Close up, top-down view of savoury vegan cheese spread garnished with sweety peppers, garlic, and olives
January 20, 2024

Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

January 20, 2024

Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Close up, top-down view of savoury vegan cheese spread garnished with sweety peppers, garlic, and olives

Perfect for a dairy-free grazing platter, this Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread is an easy make ahead appetizer. With a mild umami flavour, you’ll love this savoury spread smeared over hearty crackers. It’s super easy to make too — just like our sweet vegan cheesecakes, all of the ingredients go straight into the blender. After that, it’s just bake, chill, and garnish if desired.

Ingredients

Ingredients for Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread: chickpeas, aquafaba, miso paste, olive oil, Mother Mix, salt
  • Cooked chickpeas: I unsalted cooked chickpeas.
  •  Aquafaba: This is the  liquid from the can, or from cooking the chickpeas. It’s called aquafaba and it’s a versatile egg replacer.
  • Miso paste: Miso is a fermented paste made from beans and grain. If you are gluten-free, please check the ingredients, as some misos are gluten-free and some are not. For this recipe, we used used amano genmai, or brown rice miso, which contains brown rice, soy beans, sea salt, water, and a culture. Even though the recipe requires only a tablespoon, it’s an important component, as it provides a tangy, funky, umami note. You'll find miso paste in the refrigerator at most well-stocked grocery stores or Asian markets. 
  •  Olive oil: Use a good quality olive oil. This adds some needed fat to the recipe.
  • Mother Mix: The Mother Mix is our DIY pantry staple for jump-starting creamy, dairy free recipes. It's made from just four dry ingredients: almond flour, nutritional yeast, tapioca starch and salt. Making a batch of Mother Mix takes about 3 minute as it's just stirring all the ingredient together. If you don't want to make a batch, the Recipe Card includes the equivalent ingredients.  
  • Salt: A little bit of salt enhances the flavours. 
Top-down view of savory vegan cheese spread, topped with olives, garlic, and sweet peppers

Visual Overview: Making Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Notes:

  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • You need a 4 1/2 inch springform pan for this recipe.

Step 1: Blend ingredients.

Toss the ingredients in a blender, blend until the chickpeas are fully pureed and everything is well-combined. 

Top-down view of blender with ingredients for making Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Making Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Top-down shot of mixed batter for Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread, in the blender

Making Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Step 2: Bake.

Pour the batter into a 4 1/2 inch springform pan. Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes. 

Top-down view of batter for Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread in springform pan

Making Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Top-down view of baked Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread in springform pan

Making Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Step 3: Chill then garnish.

Let cool and then chill in the fridge for a few hours before removing from the springform pan.

Once chilled, garnish as desired. We love it with topped with a mix of different coloured olives and tangy tiny Peruvian cherry peppers (also called Sweety Drop peppers). You could also use caramelized onions, roasted garlic, or roasted red peppers. 

Top-down view of Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread, garnished with olives, pickled peppers, roasted garlic, and thyme.

Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Pin for Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

Recipe Card

Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread

5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Perfect for a dairy-free grazing platter, this Savoury Vegan Cheese Spread is an easy make ahead appetizer. Garnish with olives, roasted or pickled peppers, caramelized onions, etc and serve alongside some hearty crackers.
Servings 12
Calories 74 kcal
Author Sylvia

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 3 tablespoons aquafaba (the liquid from canned or cooked chickpeas)
  • 1 tablespoon miso (We used brown rice miso which is gluten-free. Not all miso is gluten-free, so check before using.)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup Mother Mix

Optionally, if you don't have the Mother Mix:

  • 1/2 cup almond flour (also called ground blanched almonds)
  • 1.5 tablespoons tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (add more to taste)

Optionally, for garnish

  • mixed olives, roasted peppers, Peruvian or Sweet Drop peppers, sundried-tomatoes, roasted garlic, etc.

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Put all ingredients in blender and blend until the mixture is a thick and the chickpeas are completely incorporated. Pour into a 4 1/2 springform pan and bake at 350F for about 25 minutes.
  • Let cool and refrigerate for a few hours before removing from the pan.
  • Garnish with your choice of olives, pickled or roasted peppers, Peruvian or Sweety Drop peppers, roasted garlic, fresh thyme leaves, etc.
    Serve with hearty crackers.

Notes

Storing

This will keep well in the fridge for at least 3 or 4 days.

Is Miso Gluten-Free?

If you are gluten-free, please check the ingredients, as some misos are gluten-free and some are not. For this recipe, we used used amano genmai, or brown rice miso, which contains brown rice, soy beans, sea salt, water, and a culture.

Nutritional Information

Nutrition information is an estimate only and does not include garnishes. 

Nutrition

Calories: 74kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

Courses, Cuisines, and Keywords

Course
Appetizer
Cuisine
American
Keywords
dairy-free appetizer
|
grazing platter
|
savoury vegan cheesecake
|
vegan appetizer
|
vegan cheese

Comments

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Recipe Rating




    1. Hi Pia – I haven’t tried that, but you could certainly give it a go – it uses almond flour, which is very finely ground almonds, so you would need to turn your seeds into flour. If you try I’d love to hear the results.

  1. 5 stars
    I finally made this for a work potluck mental health hour. It was a hit! Super easy and relatively quick to prepare. You could switch up the toppings for a different feel. I used olives and mini pickled peppers this time. My husband got the leftovers and suggested caramelized onions for next time. Yum!

  2. Would it work to add some veggies? Like cauliflower, or broccoli florets to the mixture? Or, something else, for some texture? Thanks

    1. Hi Zita – Usually I garnish this with olives, roasted peppers, or caramelized onions/garlic. I haven’t tried adding veggies to it, but you could give it a try. It sounds like you might be looking for something more like a quiche recipe though – this is meant to be cream-cheese like spread for crackers.

      1. Thanks, Sylvia! I was actually looking for a savory cheesecake, the title got me confused. Like a cheesecake, but not sweet, instead salty and with vegetables

        1. Hi Zita – Yes, I can see how that might have been confusing. This recipe was difficult to name. I appreciate your feedback and will look at a title change for the recipe, maybe something like Baked Vegan Cheese Spread?

  3. 5 stars
    thank you so much – finally tried it and added a couple of mexican spices and topped it with avocado and pico de gallo – it was ooooo good. You are so creative <3

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Hello!


We're creating a course: Baby Steps to Plant-Based Eating

Yes, seriously. Trying a plant-based diet can be overwhelming and we'd like to help. 

This course is for you if: 

  • you're curious about plant-based eating, but don't know where to start 
  • you have family or friends who eat plant-based and you'd like to be able to cook for them
  • you've dabbled with plant-based cooking, but would like to expand your repertoire 

Baby Steps to Plant-Based Eating will: 

  • answer your pressing questions
  • cultivate your confidence 
  • arm you with recipes

Want to learn more?  

Join our email list for updates about the course launch. You'll also get priority access to new recipes, and other subscriber privileges.