I’m doing my happy dance today, friends. And it’s not just because I just had my once-a-week fancy coffee and THE most amazing Sunday brunch with T. No, something even more exciting is happening right now, and that, my dear friends, are these fluffy, cheesy, melt-in-your-mouth squares of pure heaven: aka – vegan cheese straws. 😍🙌🏻
Yesssss!
Have you ever heard of cheese straws?
They’re kinda like cheese crackers, only, in more of a fluffy, almost biscuit-type version. They’re like little cheese clouds and literally melt. in. your. mouth. Basically, I see cheese straws like the fanciest possible version of a Cheez It, the kind you can be super proud to serve at showers, tea parties, and all your brunch-type events along with sandwiches or alllll the wine.
That’s right, these vegan cheese straws are so good with wine.
Are you sold yet? Because I sure am.
They’re amazing, and I love them. And now they’re vegan, vegan cheese straws, you guys! Dreams do come true!
To tell you the truth, I had no idea what a cheese straw was (although I think I do remember some version of these at family brunches throughout my childhood). That is, until we started doing some research for a live workshop we did back in 2015 about how to veganize classic southern dishes. Apparently, the recipe has both Southern US and English roots.
It’s pretty easy to make these vegan cheese straws, requiring only 5 ingredients and SUPER simple methods. If you’ve ever baked Christmas cookies, you’ve got this, my friend.
Let’s make these vegan cheese straws in under 60 seconds:
But, we have made this recipe enough times and under enough different circumstances (hello, party in an hour and not much in the fridge), that we’ve picked up a few key tips to keep in mind to make sure you get killer vegan cheese straws every time:
- Use a shred-able vegan cheese that comes in block form. We HIGHLY suggest using the Daiya Farmhouse Blocks, but I’m sure there are other brands with similar products – Follow Your Heart & Violife come to mind. Just make sure it’s a firm block that can be shredded. I don’t know why, but this recipe does not work as well when using pre-shredded or sliced vegan cheese. And in case you’re wondering who in their right mind would use vegan cheese slices for this recipe, it was 100% me.
- To replace the dairy butter cheese straw recipes traditionally call for, you can use either vegan butter or chilled, refined coconut oil. They both work; I can’t even tell the difference. But if you’re going the coconut oil route, it is soooo important to use refined coconut oil because the last thing you want is for your vegan cheese straws to taste like a pina colada!
- We used a cookie press to make the vegan cheese straws you see in these photos, but if that’s not your thing or you don’t have one on hand, you totally don’t need it. We certainly don’t make them like this every time we make this recipe, but it does look suuuper cute if you do wanna go the extra step!
The only question left to ask is: WHEN ARE YOU MAKING THESE VEGAN CHEESE STRAWS?!
And what are you making them for? I think they’d be so perfect for everything from tea parties, showers, and brunches of all kinds to your weekly Netflix binge-watching session (I know, I use that one a lot), really, anything in your life can be a great excuse to eat some puffy squares of cheese, right?
More brunch-worthy vegan recipes:
- Blueberry Scones with Jam & Vegan Clotted Cream
- 2-Ingredient Cherry Turnovers
- Easy Vegan Quiche with a Puff Pastry Crust
When you do give this recipe a go, we would LOVE to hear all the details!
Tag us in all your glorious cheese straw photos on Instagram (we’re @theplantpowercouple, with the ‘the’) or Facebook (just Plant Power Couple there). Enjoy!
Brittany Roche
Yield: about 70-80 cheese straws (with a cookie press)
Basically, I see cheese straws like the fanciest possible version of a Cheez It. The kind you can be super proud to serve at showers, tea parties, and brunch-type events along with sandwiches or alllll the wine. Oh, these vegan cheese straws are so good with wine.
15 minPrep Time:
15 minCook Time:
30 minTotal Time:
Save Recipe5 based on 1 review(s)
Ingredients
- 1 Daiya Farmhouse Block, cheddar style , shredded (about 2 cups)
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour (works with all-purpose gluten-free flour too!)
- 1 cup vegan butter or refined coconut oil (chilled)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 350F and shred your cheese using the large section of your grater.
- Add the cheese and vegan butter or coconut oil to a large mixing bowl and use a hand or stand mixer to cream them together until fully combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cayenne pepper, and sea salt. Slowly add this to your cheese / butter mixture, mixing in slowly until it's fully combined.
- Use your hands to bring the dough together and knead it a couple times until it comes together into a ball.
- If you're using a cookie press : Load it now per the instructions. Use whatever attachment you like; you can really have fun with this part! Follow the instructions on your cookie press from here, but we suggest using an ungreased baking sheet.
- If you're not using a cookie press: Use clean, dry hands to roll the dough into 1/2 - 1 inch diameter balls. Place these on an ungreased cookie sheet and use a fork or your hand to gently flatten each of them to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Bake these beauties at 350F for 10-15 minutes. 10 minutes makes the cheese straws super soft and fluffy, and 15 adds a nice crispy edge.
- Allow your cheese straws to cool and enjoy!
Notes
Feel free to use whichever vegan cheese you like, but for best results, use a hard block that can be shredded on a grater.
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