Mexican Marinated Vegan Cheese and Tofu

This marinated vegan cheese is one of my favorite appetizers and I just know you’re going to love it too. It’s savory, herby, and a tad spicy. If you don’t like vegan cheese don’t worry because you can make it a marinated tofu cheese appetizer instead!

A small blue pot filled with vegan marinated cheese, some crackers on the side and another bowl filled with tofu feta cheese.
Mexican Marinated Vegan Cheese

Vegan Cheese Appetizer

Amigos, I’m sooooo excited to finally share this recipe with you. It has been one of my favorite appetizers for a few years and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to share it on the blog.

But alas, here it is and I just know you’re going to devour it just like I do.

This marinated vegan cheese was inspired by my baked panela cheese – if you eat dairy and haven’t tried that recipe then you’re seriously missing out. The baked cheese was my go-to appetizer for guests and to take to parties. It was always a hit so when I stopped eating dairy I just knew I had to make a dairy-free version.

When I started making this version it was during the hot summer months so I didn’t want to turn on the oven. Instead I decided to make it a cold marinated cheese. I loved the cold version just as much as the baked one.

And putting it together couldn’t be any easier. Really it’s just a matter of mixing up oil with herbs and spices, cutting up the cheese into small bite-size cubes, mixing it all together and marinating it for at least 30 minutes.

Really. That’s simple.

A picture of a grey tabletop with a package of Violife vegan cheese.
Violife Panela Cheese

What if You Don’t Like Vegan Cheese

So I know vegan cheese isn’t quite like dairy cheese – there’s some great alternatives but they are quite different.

I’ll be honest and tell you that it took me years to get used to vegan cheese. At one point I would say I could never go vegan because I couldn’t give up dairy. Ha! But that’s a story for another time.

Before I started enjoying vegan cheese I would make this appetizer with tofu. Even though it didn’t have that cheese flavor I still quite enjoyed it. Several meat eaters I shared it with enjoyed it too.

So if you happen to be someone that just doesn’t like vegan cheese then you could totally make this with tofu or with dairy cheese, read through my tips for more details.

A small blue pot filled with tofu cheese and chile pepper flakes.
Marinated Tofu Queso

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s a flavorful dairy-free appetizer that comes together in about 10 minutes.
You can make it with vegan panela or with tofu.
You can enjoy it as an appetizer with crackers or serve as part of a charcuterie board.
It also makes a delicious salad or pasta ingredient.  

View of a grey table with ingredients for making marinated vegan cheese. They are olive oil, cubed vegan cheese, spices, and dried red chile slices.
Mexican Marinated Cheese Ingredients

Marinated Vegan Cheese Ingredients

You can easily swap out the herbs and spices to create different variations.

Cheese or Tofu: I used vegan panela cheese from Violife but you may not have that available where you live, so you can use any brand of vegan Feta or other firm vegan cheese. For a high protein version you can use tofu instead. I personally love to use extra firm silken tofu but you can use regular pressed firm tofu as well.

Olive Oil: You could also use avocado oil or grapeseed oil.

Spices: I used salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Herbs: Parsley, Mexican oregano, and thyme.

Chiles: I wanted to give color and a little bit of heat to the cheese so I used a mix of mild guajillo pepper and for heat I used spicy chile de arbol. You could also use red pepper flakes or fresh red chiles of your choice.

A glass mixing bowl filled with cubed vegan cheese that's been marinated in herbs, spices and chopped red chile.

How to Make This Appetizer

A small glass with olive oil and spices being mixed with a fork by a woman's hand.

Step One:
Mix the oil and all of the spices in a small jar or in a medium bowl. Next mix in the dried chile pieces and stir until well combined. At this time you can taste and adjust any seasoning desired.

A medium glass bowl filled with vegan tofu cheese cubes marinated with olive oil, herbs, spices and chopped red chile being mixed with a green spatula.

Step Two:
If mixed in a jar then pour it into a medium bowl then add the cubed cheese or tofu pieces. If you mixed the oil and spices in the bowl then just add the cubed cheese or tofu and mix until they’re well coated with the seasoned oil.

A woman's hands holding a round glass container with the lid on and filled with marinated tofu cheese.

Step Three:
Cover the container and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes, the longer the better.

Small blue bowl filled with cubed tofu that's been marinated in herbs and spices, and sliced dried red chilies.

Step Four:
Once ready to serve carefully add the cheese or tofu cubes to your serving dish. You can top with chopped cilantro if you’d like. Serve as desired.

How to Serve

You can serve this flavorful savory appetizer with your favorite types of crackers or as a part of a charcuterie board.

Alternatively you can serve it with fresh green salads or pasta salads.

A closeup view of a small appetizer fork with a couple of pieces of cubed marinated vegan cheese.

Taste

If you use the cheese you’ll get the cheesy and salty flavors as well as the creaminess and herbs and touch of heat. The tofu flavor is a bit less than the cheese, but still delicious. I highly recommend using silken tofu because the texture and flavor is better in this particular recipe.

A woman's hand holding a whole grain cracker topped with marinated vegan cheese and sliced guajillo chile pepper.

How to Store

Store leftover in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

If you finish the cheese or tofu and still have oil left, then you can drizzle it over salads or cook with it – the flavor is delicious.

Nancy Lopez author of Mexican Made Meatless

Gracias

I’m so happy you stopped by. If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this recipe, do leave a comment. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!

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A small blue pot filled with vegan marinated cheese, some crackers on the side and another bowl filled with tofu feta cheese.

Mexican Marinated Vegan Cheese and Tofu

Nancy Lopez & MexicanMadeMeatless.com
This marinated vegan cheese is one of my favorite appetizers and I just know you’re going to love it too. It’s savory, herby, and a tad spicy. If you don’t like vegan cheese don’t worry because you can make it a marinated tofu cheese appetizer instead!
5 from 1 vote
Pin Recipe Leave a Review
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Marinating Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican, Mexican vegan, vegan mexican
Servings 4 servings
Calories 31 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 7 oz Silken Tofu or 200gm Violife Panela cheese *see notes
  • 1 whole guajillo pepper stems and seeds removed
  • 2 whole chile de arbol stem removed and some seeds**
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
  • ¼ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste

Instructions
 

  • Cube the cheese or tofu and set aside. Wipe clean the dried chile pods the remove the stems and seeds. If you want a heat then leave all or some of the arbol chile seeds.
  • Mix the oil and all of the spices in a small jar or in a medium bowl. Next mix in the dried chile pieces and stir until well combined. At this time you can taste and adjust any seasoning desired.
  • If mixed in a jar then pour it into a medium bowl then add the cubed cheese or tofu pieces. If you mixed the oil and spices in the bowl then just add the cubed cheese or tofu and mix until they’re well coated with the seasoned oil.
  • Cover the container and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes, the longer the better.
  • Once ready to serve carefully add the cheese or tofu cubes to your serving dish. You can top with chopped cilantro if you’d like. Serve with crackers or part of a charcuterie board, or you can also mix it into salads.

Notes

*You can use either silken tofu or a vegan cheese like Violife. Panela or Feta cheeses. 
**I use a mix of mild guajillos and spicy arbol chiles. You can use both or just one or in a pinch you can use pepper flakes too.
*** Please notice that the calories are calculated using the silken tofu not the vegan cheese.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servingsCalories: 31kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.3gSodium: 294mgPotassium: 109mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 203IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Leave me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and tag me on social media @MexicanMadeMeatless or tag #mexicanmademeatless!

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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I tried your recipe this weekend and I just wanted to share with all enthusiasts that is really delicious!!!… I enjoyed it during last football match and looking foward to prepare it again. Cheers!