Maybe I should call this life-changing Vegan Millet Cheese…
Vegan Millet Cheese is next level amazing. First, it’s cheap. Second, it’s very easy to make. And finally, but most importantly it tastes unbelievably good. Since this cheese is nut-free, it’s also good for all of you with nut and seed allergies. I’m so excited for you to try it!
Listen, I love cashew-based vegan cheeses. I really really do. But cashews are expensive, and I also have some concerns over the ethics of buying cashews. I won’t say I’m ready to give up my cashews fully yet, but in the last times I started to experiment more and more with other options.
I really like to use tofu as feta cheese, and for cream cheese. Soy or coconut yogurt makes also a great cheese spread. Or even better, tempeh! Almonds are nice for harder cheese types, like feta or my smoky cheese. And one of my new favorites is using sunflower seeds as a base.
However there’s one thing I like nowadays even more than sunflower seeds:
Millet.
Believe me or not, millet is a magical ingredient to create vegan cheese!
The genius idea wasn’t mine, so I will not take credit for it. One of my blogger pals, Nóri made this epic vegan camembert a few years ago. Check out the pictures there (unfortunately it’s all written in Hungarian). Can you even believe it? Absolutely incredible, isn’t it? 😍
Though I never tried making her camembert, I had to instantly steal her idea of using millet as a base. It’s so good! Since she posted that recipe I’ve been making millet cheese constantly.
I love that it’s budget-friendly. Plus in my case it is very easy to buy locally grown millet which makes things even better. It’s also a very simple, but perfectly customizable recipe. So your options here are pretty much endless.
The base of the cheese is some overcooked millet and melted refined(!!!) coconut oil. That’s what you flavor with nutritional yeast, lemon juice or vinegar, salt, miso, and flavorings of your choice. Blend it all into a creamy mash, push into small ramekins, and soon you’ll end up with this stunning cheese.
Okay, but how does Vegan Millet Cheese taste?
Honestly, it depends on you.
First of all, the cheese will taste very different after 1 hour, 4 hours, 12 hours, 3 days, and a week. Right when you make it, it’s basically just a flavored millet puree. Edible, but not very exciting.
After an hour, your cheese will set and you can remove it from the ramekin. It will be a little more cheesy as time goes by, but the real good results will come after 2-3 days and more. Of course, you can eat your cheese after about 4 hours already, but you’ll miss out on the real, good, ‘aged’ flavors.
As time goes by, the texture of the cheese will also change a lot. In the first 24-48 hours your Vegan Millet Cheese will stay on the softer side, but after 2-3 days, it will get harder and in general it will have a better texture.
FYI the pictures here are of a fresh, about 8 hours old cheese. It’s still very soft. I always wanted to photograph an aged cheese for you, but it’s too dangerous that we’ll eat the cheese before I’m able to take pictures. So I felt it’s better to be safe than sorry. Right?
The other thing what will make a huge difference is how you flavor your cheese. I wanted to share with you the base recipe here today, but it’s best to flavor your millet cheese to your liking.
Some of my favorite versions you could try:
- minced fresh garlic, roasted garlic, chopped chives, caramelized onions
- extra hot or mild chili powder, chopped fresh chili, Sriracha sauce
- fresh or dried green herbs
- chopped sun-dried tomatoes, or olives
- smoked paprika, smoked salt, or liquid smoke
- curry powder, turmeric, fenugreek, ground coriander and/or ground cumin
- cracked black pepper, rose pepper, or lemon pepper
- chopped dried cranberries, figs, or dates
You can also experiment with the amount of coconut oil here. You can go with anything between 1/4 cup to 2/3 cup. Just make sure you use refined coconut oil, otherwise you’ll end up with something that tastes way too much coconut-y.
Use vinegar instead of lemon juice, if you prefer. And of course feel free to add more nutritional yeast.
If you like your Vegan Millet Cheese with a little bit of texture, don’t blend it 100% smooth. Or blend it into a silky smooth mixture, both works. I like to use my food processor or blender for this, but an immersion blender is fine too.
Okay, that was all, it’s time for the recipe finally! As I always say, don’t be afraid to play around with the recipe! I know you’ll make something amazing. Can’t wait to hear your feedback about my Vegan Millet Cheese. ❤️
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎
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Vegan Millet Cheese
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 cheeses 1x
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup/150 g millet
- 2 cups/450 ml water
- 1/4–1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup/90 g melted refined coconut oil
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1.5 tsp white or brown miso
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2–4 capsules vegan probiotic (optional)
- flavorings of your choice (see notes above)
Instructions
- Rinse millet thoroughly, then add to a pot with 2 cups (450 ml) water and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook millet on for about 20 minutes, or until millet is very soft, and slightly overcooked. Stir it occasionally to avoid sticking and burning.
- Meanwhile melt coconut oil, and have the rest of the ingredients prepared. Both millet and coconut oil has to be hot/warm when making the cheese, otherwise they won’t combine.
- Add hot(!) millet, melted coconut oil, nutritional yeast, miso, lemon juice, and probiotics to a blender or food processor, and blend to combine. You can leave a little texture, if you prefer, or blend it very smooth.
- Adjust seasoning with salt and/or lemon juice, if needed. If planning to add extra flavors to your cheese, add those now too, and blend again to combine.
- Prepare two small ramekins by brushing them with coconut oil. Pour the millet mixture into the ramekins, and slightly press down, and smooth out the top.
- Place cheeses in the fridge for 1-3 hours, until they set. Once cheeses harden, carefully flip them using a small plate. Remove extra oil with a paper towel or kitchen towel, if too greasy.
- Cover cheeses with a bowl (or anything that’s not tight), and place back in the fridge. You can eat the cheese after 4-12 hours already, however it’s best to let it age.
- Flip cheeses every day. Vegan Millet Cheese will start to taste tangier and the texture will get harder after 2-3 days. It’s best, after about one week. Once desired taste and hardness is reached, wrap cheeses in parchment paper. It will keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
An interesting way to use millet…
I know, right? 😛
Does it melt when using in a casserole?
Would like to know if the cheese melts when used in a casserole?
Hey,
I tried putting this on pizza before, and it didn’t melt. I used thicker/bigger slices, and they just hardened slightly. It wasn’t bad, but definitely not melty.
I didn’t try grating it though, so it might works.
Let me know if you experiment with it 🙂
It looks amazing. I wouldn’t have thought of using millet for a vegan cheese. I’ve seen so many wonderful cheese recipes. I need to make one of them.
I really hope you’ll try this, Anca 🙂
Just made it …tastes awesome…am really pleased. I don’t have pro-biotic capsules…but used 1 tablespoon of sauerkraut juice and a bit of sauerkraut. Also added a bit of tumeric for color. I only have dark brown miso…so the cheese is a bit darker orange…but tastes really good…Doesn’t matter to me if it does not melt…will use it crumbled in salads or on bread for sandwiches…will wait until tomorrow to try it out. Looking forward to it…thank you for the recipe.
Yay, I’m super happy to hear you liked the cheese, Chris!
The sauerkraut juice is such a great idea, gonna try it next time, thanks for the tip 😉
is there a way to make it without the coconut oil? I’m allergic
Hi!
Unfortunately I can’t think of any other oil, that’s both neutral tasting and hardens like coconut oil. Shea butter and cocoa butter harden similarly, but those have a strong taste, so I don’t think they’ll work. 🙁
Olive oil hardens in the fridge
For me olive oil never hardens in the fridge. But let me know if you have any success with it, I’d love to hear about your experience 😊
If you want to swap oils you may need to add a firming agent like Agar Agar, kappa carrageenan, or like a cooked starch of some kind along with the liquid oil. But its totally possible! Just Be sure to activate the Agar properly by boiling. Kappa may need this step as well but you may also be able to get away with just adding the Kappa to the hot mixture, I’ve had mixed results with not thoroughly heating Kappa the same way as Agar, they both kinda need to be heated/boiled.
This sounds very promising, thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi, try using clariifed butter or ghee
Makes really great vegan cheese. We love it! – How do I store the cheese after a week? I just kept it covered on a plate and it started getting mouldy 9 days after I made it.
Hey Ingrid,
I’m so glad to hear you liked it!
I store the cheese either in a small airtight container after the aging process, or I wrap it in reusable (vegan) wax wrap. A cheese storage paper would work well too, but I don’t have such a thing 😉
is it ok to use rejuvelac instead of probiotics? and how many spoons? 2-3 …
thank you
Hi Maria,
I never made it with rejuvelac, but I think it would work too.
You have to experiment with the measurements though. Just make sure you don’t add too much extra liquid, otherwise the cheese might not hold together.
Let me know how it works with rejuvelac, I’m very interested 🙂
Hello I really want to try this cheese but I don’t want to use coconut oil because somtimes monkeys are used to take the coconuts down the trees… Have you an alternative? Thanks 😀
Hi there!
Unfortunately I don’t think there is any alternative for coconut oil here. However there are some brands, that don’t use monkeys.
For example if you are in Germany, I can recommend Dr Goerg’s coconut oils. 🙂
Otherwise you could try one of these coconut free recipes:
Raw Vegan Cashew Mozzarella
Vegan Tofu Feta Cheese
Walnut and Herb Vegan Cheese
Smoky Chili Almond Cheese
Baked Almond Feta
Let me know if you try any of the recipes 🙂
Hi…Great idea.I cannot find millet where I am.Can I use Quinoa instead?
Hey Elham,
I don’t think quinoa will work the same way as millet here unfortunately. Millet fully soaks up all the oil, and can be blended very creamy. I imagine quinoa would have more texture after blending, like in this recipe.
However if you decide to experiment with a quinoa version, let me know, would love to hear about your experience. 🙂
New to vegan cheese making and this REALLY impressed us.
Added cumin seed to one half and plain for other half.
Aged it for 5 days until the outside formed a nice hard rind.
Slices wonderfully and tastes great. Nice option from other much more expensive nuts and seeds. Thank you.
Hey Donna,
Thanks for your lovely feedback, I’m really glad to hear you liked the recipe.
Adding cumin seeds is such a cool idea 👌
This is my favourite vegan cheese at the moment, thanks
I’m glad you like it, Kate 🙂
Made this last night. It tastes very good.
I’m happy that you liked it 🙂
Hi, I wanted to know why my “cheese” has spread?
Hi,
Do you mean it melted, and didn’t hold it’s shape?
You have to work really fast with this recipe, otherwise the oil and millet can separate.