National Cheese Lover's Day 2018 will take place on January 20. For the vegan cheese lovers out there – don't worry, we've got you covered. There are plenty of non-dairy, cheesy recipes out there for you to enjoy on this holiday. We've even included a gluten-free pizza recipe, because it's important for all of us to get along.
We'll start with our star player: the vegan, gluten-free pizza. First, we should note that the angels at Simple Vegan Blog start this journey off by linking us to their recipe for low-fat vegan mozzarella. It almost sounds morally wrong to have mozzarella that is both low in fat and vegan, but hey, these are progressive times. The mozzarella is tofu-based with some almond milk, yeast, flour, lemon juice and garlic powder.
Now, for the crust: Pinch of Yum has a 3-ingredient sweet potato pizza crust recipe that looks amazing and very easy to make. If you're not a sweet potato person, try the Food Network's cauliflower crust recipe.
Vegan Cheese
The Minimalist Bakers shares a gorgeous recipe for garlic and herb vegan cheese, made from raw cashews. This creamy and soft vegan cheese stays fresh for a week and looks incredible with fresh dill sprinkled on top. The Minimalist Baker also created a recipe for vegan Parmesan, made with cashews. Best part? The Parmesan only takes 5 minutes to make.
If you prefer a visual guide to your recipes, The Food Network published a video on how to make vegan cheese.
Vegan Mac 'N' Cheese
Chloe Coscarelli, vegan chef and founder of ByChloe, makes one of the best mac 'n' cheese dishes out there. She uses sweet potato and almond milk to make this glorious cheese dish. Then, she adds rosemary and garlic on top to balance the sweetness. Pro tip: You can substitute the almond milk with soy milk to avoid using nuts.
For the grand finale: The Food Network shares a recipe for vegan spinach and mushroom lasagna. They use tofu and vegan flavored mozzarella for this recipe, which you can substitute with the low-fat, homemade vegan mozzarella from Simple Vegan Blog. Or, if that's too much tofu for you, you can also use Minimalist Baker's vegan Parmesan.
About National Cheese Lover's Day 2018: Yes, this is a very real, actually celebrated national holiday for cheese lovers, and it is one of about 18 other cheese-related holidays throughout the year, according to National Day Calendar. Obvious highlights: National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day (April 12), National Cheese Cake Day (July 30), and National Cheese Day (June 4). Although the origins of National Cheese Lover's Day are unknown, it is believed that cheese-making dates back to 5,500 B.C., according to some researchers.