Captain Rico Live from the bay

Tofu Ricotta

By Alex Bury Use this instead of soy cheese as a topping for pizza, or in any other recipe that calls for processed soy cheese.

Tofu Ricotta

Adapted from Dr. McDougall

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Prep: 2 min Cook: 0 min Servings: 4

Ingredients

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Method

  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth, or mash with a bean masher for a coarser texture.
  2. Hint: Leave out the basil, oregano and garlic for a plain ricotta substitute.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

  • 190 cal
  • 22.4g protein
  • 10.1g fat
  • 7.2g carbs
  • 4.2g fiber
  • 0.4g sugar
  • 26mg sodium
About the ingredients
Silken tofu Glycine max
Undrained, custard-like tofu made by coagulating soy milk without pressing/curd-cutting. Constituents: whole soybeans, water, coagulant (nigari/gypsum). Level-2/3 minimally processed plant food; matrix partly intact. Plant protein, isoflavones, calcium (if set with calcium salt). Canonical.
Fresh water-packed tofu Glycine max
Tofu is bean curd from Glycine max: soybeans soaked, ground, boiled into soy milk, coagulated (with nigari/calcium/gypsum) and pressed into blocks. Minimally processed (form change, no isolation), retains protein and isoflavones; calcium-set tofu rich in calcium. Whole-food-derived, commonly mistaken as ultra-processed. Canonical.
Garlic Allium sativum
Garlic itself is canonical, but extract denotes a concentrated/isolated derivative outside the whole-food canon. Marketed as natural/healthy supplement, hence mistaken-as-WFPB flag.
Nutritional yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Nutritional yeast is deactivated Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown on a sugar medium, harvested, washed, and dried into flakes. The whole yeast cells stay intact (not an isolate). Rich in B-vitamins and complete protein; often fortified with B12. As a whole deactivated fungus, it is WFPB-canonical.
Lemon juice Citrus limon
Lemon is the acidic tree fruit (hesperidium) of Citrus limon, a Rutaceae shrub of likely Northeast Indian origin. Eaten as fresh fruit, juice, and zest. Rich in vitamin C, citric acid, flavonoids. Whole fruit and its fresh juice are canonical WFPB foods.
Non-dairy milk
Soaked raw nuts blended with water and strained. The base recipe for almond, cashew, macadamia, or any nut milk you want. Same method, different nut.
Basil Ocimum basilicum
An aromatic culinary herb in the mint family, used fresh or dried for its leaves. Native to tropical Asia and Africa, central to Italian, Thai, and South Asian cooking. A whole-plant leaf, minimally processed. Fully canonical for WFPB.
Oregano Origanum vulgare
Mediterranean oregano = Origanum vulgare; Mexican oregano = Lippia graveolens (Verbenaceae). Name covers multiple species but all are whole-leaf herbs, so verdict unaffected.
Salt NaCl
Crystalline sodium chloride, harvested by evaporating seawater or mining rock-salt deposits. Used as seasoning and preservative since antiquity—central to trade and food economies for millennia. A mineral, not a plant food, and a sodium isolate; noncanonical to WFPB.
Several Twists Freshly ground pepper Piper nigrum
Dried unripe fruit (peppercorns) of the pepper vine, used whole or ground. A whole dried spice with nothing added or extracted. Canonical WFPB aromatic.