A SUPER EASY vegan cream cheese recipe you can make at home!
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The Best Vegan Cream Cheese Recipe
Oil Free
Paleo
4 Ingredients
Keto Option
Soy Free – NO Tofu!
Spread it over bagels, muffins, or this Healthy Banana Bread.
While regular dairy cream cheese contains close to 30% of the RDA for saturated fat in just 2 tbsp, this version has less than half that amount (plus more protein!), so it’s a great option for both vegans and omnivores who want to lower the amount of saturated fat they consume in general.
How To Use Cashew Cream Cheese
I’ve also been using it in recipes that call for regular cream cheese, and so far it’s worked in everything I’ve tried – including this Vegan Cheesecake Recipe!
And while it definitely doesn’t taste exactly like Philadelphia cream cheese (and isn’t supposed to), you can use it in many of the same ways as you would regular cream cheese.
Try it plain, or I’ve also listed three variations of the basic recipe below… because why eat plain cream cheese when you can have strawberry!?
If you’re short on time or would prefer a dairy free cream cheese without cashews, the following brands make vegan cream cheese you can buy in stores (some of which are nut free): Trader Joes, Tofutti, Daiya, Kite Hill, Follow Your Heart, Heidi Ho, Violife, Go Veggie, and Miyoko’s.
You can find some of these at health food stores and Whole Foods, but they’re also becoming increasingly available at places like Target, Walmart, Publix, Kroger, and other regular grocery stores.
Vegan Cream Cheese Flavors
Strawberry Cream Cheese: Blend in 1/2 cup strawberries, and optional 1/8 tsp vanilla extract and sweetener of choice to taste. If desired, stir in extra diced strawberries after blending.
Everything Bagel Cream Cheese: After blending, stir in 2 tbsp Everything Bagel seasoning.
Chive & Onion Cream Cheese: Blend in 1 tsp onion powder. After blending, stir in 3-4 tbsp chopped chives.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese: Omit the water from the base recipe. Blend in 2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract, sweetener of choice to taste, and 1 can pumpkin puree.
Also Try This Coconut Whipped Cream
Vegan Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (150g)
- 1/4 cup water OR nondairy yogurt
- 1 1/2 tbsp white or cider vinegar
- salt (see note below)
Instructions
- *Salt amount will depend on your personal tastes and the flavor you’re making, as well as if you’re eating the cream cheese plain or using it as part of a cheesecake or frosting recipe. If using as a spread, I like 1 tsp, but some people will want less. Recipes for different flavors are listed earlier in this post!For smoother results, I like to soak the cashews in hot water for 2-6 hours then drain and pat dry before starting the recipe. To make the vegan cream cheese, simply blend together all ingredients, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. The longer you process, the smoother it gets. If you have a Vitamix, it should only need a few minutes, or a food processor will take around 10 minutes to become super smooth. (I haven’t tried a regular blender.) Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen to use at a later date.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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Ways To Use This Cream Cheese:
Pumpkin Cupcakes – with Cream Cheese Frosting
Spice Cake – With Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Swirl Cake Bread – from the Hello Breakfast ebook
Jane Foster says
Delicious! This tastes a lot like real cream cheese. I was worried it would taste like cashew butter, but it didn’t! I was so happy to find a dairy-free cream cheese that didn’t require me to buy refined coconut oil or miso paste. So easy to make! Thank you!
Kate says
Can I use roasted cashews? They are a lot easier to come by.
CCK Media Team says
We don’t see why it wouldn’t work… We haven’t tried it so don’t know how it will taste, but maybe it will be even better!
Kerrie says
Can I leave out the vinegar?
And use almond milk instead of dairy free yogurt?
Jessica says
Would you use salted or unsalted cashews for this recipe?
CCK Media Team says
Raw unsalted. We have never seen raw-salted before, nor have we tried roasted cashews in this, but that doesn’t mean those won’t work either, just that we haven’t tried 🙂
Christina says
I’ve been intrigued by this recipe and now have all the ingredients to try it! For the strawberry and cream cheese variations, how much sweetener would you suggest adding? I know everyone’s taste buds are different, but what would be a good place to start?
CCK Media Team says
Maybe start with a few teaspoons and go from there. You can always add more but it’s harder to take some away!
Xenia says
Hello!
So I’m on a mission to bake a vegan cheesecake, hence why I’m looking at the cream cheese recipe :). Do you think I could soak the nuts in Earl Grey (for the long soak) and then blend them with some tea instead of water to add flavour, or would that not work?
Thanks 😁
Megan says
How does this compare to cashew butter? Sounds like I could just start with cashew butter and add some vinegar and salt. Thoughts?
Kalina says
How would you store this? Could it go in the freezer or just the fridge? How long would you suggest in the fridge? Thanks!
Julie says
When you say to soak the cashews for several hours in hot water, do you keep the water hot somehow, or just let it cool while soaking?
CCK Media Team says
Hi, start with hot water and do not worry about keeping it hot 🙂
Nova says
I’m making a sweetened plain version to frost the blueberry bread recipe, and wondering if the cider vinegar is supposed to be included. For example, when making the strawberry version, do you add the strawberry ingredients to the original plain recipe that includes the cider vinegar? (Or only the items listed with the strawberry version?)
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Hi, I like to include it because it gives a classic cream cheese tangy flavor. However it is fine to omit if you prefer!
Brandy says
Is this recipe safe to be left out at room temperature? And if so, for how long?
Laurel Parshall says
Quick question on making the pumpkin variation, wouldn’t it be 1/4 cup of the puree in place of the water in the plain version?
Amanda Mac says
Love this recipe and have made it many times. But if it helps anyone, it did not throughly process the cashews in a blender. I love it as plain cream cheese but it also worked great in stuffed shells and spinach artichoke dip. Thanks for this recipe! I am making it now probably for a queso dip 🤔
Jody White says
Anyone made this with almonds instead of cashews?