Vegan Pimento Cheese Spread

This vegan pimento cheese recipe is perfect for our animal loving friends and tastes pretty darn close to the real thing. You will be amazed that it is dairy-free but is still filled with robust flavors.

It pairs beautifully with crackers, on breads, or even as a sandwich condiment.

Fresh pimento peppers are indigenous to Spain and the Mediterranean region.  They’re a heart shaped bell pepper, with a flavor like a cross between a bell pepper and a cherry pepper. 

They can be difficult to find fresh, so it’s fine to substitute with red bell pepper, or mix bell pepper with a fresh cherry pepper.  First cut them into large chunks, sprinkle with salt and olive oil, and put them in a dehydrator (or oven on lowest setting) until they soften.

Vegan Pimento Cheese Recipe

A few simple ingredients is all you need to make this easy vegan pimento cheese.

The important part of this recipe is the soaking of the macadamia nuts! If you do not soak them for the time recommended the pimento cheese will not be as smooth as you would like it to be. After all, no one wants gritty cheese!

The below ingredients will create about 4 servings – or maybe one if you love it enough!

• 1 1/2 cups raw macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper – diced
• 1/2 cup cherry peppers – diced
• 1/2 cup filtered water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 garlic clove – chopped
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup pimentos – diced

Soak Macadamia Nuts

Place macadamia nuts in a bowl and add water until nuts are covered. Let sit for 10-12 hours. I usually choose to do this overnight so I can know for sure I left it for the right amount of time.

Soak Pine Nuts

Place pine nuts in a small bowl and cover. Let soak for approximately 4-6 hours.

Drain Nuts

Drain both nuts to remove all water and place nuts in a food processor.

Blend Ingredients

Add remaining ingredients to the food processor (except for the pimentos) and start the processor. Blend for about 5 minutes then stop processor and scrape sides to ensure all ingredients are blended. Repeat process until the ingredients form a smooth consistency.

Taste while still in processor and adjust ingredients as needed. You might like a little more salt or spice – this would be a good time to add it and run the processor again. You can also add water slowly if needed to get desired consistency.

Add Pimentos

Once you have a creamy, tasty cheese you can remove it from the processor and place it in a bowl. You can then add your pimentos and stir thoroughly so they are well blended into the cheese. Be sure you drain them first to remove extra liquid.

Now, go ahead and enjoy your amazing vegan pimento cheese!

Caramelized onion flatbread{ Great on celery too! }:

• 3 cups red onion, thinly sliced (will yield 1 cup reduced)
• 1 tsp agave
• sea salt
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups roughly chopped zucchini
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup golden flax meal
• 1/2 cup golden flax seeds
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tsp dried tarragon
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• freshly ground black pepper

First prepare the onions: place sliced onions in bowl, liberally season with sea salt, and allow to sit for about 1 hour. Drain excess liquid, drizzle in agave, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and mix well. Spread onto a lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 2-3 hours, until onions are very soft, reduced and “caramelized”. This will yield about 1 cup.

Meanwhile, put almond flour, flax meal, and flax seeds in a large mixing bowl. Process the remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour into the dry ingredients, and mix well until very well blended. Divide mixture to spread evenly onto 2 lined dehydrator trays, about 1/8″ thick. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 4 hours, until lightly hardened but pliable.

Carefully flip onto mesh dehydrator trays (underside of flatbread will still be soft and sticky). At this stage, sample the flatbread for saltiness. If desired, sprinkle sea salt over top of flatbread. Dehydrate for 12 hours longer until crispy.

Enjoy!