Mung Bean Vegan Cheddar

For those of you with nut allergies or watching your fat intake, this mung bean cheese is a great replacement. It’s kind of a cross between a cheese and a pate, but it works so well with gluten free crackers or in a sandwich. It does not melt, but it has a great, firm consistency. It’s perfect for a fancy cheese plate, and it’s full of protein, magnesium, zinc, and iron. This is how we made it:

Mung Bean Vegan Cheddar

Ingredients:

1 cup mung bean flour (you can make your own by dry roasting split mung beans for 5 minutes, and then grinding them in a coffee grinder)

3 cups water, divided

¼ cup nutritional yeast

2 tbsp brown miso

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1 clove garlic

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp paprika

2 tbsp agar powder (flakes work way differently)

Few grinds of pepper

Pinch of cayenne

Directions:

Spray your cheese containers with a little oil or line with parchment paper. I used two 4” round containers to make mini wheels.

In a high powered blender, add the mung bean flour, 1 cup of water, nutritional yeast, miso, lemon, salt, garlic clove, turmeric, paprika, and few grinds of pepper. Blend until smooth.

In a small saucepan, heat the remaining two cups of water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and add the agar powder. Whisk until the agar dissolves. Add the bean mixture, and whisk to combine. The mixture should be smooth and free of lumps. Cook for 7 minutes stirring pretty consistently.

Pour the mixture in the prepared container(s) and cool it down in the fridge for a couple of hours.