A delicious Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese recipe that is simple and easy to make, creamy & cheesy, Plant-Based & Gluten Free.
If you – like me – don’t consume dairy, you probably miss a good cheese and cream cheese the most in your diet. I know I do. That’s why I made this Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese recipe, so we can all enjoy the creaminess and deliciousness that is a good cream cheese.
This vegan cream cheese is soft and spreadable, so you can use it as a bread spread or sandwich base.
But, it is also great to make creamy sauces or thicken your soup and make it cheesy.
In fact, you’ll find more and more ways to use it, than a simple bread spread!
This recipe is simple, using few ingredients, plant-based, and gluten-free. Enjoy!
Za slovenski recept klikni tukaj!
Ta recept smo pripravili v sodelovanju z namazi Violife.
Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese Ingredients
To make this easy recipe you will only need 7 ingredients:
- cashews, use raw unsalted cashews, and soak them overnight to soften them up. You could swap them with almonds in a pinch.
- a pinch of salt
- Violife Viospread vegan spread, vegan butter, or coconut butter
- a head of garlic
- garlic powder – if you like the garlicky flavor, otherwise you could skip this
- lemon juice for acidity and to balance the flavors
- fresh herbs – we used chives and parsley as the herbs, but you could also use thyme, rosemary, or oregano
How to make vegan Cashew Cream Cheese
Making this recipe is very easy, we promise! We also have a video tutorial down below.
Start by soaking your cashews in water overnight. This will plump them up and soften them so they get creamy when processed.
You’ll need some roasted garlic, too, so slice the top off of a head of garlic, wrap it in aluminum foil and bake at 200°C / 390°F for about 30 minutes, until the garlic cloves are softened and fragrant. We just did this in the air fryer as it’s more convenient, but an oven works, too.
Once the garlic is roasted and softened, remove it from the foil and let cool down.
The next morning drain the cashews, rinse them well under running water, and place them in a bowl of a food processor.
Then, add the vegan butter Violife Viospread, and a pinch of salt, and mix it into a thick cream. It doesn’t have to be super smooth, so this will work even if you don’t have a powerful blender.
Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the cream along with the lemon juice and garlic powder, and mix again. You can adjust the quantity of the garlic powder depending on how garlicky you like your spread to be – just taste the cashew cream and add more or less garlic powder to your liking.
Lastly, fold chopped fresh herbs into the cream.
Now it’s time to prepare a round bowl (we used two smaller ones) by covering it with a cheesecloth and sprinkling some more fresh herbs on the bottom.
Place the cashew cream in the bowl (or divide between the bowls), pressing the cream down into the bowl and leveling the top.
Lift the remaining cheesecloth over the cashew cream to cover it, then place a water-filled bowl on top of it to weigh it down.
Place the bowls into the fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours to set.
When the cream cheese is set and firmed, remove the water bowl, unwrap the cheese from the cheesecloth and place it on a serving dish.
Watch the video recipe here:
View this post on Instagram
Serving suggestions
You can serve the cream cheese immediately as a spread on bread or toast, but it would also look stunning on a “cheese” board centerpiece.
The cream cheese also works splendidly as a sandwich base, and also as a sauce or soup thickener!
Storage tips
Store the cream cheese refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to one week.
More similar recipes:
Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese
A delicious Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese recipe that is simple and easy to make, creamy & cheesy, Plant-Based & Gluten Free.
Ingredients
- 150 grams cashews
- a pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup vegan butter Violife Viospread
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fresh herbs
Instructions
- Soak cashews in water overnight.
- Slice the top off of a head of garlic, wrap it in aluminum foil and bake in an oven or air fryer at 200°C / 390°F for about 30 minutes, until the garlic cloves are softened and fragrant. Remove from foil and let cool down.
- The next morning drain the cashews, rinse them under running water, and place them in a bowl of a food processor. Add the vegan butter Violife Viospread and a pinch of salt and proceed to mix into a thick cream. It doesn't have to be super smooth.
- Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the cream along with lemon juice and garlic powder, and mix again.
- Lastly, fold chopped fresh herbs into the cream.
- Prepare a round bowl (or two smaller ones), cover it with a cheesecloth, and sprinkle some more fresh herbs on the bottom.
- Divide the cashew creams between the bowls, pressing the cream down into the bowl and leveling the top.
- Lift the remaining cheesecloth over the cashew cream to cover it, then place a water-filled bowl on top of it to weigh it down. Place into the fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours to set.
- When set and firmed, remove the water bowl, unwrap the cheese from the cheesecloth and place it on a serving dish.
- You can serve it immediately as a spread, a "cheese" board centerpiece, or store the cream cheese refrigerated for up to one week.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 95Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 79mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g
Nutrition data is automatically calculated using Nutritionix and may not be accurate.
Slovenski recept:
Veganski kremni sirček
Ne uživaš mlečnih izdelkov pa bi vseeno en slasten namaz iz kremnega sirčka? Pripravi z mano ta slasten in enostaven veganski kremni sirček iz samo 6 sestavin! Ta namaz je odličen na kruhu, kot podloga za sendviče, pa tudi čudovit del bogate "sirne" plošče. V hladilniku pa ga lahko hraniš kar en teden.
Ingredients
- 150 gramov indijskih oreščkov
- Ščepec soli
- ¼ lončka veganskega namaza Violife Viospread
- 1 glavica česna
- Žlička česna v prahu
- 2 žlici limoninega soka
- 2 žlici svežih začimb (peteršilj, drobnjak,...)
Instructions
- Indijske oreščke namočimo čez noč.
- Zjutraj jih splaknemo pod tekočo vodo in odcedimo, ter postavimo v posodo kuhinjskega mešalnika. Dodamo še veganski namaz Violife Viospread ter ščepec soli in vse skupaj zmiksamo v kremo.
- Glavici česna odrežemo vrh, nato jo zavijemo v alu folijo in v pečici ali cvrtniku na vroč zrak pečemo približno pol ure pri 200 °C - ko se česen zmehča, je nared, vzamemo ga iz folije in ohladimo.
- Stroke česna iztisnemo iz lupine in dodamo h kremi indijskih oreščkov. Dodmao še limonin sok in česen v prahu ter ponovno zmiksamo, da se sestavine povežejo.
- Na koncu v kremo vmešamo še žllico ali dve sesekljanih svežih zelišč (po okusu).
- Pripravimo okroglo skledo (ali dve manjši), ter jo pokrijemo s tanko krpo. Na dno dodamo še malo sesekljanih zelišč, čez pa nadevamo kremo iz indijskih oreščkov. Po vrhu jo enakomerno pogladimo.
Čez kremo poveznemo krpo, na vrh pa kot utež postavimo dodatno posodo z vodo. Vse skupaj postavimo v hladilnik za vsaj 8 ur ali čez noč, da se sir učvrsti. - Naslednji dan odstranimo posodo z vodo, odvijemo krpo in sirček previdno vzamemo iz skledice ter ga prestavimo na servirni krožnik.
- Postrežemo lahko takoj kot namaz ali del “sirne” plošče, ali pa sirček shranimo v neprodušno zaprti posodi v hladilniku do enega tedna.