Vegan Cream Cheese – Chef Elliot

Published: July 10, 2020 · Modified: July 13, 2020 Of Theirs · This post may contain affiliate links · 17 comments

This vegan cream cheese is incredibly creamy, garlicky, and super delicious spread on a fresh bagel or toast. And it’s ready in just 5 minutes!

Say goodbye to your dairy products and say hello to this delicious Vegan Cashew Spread with Garlic and Fresh Herbs!

Spread it on your favorite bagel or enjoy it with some veggie sticks or crackers. Or mix it into pasta sauce for a change. Trust me, it’s addictive!

Why this recipe works

I’ve experimented quite a bit with dairy-free cheese alternatives, and I think cashews are the perfect base for plant-based cheese. They work great in this recipe!

Cashews have a mild flavor and with a little water you can blend them in a blender at high speed until you get a smooth cream.

I decided to make a version with fresh herbs and garlic, but of course a simple version could be made as well.

What goes into this recipe

Vegetable yogurt – This recipe works well with vegetable yoghurts. I recommend unsweetened soy yogurt.
Fresh chives and watercress – I like it best fresh, but you could also use frozen herbs.
Cashew nuts – Make sure you use raw, unroasted, salted cashews.
Nutritional yeast – adds some “cheesy” flavor.

How to make this recipe

This recipe couldn’t be much simpler! It’s ready just 5 minutes and all you have to do is follow these four simple steps:

1. Pass: Soak the cashews in water for at least 4 hours. If you want to make it easier on your blender, you can also soak them overnight.

2. Pass: Drain the cashews and place them in a high-speed blender along with the unsweetened soy yogurt, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and herbes de Provence.

3. Pass: Process until smooth. This will take about 3-4 minutes depending on your blender. You want your cashew cream cheese to be super smooth with no chunks.

4. Pass: Season with black pepper and add the fresh chives and watercress. You can also add some chilli flakes if you want. Enjoy on a freshly toasted bagel!

Recipe suggestions:

It’s better soak the cashews for at least 4 hours. If you want to make it a little easier on your blender, you can also soak them overnight. For best results, you should use a blender on high speed because you want the cashew cream to get really creamy and smooth. Be patient, it will take a while!
Don’t boil down the recipe to a smaller batch as most blenders need a certain amount of cashews to turn them into a smooth cream.
It’s really important use unsweetened vegetable yogurt. Nothing with flavor and sugar!

Variations

If you want you can also play a little with herbs. I also like to add some sun dried tomatoes for a change.

Or you could use the base to make a sweet cream cheese adding blueberries, strawberries or other berries.

Recipe FAQ:

What’s the best way to store finished cream cheese?

The best way to store it is in a small airtight container in the refrigerator. This way it will last for about 4 days.

Can it be frozen?

Yep, it freezes really well, so you could just make a bigger batch and freeze it for later. Just freeze it in a small container and it will last in the freezer for about 2-3 months.

Could you make this recipe without the cashews?

Unfortunately, cashews are used as the base for this recipe and cannot be substituted for any other product to achieve the same result.

But do not worry! If you are allergic to cashews and nuts, you can still enjoy delicious vegan cream cheese.

You can use tofu, vegetable yogurt or sunflower seeds as a base. Here are two delicious recipes for sunflower cream cheese AND tofu cream.

Related Vegan Cheese Recipes:

Love hearing from you guys!

I hope you enjoy this vegan cream cheese as much as we do around here.

If you give it a try, I’d love to know what you think. As soon as leave me a comment and a star rating under. Your comments really make my day!

Do you like my recipes and want to see more? Then follow me Facebook, InstagramOR Pinterest!

Theirs

a hand holding a vegan cream cheese bagel on a white plate

Vegan cream cheese with cashews

This vegan cream cheese is incredibly creamy, garlicky, and super delicious spread on a fresh bagel or toast. And it’s ready in just 5 minutes!

Press Pin Evaluate

Course: Breakfast, dip

Kitchen: American

Preparation time: 5 min

Total time: 5 min

Portions: 6 portions

Calories: 217kcal

Instructions

Soak the cashews in water for at least 4 hours. If you want to make it easier on your blender, you can also soak them overnight.
Drain the cashews and place them in a high speed blender along with the unsweetened soy yogurt, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and herbes de Provence.
Process until smooth. This will take about 3-4 minutes depending on your blender. You want your cashew cream cheese to be super smooth with no chunks.
Season with black pepper and add the fresh chives and watercress. Enjoy!

Notes

Soak the cashews for at least 4 hours. For best results, you should use a blender on high speed. Be patient, it will take a while!
Don’t boil down the recipe to a smaller batch as most blenders need a certain amount of cashews to turn them into a smooth cream.
It is very important to use unsweetened vegetable yoghurt.
This recipe freezes really well. Freeze it in a small container and it will last in the freezer for about 2-3 months.

Nutrition

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