This vegan ricotta is made with tofu, lemon juice and garlic is a creamy, fluffy, versatile plant-based cheese for your favorite Italian recipes. Whether it's lasagna, stuffed shells, manicotti and more, you can easily make all your favorites vegan!
Have you noticed a trend around here lately? I'm obsessed with all things comfort food. From slow cooker stews, amazing vegan pasta recipes, and even lasagna roll ups, cozy food is my jam.
One of my newest obsessions: recipes that use fresh ricotta. You know, things like lasagna, stuffed shells, stuffed mushrooms. Basically, anything that's stuffed with a cheesy filling, I'm here for it.
So much so that I decided I needed to finally create a post all about my homemade vegan ricotta recipe. This ricotta is quick to make, can be used 1:1 in nearly every recipe AND it's high protein because it's made with tofu.
How to Make Vegan Ricotta
This recipe couldn't be simpler to make. You will need a food processor, but you essentially just dump your ingredients in, whizz it up and you have your tofu ricotta. No straining, no draining, no waiting 24hrs. It's ready to use instantly!
And the ingredient list is simple as well. All you'll need is:
- Tofu: you can use super firm or extra firm. If you use anymore less firm than those, you'll want to reduce the amount of milk you use as those have more water (i.e. more liquid)
- Nutritional yeast: to give our tofu that “cheesy” flavor we're adding nutritional yeast. Taste it when it's done and free to go with even more if you want an even cheesier flavor.
- Non-dairy milk: you'll want a little liquid to get it smooth – any type will work, just make sure it's unsweetened.
- Lemon juice: lemon (and acid in general) brightens up the flavor of a recipe and gives the ricotta that “zing” or “tang” that you get from traditional ricotta.
- Olive oil: adding a little fat helps with the texture – you can leave this out, but I think since it's just a tablespoon, go for it 😉
- Spices: and for our flavorings, we're keeping it simple yet again. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano.
And that's all you'll need to make this fabulous recipe!
How to Store Tofu Ricotta
One of the other great things about this recipe is you can make it ahead if you want to meal prep a bit. This will keep in the fridge for 4 – 5 days, just keep it in a sealed container.
I recommend transferring the vegan ricotta into a container that fits the amount as close as possible (so not much air), to keep it as fresh as possible.
Can You Buy Vegan Ricotta Cheese?
If you're really not feeling like making your own ricotta, you can buy it at the store as well. The only brand I've seen (and liked) is Kite Hill. Their vegan ricotta is made from an almond base, so if you're allergic to nuts, it's not for you. It is delicious though!
But my guess is you wouldn't have landed on this page if you weren't interested in making your own ricotta. And once you do, you'll realize you won't ever need to buy store-bought again! This is so simple, so versatile, and super delicious.
Recipes that Use Vegan Ricotta Cheese
- Vegan Lasagna Roll Ups
- Easy Vegan Manicotti
- Vegan Zucchini Lasagna
- 5-Ingredient Vegan Spinach Lasagna
How To Make Tofu Ricotta
Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk of choice (make sure it's unsweetened)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon dried Parsley
Instructions
- Place the tofu on a paper towel-lined plate. With another paper towel or clean dish towel, press the tofu to remove some of the water.
- Crumble the tofu into a food processor and pulse together until crumbly. Add the remaining ricotta ingredients (minus the spinach) and pulse until mostly smooth.
- Use the ricotta as you would traditional dairy ricotta. Or store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.
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