• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Messy Vegan Cook
  • Recipes
  • Thai Food + Travel
  • Supper Clubs
  • Subscribe
    • Bloglovin
    • Instagram
    • RSS
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Thai Food and Travel
  • London Vegan Supper Clubs
  • About
    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    How to make vegan labneh with cashew yoghurt

    11 August, 2010 by Kip 8 Comments

    vegan cashew yogurt labneh

    Labneh, or strained yoghurt cheese, is a traditional Middle Eastern condiment used to prepare a number of both sweet and savoury foods. Also eaten on its own or with bread, this easy to make cheese is achieved by leaving full fat yogurt to hang in a muslin or cheesecloth sack for several hours or overnight. In my pre-vegan days, this was a favourite addition to one of my favourite meals: a gigantic mezze spread.

    Ah, but how to achieve labneh without dairy?

    I knew I could do this, somehow, even if not an exact replication, but how?

    Miyoko Schinner's Vegan Yoghurt

    I didn't want to simply strain soy yogurt for two major reasons: plain soy yogurt is too sweet (and is much more akin to flavourless American style "Greek" yogurts, in my opinion, than the real thing), and it's usually far too thin.

    It was this video, a cooking tutorial by Miyoko Schinner, that inspired my own endeavour. The addition of cashews thickens the yoghurt and the minimal use of store sweetened soygurts allows the bacterial to multiply and coagulate to milk sans all the other crap. It's a fuller soy yoghurt that can be strained easily.

    Recipe notes and applications

    Please note that all of my suggestions and yield sizes are based on the use of homemade soy milk. That's not to say you can't make it with store bought milk, but if you try it I suggest buying the one with the most basic of ingredient lists. No sweeteners or artificial flavourings, por favor.

    In the process of straining, you can add salt if you'd like. I usually add it after, but that's usually out of forgetfulness rather than by preference of method. A splash of lemon juice added post-production will also add an extra tang that's a bit more reminiscent of the original dish this is trying to mimic.

    As far as other flavours go, be creative! You can add all sorts of goodies, even mixes of other non dairy cheeses, to create delicious spreads and cheeseballs. One of my favourite ways to eat this, as directed below, is with some garlic and lemon, topped with quality extra virgin olive oil and za'atar.

    Stay tuned for more recipes in which to use this strained yoghurt!

    Cashew Yoghurt and Garlic Vegan Labneh Spread

    Makes about 300g (or 1 ¼ cups) cheese
    • Ingredients
      • 800 ml fresh soy milk made from 175g dried soy beans (about 440g when soaked) in 1.5 litres of water.
      • ½ cup cashews
      • ¼ cup soy yoghurt (I used Alpro)
    • Directions/Method
      1. Blend half of the soy milk with the cashews into a creamy purée. If you rely on a coffee mill, you can do this in smaller batches. Mix the purée with the remaining soy milk in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.
      2. Turn the heat on under the milk, and stir constantly, testing very frequently for temperature. You're basically looking for a temperature that's equivalent of that to which you'd heat a baby's milk, or around 100 degrees F or 40 C. Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the soy yoghurt, ensuring all lumps are blended in.
      3. I make my yoghurts using my old easiyo kit, but a sterilised glass jar works just as well. Just wrap it in a towel and stick it in a warm place, such as an airing cupboard. Leave it for at least four hours, but I'd recommend at least eight in order to achieve a tangier yogurt flavour.
      4. To make the soy labneh, you'll need either some muslin fabric (or sack) or a few sheets of cheesecloth. If you're using muslin a single layer will be fine, but if using cheesecloth then I'd suggest two or three layers. Lay the muslin/cheesecloth in a mesh colander over a large bowl and pour the yoghurt in. For the sake of health and safety I'm going to tell you to pop this in the refrigerator and leave it overnight to strain, but know in reality this is the point at which you'd traditionally bundle the edges up, tie them, and hang the sack over a bowl or your sink for several hours or overnight. I haven't died of food poisoning yet.
      5. To make a garlic labneh spread, simply pound 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and a clove or two of garlic in a pestle and mortar along with a large pinch of salt. Mix with the soy yogurt cheese and serve with olive oil and za'atar.
    « Easy Filo Pastry Cases
    Meet my new child »

    Reader Interactions

    I reserve the right to improve any malicious and trollish comments left below.

    Comments

    1. Kris

      August 11, 2010 at 5:13 pm

      Ooh, that looks awesome! Yum!

      Reply
    2. Suzanette Howell

      April 18, 2011 at 3:00 pm

      Your recipe seem simple I hope I can achieve it if I change to almond milk

      Reply
      • Kip

        April 20, 2011 at 6:58 am

        I never thought about using almond milk! Let me know how it turns out if you try?

        Reply
    3. Tash

      September 07, 2012 at 12:14 pm

      Oh I really want to try this! You don't need to soak the almonds first?

      Reply
      • Kip

        September 07, 2012 at 3:46 pm

        It never hurts to do that and is probably a good idea if you don't have a high power liquidiser like a Vitamix.

        Reply
    4. meh

      July 21, 2014 at 11:02 pm

      It's better to use lactic acid to get that sharpness. Also, you can use probiotics or rejuvelac to culture the yoghurts for a few days, weeks or months to make a real non-dairy cheese!

      Reply
      • Kip

        July 21, 2014 at 11:07 pm

        I also make long fermented cheeses with the methods you've mentioned, but that process is not representative of labneh at all. Would you care to share your vegan yoghurt recipe?

        Reply
    5. I reserve the right to improve malicious and trollish comments.

    Trackbacks

    1. Day 4: Herod’s Palace, Arnon Valley, and Kerak Castle « hakuna matata says:
      21 March, 2011 at 9:27 pm

      [...] Arnon Valley. James and Tania supplied us with an absolutely delicious Jordanian lunch feast of labneh yogurt spread with olive oil and oregano, all rolled up with freshly sliced tomatoes into a laffa [...]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Name's Kip. Some things about me: vegan, Thai food enthusiast, comfortably chaotic and disorganised, information lover, Londoner, cookbook collector, clumsy AF, rarely takes a serious photo, has never been on a diet. This is not a wellness blog.

    More about me →

    • All recipes
    • Thai food + travel
    • General travel
    • Reviews
    • Food facts
    • Thai winged bean salad (yam tua pu)
    • Korean Braised Tofu (Dubu Jorim)
    Vegan Thai Recipes
    Vegan Travel in Thailand
    Kippysnacks logo

    I run vegan Thai supper clubs at my home in East London. Next events are May 6, 7, and 13. Book tickets here.

    Think Like a Vegan

    Think Like a Vegan Book

    A thoughtful read for long time vegans and nonvegans alike, this is one of the best styles of arguing for and discussion veganism I have yet to find. Highly recommended reading.

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Privacy policy
    • Relationships and disclosures
    • Comments Policy
    • PR and Review Policy
    • Freelance and Consultancy

    Contact

    Email me
    Follow me on Bloglovin

    Newsletter

    All content on this site, including, but not limited to, text, recipes, and photographs are owned by Messy Vegan Cook and its contributors. No content may be reprinted or reproduced without permission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2020 Messy Vegan Cook