This vegan ricotta cheese is rich, creamy and a little bit sweet — just like traditional dairy ricotta. Using almond flour instead of whole nuts is the secret to making this ricotta in mere seconds. Coconut milk (or cream) adds richness and texture, while just a pinch of sugar adds the right amount of sweetness. “What do I do with it?”, you ask. So many things! Vegan ricotta cheese makes a perfect spread for your breakfast toast. You’ll love it paired with jam, fresh fruit like in our Dairy-Free Fruit Parfait, Maple Rhubarb Compote or Triple Berry Sauce. And, let’s not forget savoury recipes like lasagna — check out our plant-packed Green Lasagna.
About Ricotta Cheese
Traditional, dairy-based ricotta is soft and slightly sweet. Technically it’s not a cheese at all, but a dairy by-product. Italian in origin, ricotta is a versatile cheese that’s used in both savoury and sweet dishes. On the savoury side, it’s used in lasagna, ravioli, and other pasta recipes, and it pairs well with tomatoes, peppers, spinach, zucchini, and eggplant.
Ricotta’s also an ingredient in sweet dishes, such as cheesecake or pancakes. It pairs beautifully with fresh or stewed fruit (try it with Maple Rhubarb Compote) or fruit sauces, like our Triple Berry Sauce. For a simple but elegant breakfast or brunch, spread vegan ricotta on fruit and nut bread, sprinkle with lemon zest, pistachios or other nuts, and drizzle with your favourite liquid sweetener.
Ingredients
This vegan ricotta contains just four ingredients, coconut milk or coconut cream, almond flour and an optional pinch each of salt and sugar. The coconut milk or cream gives it body, the sugar a bit of sweetness, the almond flour provides flavour and texture, and the salt enhances the flavours.
Coconut Milk or Coconut Cream
You can use either one of these for the recipe. When you buy a can of coconut milk, you’ll often get both the milk and the cream. The cream is the thick layer at the top of the milk. If you use just coconut cream, your ricotta will be a bit sweeter and richer, but it will work either way. See the Recipe card below for quantities, as you’ll need less coconut milk compared to coconut cream.
Almond Flour
Almond flour is just blanched almonds, ground super-fine. Many dairy-free ricotta recipes start with blanched almonds or whole cashews, which require soaking and blending time. Using almond flour is a major time-saver – it’s what allows us to make this recipe in under a minute!
Using almond flour is a major time-saver – it’s what allows us to make this recipe in under a minute!
No Nutritional Yeast!
Unlike many vegan ricotta cheese recipes, this recipe doesn’t contain any nutritional yeast. While nutritional yeast is one of those go to’s when looking to replace dairy cheese, it’s not necessary here as dairy-based ricotta tastes nothing like cheddar cheese or other similar types of mold-ripened cheeses. If you’ve tasted dairy ricotta, you’ll know that it’s soft and slightly sweet, the other end of the spectrum when compared to cheddar cheese.
Making Vegan Ricotta Cheese
Making this vegan ricotta cheese is so simple – you just need a bowl, a fork, and measuring cups. Using a fork, mix/mash the coconut milk/cream, almond flour, sugar and salt together. Adjust the ratio of milk/cream to almond flour as necessary. That’s it!
Optional Add-Ins
Depending on how you are going to use your vegan ricotta, you could add in other flavourings as well – a little bit of lemon zest, some vanilla, or additional sugar.
Eating Together Made Easy
This recipe is 100% plant-based so it’s suitable for all eaters. You can use it to replace dairy-based ricotta in both sweet and savoury dishes. If you’re making a recipe for a mixed group of eaters, you can swap out dairy-based ricotta with this vegan ricotta one for one. We’ve got a delicious Green Lasagna that can be made vegan or vegetarian, just by swapping out the ricotta.
Related Recipes
- Bought some almond flour to make this? Use some of it to make the Mother Mix – this DIY pantry staple jumpstarts 15 dairy-free, vegan comfort food recipes.
- Love the idea of a recipe that you can make in 60 seconds? Try our Vegan Bacon Bits.
- Looking for other breakfast ideas? Maybe you’d like this Blood Orange Breakfast Salad. or our Dairy-Free Fruit Parfait.
Let’s Make Vegan Ricotta!
Vegan Ricotta Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut cream {or 2 tablespoons coconut milk}
- 1/4 teaspoon salt {omit if using for sweet recipes}
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. If the ricotta is too runny, add a little bit more almond flour until you achieve the desired consistency.
Notes
About Almond Flour
Almond flour is just very finely ground blanched almonds. You will see it under different names, but just make sure you are getting skinned, ground, blanched almonds. I used Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour. (This is not a sponsored post.) Substitutions for Coconut Milk or Cream If you would prefer not to use coconut milk, you can substitute almond milk. This will obviously remove the coconut taste, and will also reduce the calories. Start by mixing in 1 tablespoon of almond milk and then add another as needed.Storage
You can keep this stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.Nutritional Information
Nutritional information is an estimate only, using coconut milk.Nutrition
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4 comments
Luscious – fast and family-friendly
Thank you!
Loved the Creamy texture. Paired well with fresh raspberries on toast.
Thank you! That sounds like a delicious combo!