Vegan Cultured Cream Cheese & Brie (with Tomatoes)

This Vegan Cultured Cream Cheese & Brie with Tomatoes recipe is extremely tasty. You can choose to make cream cheese, or go further it turning it into brie!

It’s great for quick healthy snacks, an appetizer for special gatherings, and to satisfy cheese cravings.

If you have made almond ricotta cheese, this should be very easy for you. If you have made almond brie, this is also going to be easy. 

Let’s jump into the recipe!

Ingredients:

For cultured cream cheese with tomatoes.

1. About 6 cups (1,440 ml) of almond milk with 1 tsp (5 ml) of salt in it
2. 4 TBSP (60 ml) of lemon juice (a medium size lemon is perfect)
3. 8-10 medium size roma tomatoes. Note: I generally use about 15 or so tomatoes to fill a baking pan and use the extra for my other recipes.
4. 1-2 tsp (5-10 ml) of crushed thyme. Note: fresh thyme is fine
5. ½ -1 tsp (2.5- 5 ml) of salt
6. 1-2 TBSP (15-30 ml) of olive oil
7. 1-2 tsp (5-10 ml) of crushed oregano. Note: fresh oregano is fine
8. 4 capsules of 15 billion vegan probiotics ea.
9. 1/16 tsp (dash) of penicillium candidum (for brie)
10. 1/16 tsp (dash) of geotrichum candidum (for brie)

Special equipment:

1. A form, a small springform or a container
2. Cheesecloth, a big one to separate the milk curd and a smaller one to form the cream cheese
3. A bamboo mat
4. A container with a lid (for forming and aging the cheese)

Instructions:

Preparing the tomatoes:

1. Wash the tomatoes, quarter and remove the seeds and juice.
2. Add the olive oil, thyme, organo and salt. Mix well and lay a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 200 degrees F° (94 degrees C°) for about 4-5 hours. Note: Use the tomatoes right away or keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use.  However, as they are not completely dry, they last about a week in the fridge and longer in the freezer.

Preparing the milk curd:

1. On medium heat, boil the milk with salt. (you can prepare the lemon juice while waiting for the milk to boil)
2. When the milk reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it continue to boil for 2-3 minutes longer before turning the heat off. Let it cool for about 5-10 minutes.
3. Add the lemon juice to the milk, mix well, and let it curdle for a few hours. I usually let it curdle at least 3-4 hours, but you can go a bit longer if you want.
4. When the milk is curdled, gently scoop and strain it through a cheesecloth in a strainer that has a container to catch the whey underneath. Let it separate overnight at room temperature. If you are in a hot climate, keep it in the fridge.
5. The next day, you have a nice milk curd that is ready for the next step.

Making cream cheese and brie:

1. Put the milk curd in a mixing bowl and set it aside while preparing the tomato paste.
2. In a food processor, process the dried tomatoes into paste. You can remove the skin if you like the cheese to be extra smooth.
3. Add the tomato paste to the milk curd, mix well then add probiotics and mix it thoroughly again. Loosely cover and let it ferment at room temperature for one night. Note: If you want to make brie, add penicillium candidum and geotrichum candidum in at this point.
4. The next day, put a bamboo mat on a container’s lid. Put a form on the mat and line it with sterilized cheese cloth. Fill the form with the mixture and gently pack. Let it ferment and form in a cool area of 53-56 degrees F° ( you can put it in the fridge if you only plan to make cream cheese)
5. The next day, remove the form. Now, the cream cheese is done and ready to eat, or keep it in the fridge until you are ready to eat it. The cream cheese should last about a week.
6. For brie, after removing it from the form, sprinkle some salt evenly on top. Then use a piece of parchment paper to flip and sprinkle some salt on the other side too. Cover and put it back to a cool area to age. Repeat the flipping everyday until the cheese is covered with white mold. It usually takes about 5-6 days.

Enjoy!