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Vegan ricotta cheese is easy, delicious and versatile, and can be made in less than an hour with soy milk and vinegar. It's a great alternative to classic ricotta. It has a creamy, soft texture and a neutral flavour that is perfect for making both sweet and savoury dishes.
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We've been making this vegan soy ricotta without nuts and without blender for a few years now. Along with our vegan stracchino cheese, it's our favorite plant-based, dairy-free cheese because it's really easy to make, cheap, and goes well with everything.
We love it with spinach or chard inside a warm focaccia, or crumbled on pasta or in pasta bakes, but also simply eat it together with vegetables and salads. It is perfect for ravioli, lasagna, cannelloni, cakes, cannoli, and pies.
Over time we've received a lot of questions from our readers, especially about what kind of soy milk to use to make the perfect vegan ricotta cheese.
So we rolled up our sleeves and decided to try making ricotta with all the types of soy milk we could find in the supermarkets in our area.
The result was amazing, and testing so many types of milk, over 20 different brands, gave us the opportunity to find guidelines to understand which soy milk is the best to make ricotta. We share the key results with you in this article.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Soy milk: we've tried over 20 different brands of soy milk and we were able to make ricotta cheese with all of them, even those that contain sugar, flavourings, and additives like calcium or gellan gum.
But if you need to make a savoury dish or want to eat the ricotta on its own, choose unsweetened, unflavoured soy milk. If instead you have to make a sweet dish, like a cake or a pie, then any soy milk is fine. - Vinegar or lemon juice: this is used to curdle the soy milk and turn it into ricotta cheese. I prefer classic white wine vinegar. Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar is also fine.
We have done many tests, the optimal amount of vinegar is 20g for every 500g (or 2.5 tbsp for ¼ of a gallon) of soy milk, while that of lemon is about 30g - 40g for every 500g (or 4 tbsp for ¼ of a gallon) of soy milk.
Equipment
- Cloth for filtering liquids: also called cheese cloth, but a clean kitchen cloth that does not smell of detergent is fine.
- Strainer: any strainer will do.
- Large bowl: it must be able to hold all the soy milk you want to curdle. To be on the safe side, I recommend using a heat-resistant wooden, ceramic, or glass bowl, or non-reactive metal.
- Ricotta cheese mold: optional, this ricotta tastes great without it. It's just to give it the classic ricotta cheese shape and convince your more skeptical friends and relatives to eat it. You can find it online.
How to make vegan ricotta
Making vegan ricotta from store-bought soy milk is actually very easy and it only takes about 45 minutes with a bit of practice!
First, bring the soy milk to a boil then immediately transfer it to a bowl and quickly add the vinegar. Stir with a spoon for 1 minute and you will see the milk begin to curdle. Now wait for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, place a strainer over a large bowl/pot, then cover it with a piece of cheese cloth or a clean kitchen towel, but one that doesn't taste like detergent.
After the 10 minutes, pour the curdled soy milk into the strainer, wrap it in the cheese cloth, put a weight on top and let it drain for at least 1 hour.
I put a bowl full of water over the milk to drain to add a little weight and get a nice firm ricotta within 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Once the milk has been drained the ricotta is ready to be used for both sweet (such as cannoli or pies) and savoury (such as lasagna, ravioli, cannelloni) dishes.
If you like to eat it as it is, add a pinch of sea salt or chopped aromatic herbs and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
For best visual results, use a ricotta cheese mold that you can purchase online. The ricotta will have the same shape as the one you find in cheese stores and it will be easier to convince skeptical friends and relatives to taste it.
Put the ricotta in the mold, press it well, then store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When you're ready to eat it, discard the excess drained water and flip the mold upside down onto a plate to get the ricotta out.
Tips
- Shake the milk package well. Soy tends to settle to the bottom of the package/bottle, and that part there is exactly what we need to make the ricotta.
- Boil the milk: the hotter the milk, the easier the ricotta will curdle. So bring it to a boil and try to add the vinegar or lemon juice shortly after.
- Don't let the milk burn: soy milk tends to stick to the bottom of the pot as you bring it to a boil, and it can burn, giving a bad, burnt taste to the ricotta. To prevent it from sticking, use a double-bottomed pot to heat it, and stir it often.
- Metal or Non-Metal? I have tried making it in a metal bowl, with a metal spoon, and to me, the ricotta turned out fine. It's best however to use a different material (or a non-reactive metal bowl) to prevent the acidity in the lemon juice or in the vinegar to corrode the metal.
- Add a weight on top to speed up draining: in order to get a fairly compact soy ricotta cheese that is suitable for both sweet and savoury dishes, I recommend putting a weight on top of the milk while it drains . This way you will have a perfect ricotta in just over an hour. I usually use a bowl full of water to add weight.
Which is the best milk for vegan ricotta?
The good news is that most soy milks on the market will work. There are so many these days that you can choose one based on your budget, your taste, and the recipe you need to make.
But based on the results from our test with over 20 different types and brands of soy milks I want to share with you some key takeaways.
- All the soy milks we tested worked well to make ricotta - we tried 21 in this test. It doesn't matter if there's sugar, vitamins, calcium, flavourings, or other additives. If you follow our recipe, you'll probably be able to make ricotta with most soy milks out there.
- A soy milk with a neutral taste, so without sugar and without flavouring, will give you a ricotta with a mild, neutral flavour that is more suitable for cooking both sweet and savoury dishes.
- In general, the higher the percentage of soy written in the ingredients list of the milk, the higher the yield of ricotta that you can get from that milk (although this is not always the case).
- So, in conclusion, while all the soy milks we tested worked well to make ricotta cheese, when it comes to eating the ricotta, in our opinion, milks without sugar and without flavours produce a better, more versatile ricotta cheese.
Questions & answers
If you follow our directions you shouldn't taste the vinegar, or rather, we and our family don't. If you are very sensitive to vinegar you can try lemon juice and see if it bothers you. If you still feel a sour taste then read the next question.
As I mentioned above, if you follow our directions to the letter you shouldn't be able to taste the vinegar. If you do still taste it though, then I recommend rinsing the ricotta under cold running water as soon as you put it in the strainer. Then once it's washed you can put it in to drain.
I've tried this step and it works well, but I never do it when I make my ricotta because I can't taste the vinegar.
I have not been able to make vegan ricotta with any other type of commercial plant-milk. We have only been able to make vegan ricotta with soy milk. We tried rice, oat, coconut, and almond milk but none of them worked.
However, you could try making it with homemade almond milk. To do this, you need to blend 200g of peeled almonds with 1000g of water in a high speed blender. Then you can try curdling it.
Curdling is an ancient technique used to make cheese and tofu. In this recipe, curdling happens when an acid (like lemon juice or vinegar) gets in touch with the proteins in the soy milk.
The change in PH will make the proteins in the milk to clump together, resulting in delicious vegan preparations like ricotta and tofu.
Storage
Store vegan ricotta cheese in the same cheese mold you made it with, or in a bowl, covered with a plate, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you see that it changes color slightly and it gets a bit off white, don't worry that's normal and it will still be good.
Variations
This soy ricotta can be used in many ways just like traditional cow or sheep ricotta.
If you want to eat it alone on bread or in a focaccia with vegetables or spinach, I suggest adding a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
For sweet preparations take a look at our recipe for Sicilian cannoli or our vegan ricotta and chocolate pie.
For savoury preparations you can use it in pasta bakes, ravioli, crumbled on pasta, you name it. It really is an easy, delicious and versatile recipe.
Recipe
Vegan Ricotta Cheese
Equipment
- Cheese cloth or a clean kitchen cloth
- Ricotta cheese mold (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 Liter (¼ gallon) soy milk I recommend one without sugar to have a neutral taste
- 40 g (2.5 tbsp) white vinegar or lemon juice but 60g per 1L (or 4tbsp for ¼ gallon) of milk
Instructions
- Bring the soy milk to a boil then immediately transfer it to a non-metal bowl and quickly add the vinegar. Stir with a wooden spoon for 1 minute and you will see the milk begin to curdle. Now wait for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, place a strainer over a large bowl/pot, then cover it with a piece of cheese cloth or a clean kitchen towel, but one that doesn't taste like detergent.
- After the 10 minutes, pour the curdled soy milk into the strainer, wrap it in the cheese cloth, put a weight on top and let it drain for about 30 min to 1 hour.I put a bowl full of water over the milk to drain to add a little weight and get a nice firm ricotta within an hour.
- Once the milk has been drained the ricotta is ready to be used for both sweet (such as cannoli or pies) and savoury (such as lasagna, ravioli, cannelloni) dishes. If you like to eat it as it is, add a pinch of sea salt or chopped aromatic herbs and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- For best visual results, use a ricotta cheese mold (fuscella) that you can purchase online. The ricotta will have the same shape as the one you find in cheese stores and it will be easier to convince skeptical friends and relatives to taste it.Put the ricotta in the mold, press it well, then store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When you're ready to eat it, discard the excess drained water and flip the mold upside down onto a plate to get the ricotta out.
Video Recipe
Notes
Nutritional Values
Related recipes
Let us know in the comments below if you try this recipe at home. Or take a picture and tag us on Instagram @italiaplantbased.
Benjamin
Amazing! I've already tried a lot of different cheese alternatives, but I didn't expect this recipe to be this good. The taste and the texture are just perfect.
Thanks for sharing.
Nico
Thanks so much Benjamin, I am so happy you like the taste and texture of this ricotta 🙂
Andrea
Will this recipe work with unsweetened almond milk as well?
Nico
Ciao Andrea, it is very unlikely that it will work with unsweetened almond milk. So I wouldn't recommend it. I never managed to do it with almond milk.
Alex
I was wondering, how come the final calories aren't the same as the calories in the milk before the process??
Nico
Hi Alex, the calories of the ricotta are different because we strip the milk from almost all the water, and from parts of fat and protein. Btw, it's very difficult to estimate calories for this specific recipe, so they are just an estimation 🙂
Lostlisa00
My daughter is dairy, wheat, peanut, almond, coconut, soy reactive. Has anyone tried it with oat or rice milk?
Nico
Hi Melissa, I don't think it will work with oat or rice milk, they lack the protein of the soy that turns into ricotta. If you'd like to make a cheese with oat or rice milk I recommend our recipe for vegan stracchino. It's an Italian cheese spread that it's in between a mozzarella and a cream cheese. Here's the link: https://theplantbasedschool.com/vegan-stracchino/
Theresaq
So delicious! I opted for the lemon because I don't like vinegar. It was a bit lemony, but I liked that for savory use (I plan to use it to top pasta and zucchini sauteed in olive oil and garlic). I will try it using vinegar though, just to see the difference. The texture was wonderful!
Nico
Thank you so much Theresa. We are happy you liked it 🙂 Yeah, it's delicious on top of pasta or pizza ❤️
Ira
I just made this, it is delicious, and the texture is amazing ! Thank you so much for this wonderful, wonderful recipe!
Nico
Yey! Thank you soooo much for your message Ira. We are so happy to hear you like the texture. Thanks again ❤️🙏
Tamara Crucey
Do you think it would work with macadamia nut milk? 🧐
Nico
Hi Tamara, if you make the macadamia nut milk at home with a lot of macadamia (like 200g of nuts per 1L of water) then it might work. But with commercial nut milks it's probably not going to work. Usually the nut content in the commercial milks is not enough for the milk to curdle 🙂
Danielle
Thank you for bringing ricotta back into my vegan life!! The recipe worked beautifully.
Nico
Hi Danielle, thanks so much for your message! So happy to hear you like the ricotta 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Glenn
Hi Nico,
I'm an Italian-American (well, half, on my mother's side but that's the size that counts!) who misses the dishes of my youth. Now I can enjoy them again! One question: I have citric acid in my cupboard from the days when I used to make NON-vegan. Will that work for this recipe?
Nico
Hi Glenn, thanks so much for your message! So happy you can enjoy those dishes again 🥳🙏 Yeah, I think citric acid would work for curdling the protein in the soy milk. But I don't know exactly how much it's needed. You probably have more experience than I do with it 🙂
Mary
Thanks for sharing this! I made my first batch and it was super easy. I did not know if you were aware of the experimental vegan baking work of Moira Wright. She also curdles soy milk and creates amazing desserts with the curds and the whey. She has a page and group on Facebook called Aquafabulous Baking the Soy Whey. You should check her out.
Nico
Hi Mary! It's great to hear you made your first batch 🙂 Thanks for sharing Moira's page, I didn't know here, so I'll make sure to follow her page 🙂 Thank you so much!
Jaz
Fabulous and simple! What sorts of things can I do with the leftover liquid?
Nico
Hi Jaz, happy you liked it. You can use the leftover liquid for bread or pizza making, just like if it were water. For example, you can try it with our no-knead focaccia 🙂
Terre
Hi Nico,
Is there a way to sign up to get updates when you post new recipes?
I’m inspired by everything you have on your website. Thank you!
Terre
Nico
Hi Terre, thanks soooo much. At the moment the best way to get all our new recipes is either through Instagram or YouTube. You can search for @italiaplantbased.
We are also thinking about doing a newsletter soon, but it might take a few more months before we are able to set it up 🙂
Mike
Have you tried drying this ricotta out in the oven so it can become hard for grating? Wondering if it will work. I am trying it now, only one day so far, but it seems rubbery. I am not sure if it will get hard enough, but i will try a few more days.
Nico
Hi Mike, i tried twice at low temp for like a couple of hours at a time but it didn't get firm enough for grating. It was kind of rubbery, as you said, but the flavour was good. It's something I'd love to figure out though. Maybe it needs to be drained for longer. Let me know if you manage to get it to a grating consistency 👍
Kate
But.. this is literally just homemade tofu? It's made the exact same way- boil soy milk, add ingredient to separate the curds from the milk, strain/press to desired firmness. Not that I'm against tofu as a replacement, mind you. I just don't get purpose of the rebranding going on here.
Yana
I just tried it! It's incredible. It doesn't taste like soy milk or vinegar at all. The texture is on point and it actually tastes very similar to traditional ricotta (at least if i remember it right haha)
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
Nico
Yana, I’m very happy you like it - and that you find it a suitable replacement for ricotta. Thanks so much for sharing ❤️
Steve A.
Hi, sorry if this is a stupid question, but the notes say, "¼ gallon (1 Litre) of soy milk yields about 7 to 9 oz (200 - to 250 grams) of vegan ricotta cheese" and the ingredients list says, "Servings 6 7oz to 9 oz | 200g - 250g". Does 1 litre of soy milk make 6 x 7-9 oz. servings or just 7-9 oz.? Thanks!
Nico
Ciao Steve, that’s not a stupid question at all, I should make it clearer! So, 1l of soy milk yields 7-9oz that is 2-250 grams in total (depending on the amount of soy in your beverage). I hope this helps, let me know!
Best, Nico
Irene
Hi, if one wants to make more than 200-250 g of ricotta, can the recipe then just be doubled for example? Would it still take the same amount of time to drain? Or is it better to make the recipe then twice?
Nico
Hi Irene, good question! I would definitely recommend to make the recipe twice, it yields more “ricotta” in the end. Cheers, Nico
Chantelle
Hi Nico! I am so happy I found this recipe, your website and your YouTube Channel! Your recipes are so easy and delicious. I have allergies to dairy and nuts, and I could never find a dairy-free cheese that was for me. After finding your recipe, I make this ricotta cheese recipe all the time, as well as many of your other delicious recipes.
Can you please make a recipe for firm soy cheese and soy yoghurt? The supermarkets here in Australia don't have cheese or yoghurt with soy... I would love it if you could make a recipe for these please as I am ok with soy products with my allergies.
I'm sure these recipes would be as popular as your ricotta recipe!
Thank you for inspiring me, Nico. You are amazing, keep shining!
Nico
Ciao Chantelle, thank you very much for your kind words - you have no idea how much it means to me 🙂
I have made a note to put your requests on my testing “schedule”- thanks for the ideas!
And thank you, once again for your support, Chantelle. Cheers, Nico
Nikki S
Hi, can you please tell me what brand of Soy milk that you use? I used Silk Unsweet Organic. Super easy recipe. texture is on point. I'm just waiting for it to be done so I can use it to make stuffed shells.
Nico
Hi Nikki, great, happy it turned out well! We usually use local brands here in Italy. A good international brand is Alpro. We tested over 50 brands of soy milk over the last few months and what's important to make a good vegan ricotta is the content of soy in the milk. You can read the % amount of soy in the ingredient list. From our testing anything above 7% works well 🙂