*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »
Bang! Say hello to your new go-to for all things cheesy: you have stumbled upon the vegan cotija cheese recipe of your dreams that my readers have been freaking out about! Here's the straight facts: it takes hardly any time to make, requires just six ordinary ingredients, and has the perfect Mexican cheese flavor with no cholesterol.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Nothing to change here. Almonds, pickle brine, coconut oil, nutritional yeast and lemon are all naturally gluten-free.
Make a batch and freeze it. It keeps a week in the fridge and 3 months frozen, so it's ready to sprinkle whenever tacos happen.
Grab slivered almonds from the bulk bins instead of tiny bagged packs, and save the brine from your last jar of pickles. That's free flavor.
Go easy on the salt and lean on extra lemon juice and nutritional yeast for that salty, tangy cheese thing. Your taste buds won't miss it.
Pickle juice is just the brine from any jar of dill pickles. Skin-on slivered almonds can be blanched after the fact if you need.
I like this recipe as a sprinkle-able topping, but if you want it smoother, soak the slivered almonds in water overnight or for at least 4 hours before blending.
Don't be afraid to taste and tweak the seasonings as you go. Add more salt, lemon juice, or nutritional yeast according to your preference.
Use a food processor to give you a more consistent grind for this dairy-free alternative to cotija.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
This queso cotija is a groundbreaking upgrade to your vegan fajitas, plant-based taquitos with salsa verde, and it's no slouch as a garnish for vegan refried beans either.
Like I do with all of my vegan dairy recipes, I've spent years perfecting this recipe. I've tinkered and tested, tweaked and tasted, all in the pursuit of vegan cheese perfection. And when my 350+ recipe testers got back to me with their feedback, I knew I had cracked the code. This vegan cotija cheese is everything you want it to be - easy, fast, and absolutely delicious. No soy, no soaking nuts for hours or waiting days for fermentation here. Just pure, cheesy bliss in record time.
Grab your cutest apron, and let's get this classic Mexican topping together!
Great flavor!! I find that all my vegan cheez recipes of the past, prominently tasted like blended cashews with nutritional yeast. This recipe provides a much different, unique taste. Not only great for Mexican food but also a nice compliment to sprinkle on a side salad or a summer vegetable pasta salad.
Jump to:
🥰Why you'll adore this vegan cotija cheese recipe
🌱Vegan AF, SF & GF: Like all of my vegan Mexican recipes, not a single cute critter gets turned into cheese here. And to be clear, this is one of my soy-free, gluten-free vegan recipes, too!
🌟 Flavor Bomb: The addition of pickle juice is my sorta secret hack that no one would guess is in this. But it adds a unique pungent tanginess to the cheese, making it good enough to eat a bowl of over some vegan Mexican rice.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Rest assured, like all of my vegan recipes, this cheese has been rigorously tested and approved by a massive team of recipe testers from all corners of the globe, guaranteeing consistent and delicious results every time.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🌶️ Ingredients for Vegan Cotija Cheese
Almonds
Blanched slivered almonds provide the base for this vegan cheese, lending a creamy texture and nutty flavor, as they do in my vegan ricotta recipe. They're also packed with protein, healthy fats, and essential nutrients like vitamin E and magnesium. If you're allergic to almonds, you can try substituting them with cashews or macadamia nuts for a similar texture.
Pickle Juice
Hear me out before you tell me this is crazy talk: Adding pickle juice adds a tangy kick to the cheese, reminiscent of traditional cotija cheese's salty, slightly funky flavor. I prefer to use the brine from kosher dill pickles or garlic pickles. Don't use the brine from a sweet pickle, and ideally don't use one with artificial colors as it will give your cheese a kinda weird bright yellow look. Cotija cheese that looks like ground up-Bart Simpson or Big Bird… uh, no please. Anyway, if you don't have pickles in your fridge (uh, please change that about your lifestyle...), you can make this recipe using sauerkraut juice or even just regular ol' white vinegar.
Coconut Oil
Refined coconut oil adds richness and helps bind the ingredients together, without the strong coconut flavor that natural, unrefined coconut oil has, resulting in a cheese that a little bit melts onto hot food. This is why the stuff is a godsend for dairy-ish recipes like vegan whipped cream. If you prefer, you can use vegan butter or margarine as a substitute for a similar texture, and ability to stiffen as it cools.
Nutritional Yeast
A small bit of nutritional yeast not only enhances the cheesy flavor but also provides a boost of essential B vitamins, including B12. Nutritional yeast is a staple in recipes like vegan parmesan and vegan nacho cheese sauce for its umami taste and nutritional benefits. Nothing really substitutes its funky flavor, so if you don't have any, just leave it out.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Mexican Street Corn Cotija Cheese:
Add a seasonal pop of flavor by mixing in charred corn kernels from corn cobs grilled over an open flame. Add some diced jalapeños, and chopped cilantro to the cotija cheese mixture while you are at it. This is like making my vegan elote, but having it as a ready-to-use topping for anything from nachos to 7-layer dip.
Vegan Chipotle Cotija Cheese:
Planning to use this cheese to top some sopa de lentejas? Kick up the heat by using minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce instead of the coconut oil in this recipe. The smoky and spicy flavor adds depth to the cheese, which is ideal for a fiery kick to vegan soups or rice dishes.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make Vegan Cotija Cheese
Nail this on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Gather up All the Good Stuff:
Combine slivered almonds, pickle juice, refined coconut oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor.
Step Two
Blend me your Ears and I'll Sing you a Song:
Pulse ingredients until a coarse texture forms, scraping down the sides as needed for even mixing.
Step Three
Form Crumbly Delight:
Transfer mixture to a bowl and use your hands to compress it into small crumbles, adjusting consistency with additional pickle juice if needed.
Step Four
Ready, Set, Sprinkle:
Use vegan cotija cheese crumbles as desired on tacos, salads, or any dish in need of a cheesy finish, like the vegan tostadas with New Mexico red chili sauce pictured here.
💡Serving Ideas
This stuff is a gosh-darned phenomenon on chilaquiles verdes, or all over a big, juicy vegan burrito bowl with either salsa roja, salsa macha, or habanero salsa, and all the fixings.
You can also DIY a pretty badass bowl by topping vegan Mexican rice and vegan fried chicken with this stuff. It goes lovely on some warm vegan tamales filled with ancho chili jackfruit. Feeling a tad bit wild? Add some to my vegan baked ziti to make it a four-friggin-cheese affair!
👉Top tips
- Soak Almonds, it's the C.R.E.A.M. I like this recipe as a sprinkle-able topping, but if you want it smoother, for spreading on homemade pita bread, soak the slivered almonds in water overnight or for at least 4 hours before blending. This softens the almonds, making blending them into a smooth consistency easier.
- Adjust Seasonings to Taste: Don't be afraid to taste and tweak the seasonings as you go. Add more salt, lemon juice, or nutritional yeast according to your preference to ensure the cheese has the perfect balance of flavors.
- Experiment with Flavor Variations: I intentionally made this recipes neutral tasting like regular cotija cheese that's made from dairy so that it can be used 1-1 as a vegan substitute in recipes. But if you know what you will use the cheese in/on in advance, feel free to add herbs like cilantro, sage, or epazote, or spices like cumin or chipotle powder.
- Don't use a blender: If you are a regular on this blog you know I love my Blendtec blender maybe more than having a working fridge or stove… but this is not a recipe for that. Use a food processor to give you a more consistent grind for a this dairy-free alternative to cotija.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Store any leftover vegan cotija cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
If you're allergic to almonds, you can make this recipe with raw cashews, pine nuts, or roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts.
While the vegan queso cotija's texture is def. better when you make the stuff fresh, you can freeze vegan cotija cheese for longer storage. Simply place it in an airtight container or freezer bag and store it for up to three months. Just note that the texture will change slightly upon thawing.
A food processor is really better for this, since it's wider and easier for the mixture to fall back into the blades.
If using a blender, use a strong one like a blendtec or vitamix, and then grind the mixture in batches with no more than a cup of almonds at a time.
You can simply grate blanched almonds with a microplane grater or vegetable grater and mix them by hand with the other ingredients!
✌️My faves to serve this dairy free cotija cheese on:
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Vegan Cotija Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup blanched slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice (pickle brine)
- 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the slivered almonds, pickle juice, refined coconut oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt. Process until the mixture forms a coarse texture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Transfer the mixture to a clean, dry bowl. Using your hands, squeeze and press the mixture together to form small crumbles. If the mixture seems too dry, add a bit more coconut oil or pickle juice, a teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
- Once you've formed the crumbles, they are ready to use as vegan cotija cheese. Sprinkle them on top of tacos, salads, or any dish in need of a savory, cheesy finish. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Notes
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Paige Davis says
This was easy to make, and even though my finished product didn't look exactly like the dairy version in stores, it tasted really good. So good that I ate most of it out of hand before it was time to put it on our tacos, ha ha. I would also put this on a salad to add flavor and texture. (I'll have to make more!) 🙂
Meg says
Fabulous
Meg says
This is so excellent. Fed to soon-to-convert vegans if I keep cooking for them (quote). Kindness to living creatures one meal at a time.
Seriously good stuff. Thank you Chef Adam.
ana says
It's easy and perfect! It came out with great taste and texture!
Kimbi Walton says
This cheeze was so easy and flavorful. Really balanced out the spice of the chilaquiles.
Erika says
Great flavor!! I find that all my vegan cheez recipes of the past, prominently tasted like blended cashews with nutritional yeast. This recipe provides a much different, unique taste. Not only great for Mexican food but also a nice compliment to sprinkle on a side salad or a summer vegetable pasta salad.
Adam Sobel says
Super-happy to hear you loved it Erika ❤️
Steph says
Hi, my store only had raw slivered almonds. Do I need to blanch them first?
Adam Sobel says
If they are slivered, blanching them will not help at this point if they already have the skins on the edges of the peices. If there's no skin on yours, they will work fine as is.