The Hummusapien community is obsessed with this miracle creamy vegan ricotta made with healthy ingredients like tofu and hummus. No blender or nuts required! With as much protein as regular ricotta, this dairy-free version makes vegan lasagna and stuffed shells taste just like the real thing. All you need is a mixing bowl. I tested this recipe over and over and it's simply perfect!
I've been making this dream ricotta for nearly a decade. It's an absolute staple in my vegan cooking arsenal!
If your taste buds have been blessed with my reader-favorite vegan lasagna, you know that this recipe truly shines like no other.
The sublime flavor and creaminess make this ricotta one of my favorite recipes on the blog...EVER. Vegans and carnivores alike can rejoice over the best ricotta substitute in all the land!
Ingredients
- Tofu: The star of our vegan ricotta thanks to its creamy, light, and airy texture. You'll want to press out the water either by wrapping the tofu in a kitchen cloth and placing books on top or use a tofu press like I do.
- Hummus: Hummus adds amazing creaminess, a bit of brightness, and masks any tofu flavor. I love roasted garlic hummus! Store-bought or homemade is great.
- Nutritional yeast: This adds the perfect cheesy, umami flavor.
- Garlic powder: For extra depth of flavor. I tried this recipe with fresh garlic and I actually prefer dried.
- Salt: Key for perfecting the flavor and rounding everything out.
How to make
Crumble tofu in mixing bowl.
Add remaining ingredients.
Use your hands to thoroughly mix together.
Substitutions
This recipe is nut-free, gluten-free, high-protein, and vegetarian.
- Tofu: Extra firm or firm tofu both will work well, just not silken tofu since it's too wet.
- Nutritional yeast: You can omit this if you don't have it on hand but I think it adds amazing savory flavor! You could use 1-2 tbsp miso instead for extra flavor, just add salt to taste since miso is salty.
Variations
- Herbs: Adding ¼ cup fresh basil is amazing when making savory Italian dishes like stuffed shells or lasagna soup! You can also stir in ½ tsp of oregano or dried basil.
- Lemon: If you're craving a more tangy ricotta, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds amazing acidity.
- Sweet applications: Looking to make cannolis with a plant based cheese alternative? Simply omit the garlic powder, use regular hummus, reduce nutritional yeast to 2 tbsp, and add ½ tsp each maple syrup and cinnamon if desired.
Serving ideas
The beauty of this ricotta is that you can use it pretty much anywhere you'd use regular ricotta!
- Pasta: I'm obsessed with this in lasagna, lasagna roll-ups (I love stirring in fresh basil), stuffed shells or as a creamy pasta topper.
- Sweet stuff: Incredible in cannolis (omit savory ingredients) with mini chocolate chips. Or spread on toast with jam!
- Pizza: Add spoonfuls on pizza or serve it as a dip with baguette slices and a swirl of olive oil and basil.
How to store
Store ricotta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This ricotta is best when freshly made as freezing can alter the texture of tofu. You can freeze this, just be aware it may turn a bit more firm.
Don't forget to leave a star rating and comment letting me know you made these! I'm so grateful for your feedback always.
Print
5-Ingredient Vegan Tofu Ricotta (no blender or nuts!)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: Side Dishes
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The Hummusapien community is obsessed with this miracle creamy vegan ricotta made with tofu and hummus, no blender or nuts required! With as much protein as regular ricotta, this dairy-free version makes vegan lasagna and stuffed shells taste just like the real thing. All you need is a mixing bowl. I tested this recipe over and over and it's simply perfect!
Ingredients
- 2 14oz blocks extra firm or firm tofu, drained and pressed*
- 1 10oz tub roasted garlic hummus (or regular hummus)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Crumble pressed tofu into a large mixing bowl.
- Add hummus, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt. Use your hands to combine mixture until it's smooth and uniform. (To make a super smooth and creamy ricotta, you can place all ingredients in a food processor with S-blade and blend until smooth.)
- Use ricotta in my famous vegan lasagna, vegan stuffed shells, baked spaghetti, and beyond!
Notes
*I use a tofu press. You can also wrap tofu in a clean kitchen towel, place on a plate, and cover with a couple heavy books. I recommend pressing the tofu for 20-30 minutes to get the water out.
This recipe makes about 5 cups, or enough for a 9x13 inch pan of lasagna. You can easily halve the recipe if desired.
For sweet applications, omit garlic powder, use regular hummus, and use only 2 tbsp nutritional yeast.
Lydia says
I’m shocked this is actually good… I was doubtful, but YUM.
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Heck yes, love to hear it! Did you use it in the vegan lasagna?!
Mia says
Hi! Im really excited to try this recipe for making a lasagna for my vegan friend, but the measurements seem a bit mixed up on my computer (maybe because I tried the metric conversion button and it muddled stuff up?) Just to clarify, is it 2x 14oz (400g) of Tofu, 1x 10oz tub of hummus, and a half cup of nutritional yeast?
For some reason it says 10 tubs of hummus and 1/2 cups or 7 grams of nutritional yeast, which seems off lol! Thank you!!
Alexis Joseph says
Hey Mia! Yes, one recipe is: 2 packages of tofu (14oz each), 1 tub hummus (10oz), and 1/2 cup nutritional yeast. Sorry the metric conversion made things wonky!
Julia says
This was very easy to make, and turned out very well. I happened to have firm tofu, which I chopped into small bits, then smashed with a potato masher. After adding the spices, I mixed in the cooked, chopped spinach and mushrooms to make the filling for the lasagna (which also turned out to be delicious!). I'll definitely make this again.
Alexis Joseph says
I'm thrilled to hear Julia, thanks so much!
Dylan says
I’ve been making this recipe for years! So good in lasagna, on pizza and mixed in with spaghetti!
Alexis Joseph says
The best!! Thanks, Dylan!
Alexis Joseph says
Yayyy thanks so much, Michelle!
Jme Jo says
I've been using this recipe for probably close to a decade! We sauté red bell peppers, onions, and spinach to mix in - and sometimes even throw in fennel seed or red pepper flakes. We switched pretty early on from your lasagna recipe to using the ricotta for stuffed shells (somehow that feels like less work than layering lasagna noodles and fitting them juuuuust right into the baking dish, lol) and have taken them several times to family holiday meals where they are always well received! Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
Alexis Joseph says
Mmmm fennel seed would be so good here! Love me some vegan stuffed shells 🙂 Thanks so much for letting me know it's a keeper for you!