Make your own vegan ricotta from scratch the traditional way of Italian ricotta- with just 2 simple ingredients (none of which are tofu nor almonds!). This ricotta is creamy, delicious, and perfect for spreads, cannoli, lasagna, and more!

vegan ricotta on a plate with a spoon

The best vegan ricotta- made the traditional method:

If you’ve been on a quest to find the perfect vegan ricotta, homemade or store bought, then look no further than this simple, quick, and jaw-droopingly delicious recipe.

Yep, we’re making our own vegan ricotta, but much like my homemade vegan mascarpone and vegan cream cheese, it’s as easy and simple as the traditional method (because it IS the traditional method).

And you don’t need any nuts, tofu, nor a laundry list of ingredients to make it.

vegan ricotta on a plate with a spoon

This easy from scratch dairy free ricotta is perfect for all of your needs, from savory to sweet. Use it in my vegan lasagna recipe or for your favorite vegan cannoli.

Or you know, just spread it on crackers with a little extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs, and some salt, and you have the most delicious, versatile vegan cheese that’s your perfect snacking, cooking, and baking component 😉

The only 2 ingredients you need:

  • Pea milk: This is the main ingredient. Pea milk is very similar in structure to dairy milk- it’s super high in protein, which is why its proteins coagulate with an acid and form curds. These curds will then be pressed together to form your vegan ricotta. It’s very important that you purchase refrigerated pea milk and NOT shelf-stable room temperature pea milk. For whatever reason, the latter contains something that prevents the coagulation but I’m sure helps the milk remain stable and safe to consume at room temperature. You can of course sub in soy milk or almond milk, but, while I’ve tested both, this recipe was designed to be for soy-free and nut-free.
  • Vinegar: Or lemon juice will work! We need an acid that will react with the proteins in the pea milk when heated, and create a coagulation. This will separate the curdles from the “whey” of the pea milk.

Now, if you’re like me, you try to reduce waste as much as possible. It’s such a topic of mind for me, as a recipe creator. I’m constantly trying to find ways that waste is reduced as much as possible and that all possible items that can be consumed are in some way!

So you might be thinking, what can I do with the leftover whey that’s created? A few readers from my vegan mascarpone post and I teamed up to create some ideas.

It’s wonderful in smoothies, soups, and even to help thicken sauces. Those are the ways I find it’s used most often! SO don’t worry about that extra liquid created from the vegan ricotta 🙂 There are ways to incorporate it into other recipes!

mashed vegan ricotta

Overview: Step by Step How to Make Vegan Ricotta:

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

How to make whipped vegan ricotta:

Just when you thought this was getting too good to be true- it gets even better 🙂

The best part about this simple vegan ricotta is that yes, it can indeed become a whipped vegan ricotta as well! I personally love this for making vegan cannoli or a sweet ricotta dip.

To do so, you’ll simply add your chilled ricotta to a bowl and use an immersion blender to blend until creamy. That’s it. Nothing more is needed, nothing more added.

Pretty cool, huh?

whipped ricotta on a plate

Can this ricotta be used in sweet recipes as well as savory?

Absolutely! Because this ricotta is made the traditional method that they use in Italy, this ricotta is used just like regular dairy ricotta- for sweet and savory!

I like to add the salt for more savory recipes. However, with sweet recipes, I find the salt is usually already added into the recipe, so there’s no need for additional salt.

See below for some ways in which to use this vegan ricotta!

Recipes to use this vegan ricotta in:

Sweet:

Savory:

vegan ricotta smeared on a cracker

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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vegan ricotta on a plate with a spoon

Easy Creamy 2 Ingredient Vegan Ricotta – No Tofu, No Nuts!

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  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 cups 1x
  • Category: Cheese
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Make your own vegan ricotta from scratch the traditional way of Italian ricotta- with just 2 simple ingredients (none of which are tofu nor almonds!). This ricotta is creamy, delicious, and perfect for spreads, cannoli, lasagna, and more!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 48 ounces (1419 mL) pea milk (or soy milk or almond milk)
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) rice vinegar or lemon juice
  • Optional: 1 pinch sea salt

Instructions

  1. Heat: In a large saucepan, add in the pea milk and vinegar. Stir to combine. Then place the saucepan on medium high heat, and let the pea milk mixture heat and boil until the curdles have bubbled to the top and puffed up (see photos). This will take about 5-7 minutes.
  2. While the pea milk is heating: Grab a large bowl and place a sieve over the top of it. Place your cheesecloth in the sieve (see blog post photos). Make sure you have enough cheesecloth to twist the ends together and squeeze the curdle mixture liquid out.
  3. Strain: Once the pea milk mixture has boiled, remove the saucepan from heat, and pour the mixture into your cheesecloth lined sieve over the bowl. Allow the liquid to drain from the clumps of pea milk, and let the mixture cool off for 10 minutes before squeezing out more liquid. The pea milk curds will be really hot, so allow it to cool first for 10-20 minutes before straining anymore.
  4. Squeeze the remaining liquid from the cheese curds: Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, clump the top of the cheesecloth together with the curds inside and gently squeeze any remaining liquid from the curds into the bowl. Remove the cheesecloth from the bowl. You’ll see that the curds inside should almost resemble ricotta.
  5. Mold the ricotta: If you want to add the salt, add the pea milk curdles to a bowl, along with the salt. Mix together with a spoon, then spoon the ricotta into a ramekin or small bowl for shaping. Press the ricotta down into the ramekin so that it’s fitting the form and is well packed in. Cover and refrigerate until completely cold.
  6. Serve and enjoy: Once cold, you can either keep stored until ready to use. When ready to use, flip the ricotta onto a plate, carefully tapping the ricotta cheese out of the bowl. Use as you would regular ricotta.
  7. For whipped ricotta: If you’d like to make whipped ricotta, place the chilled ricotta in a bowl, and use an immersion blender to blend the ricotta until creamy. Use for your desired recipe or serve as a whipped ricotta dip.

Notes

Pea milk: I use Ripple pea milk- do NOT use the shelf stable, unrefrigerated kind, as that will not curdle.

Soy milk or almond milk: I give this option, as pea milk curdles just like soy milk and almond milk, so these are good substitutes if you can do soy (or nuts) and don’t have access to pea milk. Of course, that would make this recipe not soy free nor nut free, so keep that in mind.