thank you. Yes, I have found it’s much whiter for some reason using slivered almonds. But cashews work well!
Can you use roasted salted cashews and omit or decrease the amount of extra salt or do they have to be raw?
Roasted and salted cashews will make the ricotta taste very nutty and super salty, so I would not use them. Raw cashews are almost buttery and creamy when blended, and very different from salted and roasted. You could try it, but I wouldn’t enjoy the flavor.
Is there something I can use besides cashews? I have a family member with allergies. Thanks in advance
Hi Norma. Raw slivered almonds are my favorite choice. If you can’t have nuts, substitute a block of firm tofu, but add water only as need to blend until smooth. I hope this helps.
Hi. Does using whole almond with their skins on ok? Will it change anything other than putting brown flecks in the finished product?
Thanks:)
It won’t get creamy and smooth, but will be grainy. Technically it works, but I wouldn’t enjoy it.
I was super skeptical, but Nora has never let me down. I cook from this sight due to food allergies with all my kids. How on earth did this taste better than ricotta? I was super surprised and Im very happy with all the foods we can add back into our diets. Thank you so much!
Thank you for your wonderful review, Holly! I’m thrilled you loved the ricotta!
How big are the servings? There are 8 servings, but I wanna know if i should make more or less for what I need. Thank you in advance! 🙂
The whole recipe makes almost 2 cups. Hope that helps!
By far the best vegan ricotta I’ve ever had! We made your Butternut squash lasagna tonight and it was so good! I can’t wait to use this ricotta recipe mixed with some homemade veggie sausage crumbles to stuff shells- Thank you!
You bet, Nicole! I’m thrilled you loved the ricotta! Your stuffed shells idea sounds amazing! I appreciate you taking time to share your fabulous review and feedback!
Hi Nora,
I wish I could rate this 6 stars ⭐️
I can’t thank you enough for this fantastic ricotta recipe! It is literally the best recipe that I have found for anything vegan. I appreciate your time creating, testing and sharing your wonderful recipes. I am so grateful for you because you have made it possible for me to re-create some of my daughter’s favorite Italian dishes that up until now I’ve been really hit and miss with all the other attempted vegan type cheese recipes. Such a game changer❤️ thanks to you my daughter can now enjoy siciliani ricotta cannolis, pretty good lasagna, cannelloni etc❤️🇮🇹❤️⭐️👏
Hi Mary. It is very awesome for you to take the time to recognize the time and work involved in creating recipes! This means a lot to me. I love that your daughter is now able to enjoy a variety of wonderful Italian recipes! Thank you for sharing your stellar review and feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
Do you think I could use whole raw almonds instead of slivered if I soak them for longer and remove the skins?
Yes, that should work.
Thank so much for sharing this. I needed for stuffed shells.
You are very welcome! Enjoy!
Could you use almond flour?
I don’t think almond flour would work here, unfortunately. You need blended nuts to get that crumbly, spreadable texture.
Fabulous recipe!!!! My fam is Italian so I’m sooo excited to finally have a wonderful ricotta recipe. Can’t wait to use for stuffed shells, manicotti, lasagna, eggplant etc!! I’m going to try it on pizza too….
Sounds like fun to make this for your family! Glad you love the ricotta! Thank you for sharing your terrific review!
I soak the almonds in boiling water, drain and then place in the food processor. It makes the texture smoother if you desire a less gritty consistency.
If making cannolis with this recipe shouldn’t I leave out the garlic? And substitute with sugar?
Yes, that’s what I would do I think. Hope it works well, I haven’t tried that yet!
I have made this Ricotta Recipes many times and it has turned out delicious ! Non Vegans have preferred my Vegan Lasagna over the Regular Dairy type when put side by side:)
I use it to Stuff Shells as well and as a dip.
For extra flavor I do soak my almond silvers in Garlic Salt, Sea Salt , Pepper, and all spice with adding lemon before I blend.
I also added a2 ounces of Tofu for more creaminess-easier to spread on noodles.
The Original recipe is a great starting point or good just as is. I appreciate your recipes so much! I am new to cooking
vegan and you have been a god send! Kat
Hi Kat. Welcome to vegan cooking! Thank you for sharing your ideas, and for your kind review! Enjoy the recipes, and thank you for using them! Happy cooking1
My mom is making lasagna for Christmas and my vegan boyfriend will be coming for dinner. I decided to make a personal lasagna for him, so I’m super glad this recipe exists! I made it just tonight and even after adding more water, it still wasn’t very creamy, so I added some unsweetened almond milk and it came out much better than before 🙂
Used in your lasagna recipe and worked out perfectly 🙂 Also used cashews as that was all I had on hand.
Have you ever substituted almond meal or almond four for the almonds?
I haven’t, so I’m not sure if it would work or not. Maybe?
This is a real surprise recipe. Love it. I couldn’t believe my eyes as it became a ricotta! I seasoned mine as you suggested, good call.
I’m so glad to hear it came out good!!
I am using the recipe with a pasta dish from NYT and this time added a shallot along with minced garlic. After those ingredients were incorporated, I chopped fresh mint and added it along with a dose of olive oil – sort of following the NYT recipe. My goodness it is good. 🙂
P.S. Of course I added the lemon juice as well.
No problems with the recipe, but, i would appreciate a more exact measurement of how much a recipe makes. You stated 8 servings but that doesn’t tell me enough. Thanks
It makes about 2 cups total, hope that helps!
Tastes great! I used almost a full cup of water to get it to blend in my Vitamix. I may have used too high of a setting though. Added a tsp. each of oregano and sage (using in your butternut squash lasagna recipe). Flavor and texture are wonderful. Thank you!
I’m glad it worked out in the Vitamix, it can get a little thick! Thank you, hope you enjoy the lasagna. 🙂
This was so easy and SO delicious. I needed to add a little more water than the recipe originally calls for but thats it. It was perfect! I added it to my pasta and tomato sauce. Looking forward to adding it to my lasagna next!
I’m so glad it was delicious!