When I began experimenting with a vegan diet, prepared non-dairy cheese options were difficult to find. My partner, being a cheese lover, was having none of this. He soon found me Miyoko Schinner’s Artisan Vegan Cheese cookbook. I had fun working through the many recipes, but most of them took quite a bit of time and used difficult-to-find ingredients. The basic cashew cream cheese was the one recipe I’ve kept returning to over the years. I experimented with adding various flavors and using different methods for the fermentation.
Today my basic recipe adds one key ingredient which I feel takes this cream cheese to the next level. For culturing the cheese, I have found one other option that works well when I’m unable to find vegan yogurt on our travels. As for adding additional flavors, there are as many options as you can think of for a traditional cream cheese. You can make it into an herb or garlic cream cheese or even add berries to make a sweeter spread. Add jalapenos, cayenne or gochujang for a spicy version. Turn it into a French onion dip or a creamy salad dressing. It can be thinned out a bit and made extra “cheesy” with nutritional yeast for a pasta sauce. I’ve even used it to make white pizza and added it to potato soup. See below for specific flavor add-in suggestions.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Raw cashews – soaked in water for at least 4 hours or overnight. - For a quicker soak – boil water first, add to raw cashews and soak for 30 minutes.
- 2 Tbs Plain, unsweetened yogurt – use non-dairy to keep the recipe vegan. - Substitute with 2 Tbs mild white or yellow miso paste if you do not have unsweetened yogurt.
- 2 Tbs Coconut oil, melted - You can try a different oil but it may change the flavor and texture.
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ cup Water
Notes on ingredients:
- Raw cashews are essential for this recipe to achieve the creamy texture. Roasted nuts will not soak up the water in the same manner. Look for “Cashew Pieces” which are usually cheaper than whole cashews. Look for them in the bulk food section at your regular grocery store, the nut and dried fruit aisle at Trader Joe’s, or an Indian grocery store.
- Plain unsweetened vegan yogurt can usually be found alongside typical yogurt in the refrigerated area of your grocery store. My favorite brands are Kite Hill or Forager Project as their yogurts contain a decent amount of protein. They also each have delicious versions of Greek yogurt! Also, keep in mind there are new products hitting the shelves all the time.
- Miso paste brands are endless. Look for white or yellow miso, sometimes labeled mild, mellow, or light. It should appear light tan to brown in color. Avoid red miso, which has a much stronger flavor.
- Coconut oil is used in this recipe for texture and flavor. Because it solidifies more easily than other oils it helps to thicken the cream cheese. And its unique flavor profile gives this vegan version a more authentic feel.
Instructions
Begin by soaking your cashews. Pro-tip: use the container you want to store your cream cheese in to soak the cashews and save on dishes! Measure 2 cups raw cashews into your container. Cover with room temp water and soak for at least four hours or overnight. For a quicker soak time, boil the water first and allow cashews to soak in the hot water for at least 30 minutes.
After soaking drain the cashews well and have your blender ready. Add about half of the cashews to the blender along with ½ cup water, 2 Tbs plain yogurt OR 2 Tbs mild miso paste, 2 Tbs coconut oil, and 1 tsp salt.
Cover and start the blender on low and slowly add the rest of the cashews once it starts coming together. You may have to stop once or twice and scrape down the sides with a spatula.
If using any additional flavor variations, add those ingredients at this point.
Once all the cashews are incorporated, turn the blender to a higher setting for 20-30 seconds to get the smoothest texture.
Transfer to a storage container with a lid or place a clean cloth over the bowl and allow to sit at room temperature to culture for about 24 hours. If you do not wish to culture the cheese simply place the container directly into the fridge.
Culturing time will vary based on the ambient temperature. I find that at about 75 degrees – culturing for 24 hours will create a lovely tangy flavor and the texture becomes like a whipped cream cheese. Warmer temperatures will decrease the needed time to culture and colder temperatures will require longer. You can do a small taste test every 6-12 hours to experiment and see what you like.
When it’s reached your desired flavor, transfer to the fridge. The coconut oil helps the cream cheese to thicken in the fridge so try to hold off eating it for a couple hours until it has fully cooled. – it’s so delicious and tempting though, I always end up eating some of it before it’s fully ready.
The cultured cream cheese will last about 2 weeks in the fridge.
Beyond the Basic Flavor Add in Ideas:
1. Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese
Add:
- 2-3 cloves fresh chopped garlic
- 1 tsp each dried oregano & dried parsley
- ¼ tsp each dried basil, thyme and dill
Or
- Substitute all the dried herbs above for 2 tsp Italian Seasoning or 1-2 Tbs fresh herbs – any kind you have on hand.
2. Spicy Jalapeno Cream Cheese
Add:
- 1 jalapeno – seeds removed, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp lime or lemon juice
- ½ tsp garlic or onion powder
3. Cilantro Lime Cream Cheese, Dip or Dressing
Add:
- 1 cup fresh Cilantro – leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic – rough chop
- 2 Tbs lime juice – freshly squeezed from 1 large or 2 small limes
- ½ tsp additional salt
- 1 Tbs additional coconut oil or a neutral oil
Note: depending on your blender you may need to add a bit of extra water for everything to come together. If you are making a dip or dressing continue adding 1-2 Tbs at a time of cool water and blending until you achieve the desired consistency.
4. Extra Cheesy Pasta Sauce
For this recipe, you only need half the amount from the basic cream cheese – either halve the ingredients first or make the whole batch and reserve the other half.
Add:
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- ½ – 1 cup vegetable broth or water from cooking pasta, depending how thick you want the sauce
- Juice of 1 lemon, about 1 Tbs
- 1 tsp mustard (any kind) or ½ tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- may need to add additional salt to taste.
Pour over about a pound of your favorite cooked pasta & veggies.
Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups Raw cashews – soaked in water for at least 4 hours or overnight. For a quicker soak – boil water first, add to raw cashews and soak for 30 minutes.
- 2 Tbs Plain, unsweetened yogurt – use non-dairy to keep the recipe vegan. Substitute with 2 Tbs mild white or yellow miso paste if you do not have unsweetened yogurt.
- 2 Tbs Coconut oil, melted You can try a different oil but it may change the flavor and texture.
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ cup Water
Instructions
- Using raw cashews and soaking them ahead of time is essential to getting the right texture in this recipe.
- Pro tip – soak the cashews in whatever dish you want to store the cream cheese in to save dishes! I use a glass Pyrex with a lid or a plastic Tupperware with a locking lid depending on our conditions on the boat.
- When ready to blend, drain the cashews and add half to the blender with 1/2 c water and all of the yogurt, oil and salt. Start the blender on low and slowly add the rest of the cashews once it starts coming together. You may have to stop once or twice and scrape down the sides with a spatula.
- If using any additional flavor variations, add those ingredients at this point.
- Once all the cashews are incorporated, turn the blender to a higher setting for 20-30 seconds to get the smoothest texture.
- Transfer to a storage container with a lid or place a clean cloth over the bowl and allow to sit at room temperature to culture for about 24 hours. If you do not wish to culture the cheese skip to step 8.
- Culturing time will greatly depend on the ambient temperature. I find that at about 75 degrees – culturing for 24 hours will create a lovely tangy flavor and the texture becomes like a whipped cream cheese. Feel free to taste test every 6 – 12 hours until you feel like it’s ready.
- Transfer to the fridge. The coconut oil helps the cream cheese to thicken in the fridge so try to hold off eating it for a couple hours until it has fully cooled. – it’s so delicious and tempting tho, I always end up eating some of it before it’s fully ready!
- Lasts up to 2 weeks in the fridge.