Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese
This silky smooth cashew cream tastes so indulgent spread on a bagel, made into a flavorful dip or ultra creamy sauce. It is simple to make and the flavor possibilities are nearly endless. Included in this post are six different variations to cater to your tastes and multiple recipe ideas. Culturing the cream cheese is an optional step.
Servings: 2 cups
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.
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