How to Make Tofu Feta Cheese
A couple of months ago I had the privilege of working with a client to help her adapt a few of her family’s Greek recipes to be vegan and more whole-foods-based. One of the recipes was for a traditional greens pie that was very heavy on the butter and cheese. The butter was an easy swap (we replaced it with extra virgin olive oil), but the cheese took some work.
In the process of coming up with a healthier replacement, I learned a lot about combining flavors and getting the right texture. Today’s tofu feta cheese recipe is one I’ve been tweaking for a while and I’m so happy with the end result! It uses extra firm tofu that’s been pressed for a long time to remove excess water, and then it gets marinated overnight in a combination of fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, white miso, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic powder. It’s the same ingredient combination that inspired my creamy cashew cheese recipe. It’s salty, tangy, cheesy, and the texture of the tofu is a really great substitute for dairy-based feta.
To make your tofu feta cheese, all you need are 8 basic ingredients and a container to store it in—there’s no high-speed blender or food processor necessary. You can use it in all the same applications as regular feta cheese: on pasta, casseroles, crostini, savory pies, and so on. I’ll be sharing a pasta recipe with it soon, but for now I’ve been using my tofu feta to jazz up everyday simple salads. This particular one had arugula, sliced green apple, fennel, mint (from our yard!), pecans, red pepper flakes, and then I dressed it in a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice. It’s what we had on hand and made for a tasty light lunch, but feel free to use whatever greens, fruits, and nuts/seeds you have at your disposal!
How to Make Tofu Feta Cheese
How to Make Tofu Feta Cheese
Serves: 15 ounces
Prep Time: 8 hours
Easy vegan feta cheese that's perfect for adding to salads, appetizers, and other savory dishes. Only 8 ingredients and a few minutes of active prep work.
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegan Servings: 15 ounces
Prep Time: 8 hours
Easy vegan feta cheese that's perfect for adding to salads, appetizers, and other savory dishes. Only 8 ingredients and a few minutes of active prep work.
Instructions
- Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, miso, olive oil, salt, and garlic powder to a medium mixing bowl. Whisk until well-combined.
- Cut the pressed tofu into small cubes. Add the cubed tofu to the mixing bowl and toss to coat. Transfer the tofu and marinade to an airtight container. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (or overnight). The flavor will continue to improve over the next couple of days. Use within 1 week.
Notes [1]
If you don’t already own a tofu press, I highly recommend buying one because it will make pressing your tofu a breeze and the texture will be infinitely better too. We’ve been using this press several times a week for a handful of years. I was initially hesitant to buy it ($40 for a tofu press?!), but it’s been one of my best kitchen purchases to date.
Copyright © 2020 Amanda Maguire for Pickles & Honey
This feta looks so perfect! I bet it makes a wonderful spinach pie filling 🙂
Thank you, Sophie! 🙂
Looks gorgeous and sounds too easy! Ever since our local supermarket started carrying sprouted tofu, I’ve substituted that in recipes requiring pressed tofu, and it’s worked like a charm. Yeah, I’m that lazy… that said: I’ll need to get a nice jar for my tofu feta!
No shame in taking a few culinary shortcuts. 😉 (I personally have a weakness for a few of the pre-chopped/cooked veggies at TJ’s—they make dinner prep so much easier!)
Brilliant! And I’m pretty certain I have all of the ingredients!
YESSS. I went vegan about a year ago and feta cheese is one of the foods I miss the most. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us. I can’t even tell you how excited I am to get my cheese fix!
Excellent recipe. I made it yesterday and I can already tell it’s going to be a hit. I expect it will taste even better tomorrow after the marinade sets in some more.
I would love to try your Greek greens pie recipe. I hope you post it! Hortopita is one of my favortie things!
The recipe will be posted on our client’s website soon (I’ll make a note to share it with you), but perhaps I’ll work on a new version for P&H…it was so good!
I love this! Cheese is something that I miss from time to time so your recipe will be perfect for those days.
Wow that salad looks absolutely stunning I love your recipes and photography!
Thank you, Anna!
Hi, this looks fab, my question is: how long does it last if stored in the fridge? ?
You’ll want to use it within 1 week. 🙂
Tofu is really a good substitute of feta cheese since tofu has lower calories and fat content than feta. However, adding tofu to a dish as a substitute for Feta will affect the recipe’s texture, but not much the taste.
This looks great! I am really curious how close the flavor is to original feta. I wonder if there is a possibility of getting the crumbly consistency feta has with the tofu. That would really make it a more similar substitute. Regardless, this is super interesting and I’d love to try this at home! Thank you for sharing!!
Very yummy, did not remind me of feta but tasted great. Think it would work well as an egg salad replacement in sandwiches/wraps.
I have an allergy to apples. Do you have a recommendation for a substitute for the apple cider vinegar?
Hi Riley! I would replace the ACV with lemon juice. 🙂