Whipped Tofu Ricotta
Updated June 3, 2026
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 (14-ounce/400-gram) block extra-firm tofu
4 to 6 tablespoons/20 to 30 grams nutritional yeast
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons white miso paste
¾ teaspoon onion powder
1 to 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium lemon, zested
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Nutritional analysis per serving
11 grams carbs; 170 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 10 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 353 milligrams sodium; 14 grams protein; 2 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Drain the tofu and dab away the excess water with a clean dish towel.
- Step 2
Crumble the tofu into a food processor. Add 4 tablespoons of the nutritional yeast, the garlic, miso, onion powder, 1 teaspoon of the salt, a generous amount of pepper, the olive oil, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Blend until creamy and smooth.
- Step 3
Taste for salt, acidity and cheesiness. As needed, add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast. The ricotta will stay good in the fridge for up to 1 week. (It can also be frozen for up to 2 months; defrost in the fridge before using.)
Private Notes
Comments
It's long past time the NYT hired a vegan recipe developer and you picked the right one in Nisha Voran. I love this recipe, easy and tasty.
So many tofu "ricottas" add nutritional yeast which is cheesy, not milk fresh like ricotta and misses the mark by a lot. In my pre-vegan days, I used to make fresh ricotta. Ditch the nutritional yeast and instead put in soaked cashews, almonds, or macademia nuts. Lemon and miso are great. Also a little olive oil for richness.
Nisha is a star when it comes to adding flavor and taste to --- well, to anything! This is just another example of her always-delicious recipes.
subsititutions: not sure where I could go to buy ‚onion powder‘ here in Europe (at least I have never seen it, probably was not looking for that), but I threw in a roughly chopped shallot and it was just fine. tools: made it several times, with a classic food processor as per the recipe, and with a Vitamix - the food processor makes a more ‚ricotta like‘ texture, the Vitamix a super smooth light whipped cream. I prefer the creamy version! naming: I agree with some others that it does absolutely not taste like ricotta. When serving it to others I call it a ‚hummus made with tofu‘ or a ‚dip with a mystery ingredient‘ and people love it!
LOVE this recipe! Followed the recipe almost to a T, but I added heaping half tsp of Aleppo pepper for some spiciness… for the nutritional yeast haters, I hated it too when I first tried it because the grocery store brand I bought was heavily “fortified” with B vitamins etc and taste like a ground-up vitamin pill. Yuk! I recently switched to Anthony’s brand non-fortified nutritional yeast. I love it! Great source of protein and fiber too.
I made it exactly as written and loved it. I used as a spread on toast. I could see this making delicious stuffed shells. I’m transitioning into veganism and so excited to try more of Nisha’s recipes.