Today is National Cheese Lovers Day. It’s funny, before I was vegan, I was not a big cheese lover. I loved two cheeses – mozzarella and grated parmesan. That’s it. So when I became vegan, giving up cheeses wasn’t such a big deal for me except when I made Italian food.
Plus, when I became vegan (7 years ago next month), there weren’t a lot of choices when it came to vegan cheese. Today, there are tons of choices and they are all getting better and better everyday! They taste like cheese, they cook like cheese, they slice, grate and most importantly, they melt! Vegan cheeses are definitely something to celebrate.
Let’s celebrate National Cheese Lovers Day with an incredible recipe made with some incredible vegan cheeses from Follow Your Heart.
Vegan Gourmet® Shreds are bold and creamy and come in Mozzarella, Cheddar and Fiesta Blend.
I used them to make my Cheesy Rice with Broccoli, Cauliflower Cheddar Gratin and my Garlic and Rosemary Cheddar Biscuits.
Follow Your Heart’s newest products are their soy-free slices and blocks that are so good, they will make you think about vegan cheese in a whole new light. They come in Garden Herb, Mozzarella, American and the one everyone is talking about, Provolone.
Eat it on pizza, eat it on a sandwich, eat it straight out of the package – just eat it. It’s absolutely divine!
The recipe I’m sharing today is decadent, indulgent and definitely cheesy. I made Garlicky Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread with Kale.
If you’ve never had pull-apart bread, basically it’s a loaf of bread that you cut and stuff yummy food into. Then the cheese melts and you pull apart the bread with your fingers and eat it.
It’s supposed to be a party food but since your hands have to be all over it, I would reserve it for a party with your nearest, dearest friends.
For this recipe, I used a combination of Follow Your Heart’s Garden Herb and Mozzarella Cheeses.
It’s really easy – just take a loaf of bread, cut into it almost to the bottom in one direction and then cut into it in the other direction.
Saute your ingredients – I sauteed onions, peppers and kale with lots of garlic – and then stuff it into the wedges of bread.
Stuff cheese in next, top it with garlic butter and bake it until the bread is brown and the cheese is ooey-gooey melty.
It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?
Pull it apart and have marinara or some other sauce you like for dipping.
So decadent.
THIS is how you celebrate National Cheese Lovers Day! Thanks Follow Your Heart! Enjoy!
Vegan Garlicky Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread with Kale
SF if your vegan butter is soy-free
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
½ tsp. black pepper
Kosher salt to taste
A pinch of nutmeg.
1 loaf bread
1 ½ – 2 cups Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese, diced or shredded
2 Tbs. vegan butter mixed with 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Marinara sauce, for dipping
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and toss. Add the bell pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the kale, little by little as it wilts. Saute until wilted and bright green. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Transfer to a bowl and mix in about 1/2 cup of vegan cheese shreds.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Lay the loaf of bread on the baking sheet. With a bread knife, cut the bread in rows lengthwise. Don’t cut all the way down to the bottom. Leave about ½-inch towards the bottom. Hold the cut slices together and cut the bread width-wise to make a checkerboard.
Stuff the openings of the bread with the veggie/cheese combo. Use your fingers to gently pry apart the wedges of bread and push the food down towards the bottom. Next, stuff the bread with more cheese shreds. Make sure you get filling in every single wedge.
Melt the vegan butter and mix in the garlic powder. Brush this over the loaf of bread. Cover the loaf with foil and wrap it tightly. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Raise the oven temp to 400 degrees. Uncover the bread and bake another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread is browned and crisp. Serve immediately with dipping sauce and lots of napkins.
The “V” Word: Say it. Eat it. Live it.
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- Kosher salt to taste
- A pinch of nutmeg.
- 1 loaf bread
- 1 ½ - 2 cups vegan cheese, diced or shredded
- 2 Tbs. vegan butter mixed with ½ tsp. garlic powder
- Marinara sauce, for dipping
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and toss. Add the bell pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the kale, little by little as it wilts. Saute until wilted and bright green. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Transfer to a bowl and mix in about ½ cup of vegan cheese shreds.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Lay the loaf of bread on the baking sheet. With a bread knife, cut the bread in rows lengthwise. Don’t cut all the way down to the bottom. Leave about ½-inch towards the bottom. Hold the cut slices together and cut the bread width-wise to make a checkerboard.
- Stuff the openings of the bread with the veggie/cheese combo. Use your fingers to gently pry apart the wedges of bread and push the food down towards the bottom. Next, stuff the bread with more cheese shreds. Make sure you get filling in every single wedge.
- Melt the vegan butter and mix in the garlic powder. Brush this over the loaf of bread. Cover the loaf with foil and wrap it tightly. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Raise the oven temp to 400 degrees. Uncover the bread and bake another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread is browned and crisp. Serve immediately with dipping sauce and lots of napkins.
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