Vegan Cheez-Its
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Vegan Cheez-Its. Thanks to your handy dandy food processor, these cheesy crackers – loaded with two types of vegan cheese, and all the salty goodness – are just as easy to prepare as they are to devour.
I don’t know about ya’ll, but this shelter in place order has me cookin’ up the craziest stuff. I’ve already conquered Banana Bread and the viral Dalgona Coffee (of course I made mine a Drunk Dalgona), so I figured I’d have my hand at one of my favorite childhood snacks … the Cheez-It. With all the sweet quarantine recipes circling the internet, I needed something savory in my life. I figured since Vegan Cheez-Its are kinda hard to come by, I’d just make my own. And that’s how these delicious little babies were born. They’re salty, cheesy, crispy, and 100% snack-worthy. Be warned, though. These Vegan Cheez-Its are so damn good, they’re downright addictive, so you may as well just double the batch.
Grab a drink and let’s to making the best Vegan Cheez-Its!
As if you even need a reason to make these Vegan Cheez-Its, I’ll go ahead and give you FIVE:
- These little cheesy delights require just 8 ingredients – many of which I’m sure you’ve got already laying around in your pantry or refrigerator!
- Do you have kids? If so, these Vegan Cheez-Its are fun and totally interactive!
- I don’t know why, but cutting each square and making little holes is SO SOOTHING. Perfect for these long days of self-isolation.
- CHEESE. Look, I know vegan cheese can sometimes have a bad wrap … but these Vegan Cheez-Its will change your mind. I promise.
- They’re delicious. Like, really REALLY delicious.
My Vegan Cheez-Its rely on everyday ingredients – many of which you probably already have laying around, and they come together in juts 6 easy steps. Here’s how to make them:
- Pulsethe cheese in your food processor. Even if you buy the vegan cheese already shredded, we want it even finer … so pulse it until it resembles grated cheese. Add in your seasonings and vegan butter, then pulse again until all the ingredients are combined. Transfer the cheese mixture to a large bowl.
- Mix in the flour and ice water. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix until a ‘dough’ comes together. It should hold together, but crumble apart if you try to break it up.
- Divide the dough in half and pat into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface area, about 1/8″ thick. Using a pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1″x1″ squares. For the full Cheeze-It experience, use a toothpick or chopstick to pierce a hole in the middle of each square.
- Bake the crackers on a parchment paper lined baking tray at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 275 degrees and bake another 15 minutes. Remove and cool for an additional 10-15 minutes.
- ENJOY!
Did you make my homemade vegan Cheeze-Its? Are you now totally addicted?! I wanna know! Snap a photo or video of your homemade Vegan Cheeze-Its and tag me on Instagram at @eat_figs_not_pigsand#EatFigsNotPigs. I love seeing all your recreations of my recipes! Until next time, friends!
XO!
5.0 from 9 reviews
Vegan Cheez-Its
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egan Cheez-Its. Thanks to your handy dandy food processor, these cheesy crackers - loaded with two types of vegan cheese, and all the salty goodness - are just as easy to prepare as they are to devour.
Author: Ashley
Recipe type: Vegan
Cuisine: Snack
Serves: About 15 dozen
Ingredients
- 6 oz vegan cheddar cheese shreds
- 2 oz vegan parmesan
- 1 TBS nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp turmeric, for color
- 4 TBS room temperature butter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2-4 TBS ice cold water
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, pulse both the cheeses until they resemble grated cheese, about 30 seconds.
- Transfer the cheese to a large mixing bowl. Add nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, turmeric, and butter. Mix until well combined.
- Add in flour and 2 tablespoons ice cold water. Mix until a 'dough' ball forms. The dough should hold together, but crumble apart if your break it up with your hands. If it seems too dry, add in more ice cold water one tablespoon at a time.
- Divide the dough in half and pat into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface area, about ⅛" thick. Using a pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1"x1" squares. For the full Cheez-It experience, use a toothpick or chopstick to pierce a hole in the middle of each square.
- Bake the crackers on a parchment paper lined baking tray at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 275 degrees and bake until the edges turn golden brown, about 10-15 more minutes. Remove and cool for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool an additional 10-15 minutes before serving!
- ENJOY!
Notes
*Roughly adapted from Minimalist Baker and Sally's Baking Addiction
*My homemade version of Vegan Cheeze-Its is slightly more tender than an original Cheeze-It. For a crispier cracker, make sure you roll the dough out as thinly as possible, and cook about 5-7 minutes longer once you've dropped your oven temperature to 275 degrees.
*I have tested this recipe in different batches, using different brands of vegan cheese, and all have turned out delicious, but cooking times do vary between 25-30 minutes (I'm assuming it has to do with the fat content and overall make of each different cheese?!)
*If you do not have a stand or hand mixer, you can prepare the entire recipe in a food processor on low.
Tags:
- 10 ingredients or less
- dairy-free snacks
- kid-friendly recipe
- kid-friendly vegan recipe
- vegan cheese crackers
- vegan cheese snacks
- vegan cheeze its
- vegan snacks
31 Comments
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Which brand of vegan cheeses did you use?
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Hey Cody! I have tested the recipe a few times, each with a different brand. My favorite is 365 by Whole Foods for the Cheddar, and Follow Your Heart for the Parmesan. Hope this helps!
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I have tried many vegan cheez it impersonations and this the best it gets people! I used Follow Your Heart cheddar and parmesan and added a sprinkle of salt on top before baking. Fantastic thank you Ashley!
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Just made these and am currently munching on them. They came out great! Love that the recipe seems easily adaptable. Planning to make a spicy version next! I’m no baker, but quarentine’s got me trying out some stuff. I used a bench scraper to cut the squares and would recommend, as it made for even lines and I could do a few at a time. Can’t wait to make these again!
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Such an easy recipe, and totally worth it. Better than the vegan earth balance cheez-it, I like that they’re a little thicker. This made about two pans worth for me. I will be making them again, maybe even try to make them spicy.
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Just made these the other day! They are so so so yummy ????! My kids and I ate them so fast on our hiking trip. Best little snack!
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Hi, I don’t have nutritional yeast, can i omit it? Also, ill be making it with normal cheese, do i need to change anything to the recipe? Thanks so much. Cannot wait to try this 🙂
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These are so delicious that we opted to call them ‘dinner’ since we couldn’t stop eating them!! When you make them, welcome to your new addiction !
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We made these using FYH brand cheddar and Parmesan and were so pleased with the result! We rolled ours out thinner like Ashley said, and enjoyed the crispness of the crackers. If you’re thinking of making them, do it!
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What a quick and easy recipe. I left mine in oven a little longer for some extra crispy crackers. So good!
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I’m a lazy vegan – lol. You should make these to ship and sell (hint hint) =)
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I want to try them with gluten free flour! Fingers crossed they turn out because I need these in my life right now.
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Can we use olive oil or coconut oil instead of vegan butter?
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Hey Taylor! I haven’t tested the recipe with anything other than vegan butter, so I’m not certain. If you try either, please let me know ????
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Really excited to try these this week – how do you store the leftovers if I want to make a big batch?
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Hey Stephanie! Store my Vegan Cheeze-It’s in an airtight container! If stored properly, they stay fresh up to 4-5 days!
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I don’t ever use nutritional yeast. Heard bad things about it. Could I just omit it?
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Nutritional Yeast is GOLD! You could omit it and just replace with extra vegan Parm ????
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Made this twice now. My husband’s favorite snack for 30 years was Cheez-Its, and he bemoaned having to give them up when he went vegan. Lots of sad copycat attempt recipes fell flat, but according to him, this is the real deal.
Pro tips: treat the dough like pie crust: roll it COLD and don’t handle it much. Keep it cold until the oven. I press it out on a pasta press level 7, and it’s perfect thickness with minimal elbow grease. Either my oven runs hot, the pasta press makes it extra thin, or my cheese is extra oily, but I have to bake at 325 only for 17 ish minutes. 350 ended up burning mine. The two cheeses I use are Miyokos Aged Farmhouse Cheddar and Violife Just Like Parmesan. A tad pricey, but the outcome was worth it. To make it more like Cheez-Its, I sprinkled on a very light bit of kosher salt just before baking, which got the thumbs up from the hubby. Fabulous recipe–thank you!!
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Hey Karen!! Thanks for the tips! So happy your hubby approved!
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Just curious if you have made these with gluten free flour or almond meal or even chickpea flour? Would it work?
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Hey Laurel, I haven’t made this gluten free, but I have had people tell me that 50:50 blend works perfectly for this recipe!
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Can you let the dough rest overnight?
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Hi Brittney! I haven’t tested the recipe with dough that’s rested overnight, so I’m not sure. I you give it a try, please let me know how it turns out 🙂
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Such a straightforward recipe. I used a vegan cheddar that would have otherwise gone bad because I didn’t love the taste – however in this recipe it was great! Love the flakey/crispy texture that really reminds me of cheezits. Thank you!
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These are crazy good! I’m on my third batch since finding the recipe a few weeks ago. My only modification is adding cayenne, which I highly recommend. I like to make them a bit larger than Cheez-it size and eat them with peanut butter as a mid-afternoon snack.
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Forgot to rate! Five stars!
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If we need it to be dairy free what should I use instead of the regular butter?
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vegan butter
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How long will these stay good in an air tight container!? Just curious!
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Hi Heather! They should last for up to 1 week sealed in an airtight container.
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