Totally vegan cream cheese? Heck yeah! It’s not only possible…it’s delicious too! This dreamy dairy-free cashew cream cheese will make you a believer.
There was a time when nothing made me happier than a big toasted everything bagel slathered in cream cheese. So good! I never thought I’d find a vegan substitute for my old breakfast favorite.
That was all before I started stockpiling cashews in my kitchen. Cashews are pretty amazing when it comes to making vegan versions of all things dairy.
Cashews can be turned into cheese balls, cheesecakes, creamy sauces, and everything in between. As luck would have it, they also make amazing vegan cream cheese.
What You’ll Need
- Raw cashews. It’s important that they’re raw. This means they are not roasted. Roasting brings out the nutty flavor in cashes, which we don’t want here.
- Lemon juice.
- Salt.
- Water. This may not be necessary, but you can add a splash if you have a hard time getting your cashews to blend up, or just want to thin your cashew cream cheese a bit.
- Add-ins. If you’d like, add in some of your favorite ingredients to make flavored cream cheese. I’m partial to chives. Strawberries, veggies, and hot peppers are some other add-ins you can try!
How to Make Vegan Cream Cheese
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make cashew cream cheese. Scroll down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
- Place your cashews in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak for 4 to 8 hours. This softens them up so they blend easily!
- Rinse and drain your soaked cashews, transfer them to a blending device, and add lemon juice and salt.
- Blend until creamy! This can take a while, and the time will depend on how powerful your blender or food processor is. Be sure to stop the machine from time to time and scrape down the inside with a rubber scraper.
- If you’d like to make flavored vegan cream cheese, throw in your add-ins now.
- Pulse the machine to mix everything up. I’ve added some chives in the photos below.
- Taste-test your cream cheese and make any adjustments you like — more salt, lemon juice, or add-ins.
- Now slather it on a bagel and dig in!
Vegan Cream Cheese Tips & FAQ
- Is this recipe gluten-free? It is!
- Be patient when blending! It can take a while, especially if you don’t have a high-powered blending device. But it’s totally doable!
- Shelf-life & storage: Homemade vegan cream cheese will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 5 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
- What type of blending device works best for this recipe? I had the best results using a Vitamix, which is a very powerful blender. If your blender isn’t high-powered, you’re better off using a food processor. I had luck using a Cuisinart 11 cup food processor, though it didn’t turn out quite as smooth as the Vitamix batches.
- Can cashew cream cheese be substituted for dairy-based cream cheese in cheesecake recipes? Maybe, but I wouldn’t risk it. You’re better off just following a recipe for vegan cheesecake. Try my vegan mango lime cheesecake, vegan chocolate cheesecake, raw cheesecake, or mini vegan pumpkin cheesecakes.
- Unless you’re using a small blending device, I don’t recommend cutting down on the batch size. You might not be able to get it all to blend.
Video!
Check out my video for more guidance on how to make cashew cream cheese.
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Cashew Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more to taste (up to 3 tablespoons total)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Stir-ins of choice, such as chives, roasted garlic, veggies, strawberries, sun-dried tomatoes, or roasted red peppers
Instructions
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Place the cashews, 1 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice, and salt into the bowl of a food processor.
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Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add a tablespoon or two of water to thin the mixture as needed.
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Taste test and add additional salt and/or lemon juice if you like.
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Add any stir-ins to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped and well blended.
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Serve immediately or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Oh I am so excited to try this! We have been looking for an alternative to cream cheese, Thanks!!
Wonderful! Cream cheese is a tough one to give up. I think you will really enjoy this version!
Hi! When you add chives and garlic, how much of each do you add?
I do a clove of garlic and somewhere in the range of 1/4 to 1/3 cup of chives. Enjoy!
I love your cream cheese. I made some minor alterations though. Instead of the oil I used 1/4 cup of plain almond yogurt. I also used less lemon juice. It tastes so good that I dug out my driveway (three inches of snow overnight) and picked up some bagels at Einstein’s!
What oil??? I don’t see it here??
Thank you! The almond yogurt variation sounds very interesting – I never even thought about using yogurt. I bet it makes it really nice and creamy. I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time!
Did i miss oil in the recipe?
You didn’t! This is an old one that I updated, and when I did I simplified the recipe. No oil needed. :)
I’m excited about trying this vegan cream cheese recipe. But lemon juice bothers my mouth. Is there a substitute I can use? Thanks.
You could try vinegar. White wine vinegar would probably be nice if you’ve got it. I’d add it to taste, just a bit a time as the amount needed might be a bit different.
I don’t know how to leave feedback for writer but totally amazed love it thank u so very much xx
Have you made a cashew cream sauce to replace alfredo sauce? I resisted for a long time because all the recipes I saw had a long soak time (overnight, anyway. That’s way advanced planning for me). I finally came across one that didn’t, recreated it, and loved it: http://goo.gl/zVHQOv
My point here, I guess, is I’m wondering whether you think the long soak time is critical?
I’ve actually never tried any cashew cream based recipes without soaking, because every one I’ve ever come across does require soaking. I’ve also always thought that it depends on what type of food processor/blender you’re using (basic Hamilton Beech food processor here). Thanks for the link to your recipe. It sounds delicious and I’ll definitely try it out. If I can do alfredo sauce without soaking I can’t see why cream cheese wouldn’t work as well. I’ll try to post an update on my findings!
I rarely soak my cashews for recipes with no issues, but that being said I have a Cuisinart food processor and a Cleanblend (Vitamix look-a-like) blender. I can’t wait to try this cream cheese recipe. I miss cream cheese and cheat occasionally because I love it so much and my neighborhood store is often out of the Better Than Cream Cheese. Let’s not forget how expensive those little tubs are.
Yeah, it really depends on the blending device! I might be able to get away without soaking using my Cuisinart, but not with my cheaper mini food processor. :) I hope you enjoy this!
Thanks for the recipe
. Found you through Pinterest. Clean ingredients, and comes together quickly. 🌸
I’m glad you like it!
Soaking softens them, making them easier to process.
I’ve read that boiling them for an hour will have the same result as overnight soaking.
Boiling them will kill all the beneficial enzymes and lots of nutrients we may not even know about. Soak those nuts!
LOL “kill all the beneficial enzymes”. I didn’t realize enzymes were living. Killing Nutrients??? Really??? It would be interesting to know what your definition of nutrients are? You sound like one of those Google Doctors. Maybe I’ll have to re-read my grade 8 biology textbook.
Hmmm…. I wonder if enzymes and nutrients are affected by acid?
Totally unnecessary comment. Biologist here. Enzymes are protein. Protein becomes denatured when heat is applied. In science terms, enzymes can be heat inactivated. Nutrients are also impacted by heat. Not a very neighborly comment.
You should definitely go back and read your middle school biology book if you didn’t know that was a thing. While you’re at it, brush up on your etiquette too. You’re failing in all aspects of your snarky comment. Your teachers and parents would be very disappointed.
You can also boil the cashews for 10 minutes
I have made cashew cheese with unsoaked cashews before, but it always comes out with little pieces of cashews that don’t process all the way. It’s ok if you want something like ricotta, but not so great for a creamy filling. But usually when I do it they soak for maybe three hours, or I put them in hot water for about 20-30 minutes. It works fine
if you use a vitamix blender, soaking the cashews is not a critical issue. My cashew creams and cheeses always turn out super smooth
Without soaking, I made this recipe in a Blendtec blender by adding 1/4 cup water. This was the minimum amount of water to make a thick creamy paste. I used the lowest speed setting.
Hi Alissa! How long do you estimate that this would keep in the fridge? Providing I don’t scarf it all down at once, that is. ;)
Thanks — just found your blog today and looking forward to going back through the archives!
Hi Annie! The longest I’ve kept this around is about four days and it held up just fine. I’d have to guess and say about one week max, based on my experience with the shelf life of cashew milk. If you’re unsure I think the smell test should tell you if it’s still good, as this is always a good indication with nut milks.
Thanks so much for checking out the blog – hope you enjoy everything!!
I saved some in the fridge for two weeks…still delicious.
Yay!! Glad it held up and glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Thank you for that helpful response! Will have to give it a shot this weekend :)
You can easily find recipes for raw vegan onion bread (which is easier with a dehydrator, but can be done in the oven). It’s wonderful (and healthy) with cashew cream cheese!
I like that idea a lot. I actually just got a dehydrator recently but haven’t had much chance to play around with it yet. Might make that my first project with it :)
Gorgeous! Nothing gets me going more than a big vat of creamy cashew cheese. It almost seems like there’s nothing that cashews can’t do!
Thank you!!! And totally agreed – cashews have quickly become one of my favorite ingredients to play around in the kitchen with!
I cannot eat canola oil..can olive or grape seed oil be used instead?
Absolutely! I picked canola because of its accessibility and neutral flavor, but you could sub lots of different oils in this recipe. In your case I’d say grape seed is probably the better choice because the flavor is milder than olive.
Indeed, soaking is actually critical to all nuts AND beans. They each contain an enzyme inhibitor (which orevents them from sprouting in less than ideal growing environments).
This enzyme inhibitor is known to cause intestinal leakage (“leaky gut” syndrome) which leads to symptoms such as gas and cramps . And inhibits some nutrient absorption. If u luv beans/nuts and not the gas/cramps … soak them overnight THEN cook or redry (the nuts redry) and see the difference).
Can you leave the oil out all together?
You could, but before I added the oil it was a bit thick and grainy for my taste. I’d say give it a shot without the oil, see what you think, and then add the oil if you think it needs some thinning/smoothing out.
You can grind the cashews in a seed/coffee grinder then blend with your liquid. That way you don’t have to soak before hand.
You can use olive oil, but if you are trying to avoid the olive oil flavor, I recommend walnut oil or avocado oil. You may want to do more research on grape seed oil can lead to inflammation due to the ratio of omegas. In the past, I experienced inflammation with grape seed oil first hand and it was not pretty. :0 For cashew creams (to make cream based soups), you don’t need to add oil at all. Also, I recommend soaking nuts for health reasons. Some blenders can easily hands unsoaked nuts, but we soak them for the health benefits.
I’m hungry now. ;)
Then my job is done! Thank you and enjoy :)
Thanks!
I’m tryibg to find unexpensive, common ingredients I can find in a market around the world, the more unprocessed the better.
– Why canola and not olive oil?
– Any substitute for cashews? Almonds, palm hearts, toffu, garbanzos, other beans?
– What’s the use of yeast flakes? How can we substitute it?
Thanks!
You’re welcome!
I used canola oil because the flavor is pretty neutral. You could go with olive oil but it might change the flavor a bit.
As far as the cashews are concerned, I can’t really suggest any substitutions without doing some further recipe development. Cashews work well because they have a neutral flavor and blend up nice and creamy.
The nutritional yeast flakes give the recipe a cheesy flavor. Cream cheese is generally pretty mild, so I only used a tiny bit here. For that reason, you could probably get away with omitting this ingredient, but your batch might turn out a little bland. If you want to try kicking up the flavor with other ingredients maybe add a pinch or two of onion or garlic powder – totally different flavors, but still pretty tasty.
Any significant deviation from the recipe is probably going to require some trial and error. Good luck if you give it a shot, and I hope my responses are helpful!
This is really good, thank you so much! I’m having this on a KinnickKinnick GF bagel right now with coffee (with coconut milk) and it’s quite realistic. I haven’t had a bagel and cream cheese in so long it’s not funny. What I really like about this is it’s so quick as long as you’ve soaked the cashews. I soaked them yesterday, drained and refrigerated them overnight, then made this with my stick blender this morning. I added granulated garlic and dill, and I accidentally dumped in the nutritional yeast, but it’s still really good. I also eyeballed everything. I will definitely make this again.
I used about a tsp of ghee instead of canola oil, btw.
Thank you so much for sharing your results! Garlic and dill sounds like a delicious way to flavor this – I’m going to have to remember that for next time. Good to know that ghee works as well, as I’ve had a few people asking about substitutions for the canola oil. So glad you enjoyed this!
Keep in mind, if you use ghee, which is clarified butter, the recipe is no longer vegan, but still much better for you than regular cream cheese.
Absolutely – and thank you for pointing that out! Probably a good substitute for non-vegans just looking to cut back on dairy.
I am so excited to find this substitute for dairy cream cheese because my husband has developed allergies to all dairy and eggs so it really had decreased our food options!
I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s allergies but glad that this recipe can be of some help! I hope you both enjoy it!!
Hi!
Sounds delicious, unfortunately, I’m allergic to cashews :((
Let us know, if you ever think of any substitute for that :)
Thank you, and I’m sorry to hear that you’re allergic! I’m planning on doing lots more experimentation with vegan cheeses and will definitely post if I’m able to come up with a recipe using something other than cashews!
Is there a vegan form of ghee?
Ghee is butter that has been clarified by simmering. As far as I know, this reaction is unique to butter. (If anyone knows different, please let me know!)
red palm oil seems very similar to ghee; stays solid (but soft) at room temperature
I recently made something similar and it was exceptional. Unlike dairy products this is hearty and fulfilling. It was made with basic ingredients including garlic, lemon juice, sea salt and some black pepper. Came out wonderfully.
Yes! I love how satisfying this is, without being heavy like dairy!
This sounds great as a spread, but can you bake with it, as in a cheesecake recipe?
You probably could, but I’m not sure if directly subbing this for cream cheese in any cheesecake recipe would work (I just made a note to give that a shot though). To be on the safe side, you’re better off following a recipe that was developed around using raw cashews. I have a very simple one that you could try out:
https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/2013/06/super-easy-vegan-raspberry-chocolate.html
If you want to try something a bit more involved, here’s another great recipe that I tried out a while back and had awesome results with:
http://chowvegan.com/2012/01/08/heavenly-cheesecake-from-vegan-pie-in-the-sky/
Hey Alissa!
I’ve tried Cashew Cream Cheese at one of my favorite vegan restaurants and wanted to try to make it myself. Just as a FYI, I just tried this exact recipe in my short Vitamix 750 blender and it didn’t have enough ingredients inside of the blender for it to really blend so it ended up being super duper chunky. So just as a warning to you Vitamix users with short containers, be sure to double the recipe or this really won’t blend =/
Will have to soak 2x the cashews next time and give this another try. Thanks for posting!
Hi Shelly! Thank you! I’ve been using the food processor function of a Ninja to make this, and the bowl is rather small so I didn’t even think of that being a problem. I appreciate your feedback and I just updated the post to include a note on batch size, so hopefully this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Thanks again!
I soaked for about 2 hours, doubled the batch and used my handheld blender and substituted canola with coconut oil, added water to smooth it out…. no yeast…. YUM!… can’t wait to try it in my wraps for lunch… and add different flavours! THANKYOU for such an easy recipe to introduce me to nut cream :))
Yay! You’re welcome and I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your results – the two hour soak time is good to know. I’ve had a few people comment/ask about shorter soak times but I’ve yet to do any experimenting with it myself.
I have been making the sun dried tomato/basil cream cheese from Miyoko Schinner’s book: Artisan vegan cheese. The last time I made it, I added some finely chopped black olives which were a hit! Today I will be making another version of this since her recipe calls for rejuvelac and I don’t feel like waiting several days for the grains to sprout and then for the liquid to ferment.
betsy shipley
I love the rejuvelac cheeses too, but yes, they can be time consuming. I hope you enjoy your take on this recipe!
just made this for a dinner party. Using it for the filling in spinach and cheese puff pastry roll ups. Will sprinkle the top with vegan Parmesan. It is delicious. My husband taste tested it and loved this. Thanks!
Thanks Anne! I’m glad you like it – and puff pastry roll ups sound like an awesome use for this!
I’ve been collecting recipes for homemade seed/nut crackers, and found a bunch on Pinterest AND on http://www.rebootwithjoe.com (Reboot With Joe — Joe Cross’s website mainly dealing with juice fasting for health, cleansing, and eating right for health). Crackers and cream cheese are two of my favorite things, so I will be trying this recipe as soon as I get home today. I’ve also found the recipes on Pinterest for things like cauliflower tortillas and pizza crust are really good. In fact I made a pizza and used Kefir cream cheese as the foundation of my toppings. The recipe titled Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks is especially yummy. Give it a shot! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve made this several times now and it is is stellar! I add some minced onion for some batches and sometimes roasted red peppers. I’m going to try sundried tomatoes next time. I absolutely adore this stuff – it’s like creamy cashew crack! Thank you so much!
Awesome! I make it pretty often too, and I keep finding new recipes to use it in. Glad you like it. Thanks for letting me know! :)
I just found your blog and was thrilled with your cream cheese recipe. I have one question for you, do you think I could use this recipe of cream cheese to make and bake a cheesecake.
Thank-you,
Suzie
Glad you like it! I’m not sure if this would work in a cheesecake or not. One of these days I hope to getting around to trying it, but for now you’re probably better off just working with a vegan cheesecake recipe. I have one here if you’d like to check it out. This version has a mango topping, but you could really use whatever you like on cheesecake. :)
Thank-you so much for getting back to me. I will try the cheesecake recipe you have guided me to, but I will also wait and see what you come up with. No pressure!!!! Grin
This looks great! What food processor would you recommend?
Thank you! For small batch stuff like this I like the Ninja. It’s pretty cheap, powerful, and small so everything gets well mixed.
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe Allisa, have made it this evening but I must have used some super lemon as it came out with a bit too strong flavour :(
As I have made double portion I used chilli and coriander in one half and spring onion with a bit of sweet paprika in other. That helped to mask the lemony overtake a bit. I loved it on some dehydrated crackers I made the other evening. Thank you again for this and all other amazing recipes on your site.
Ah! The amount of lemon is definitely a taste thing. The spices sound like a good call! :) One other thing you could do is soak up some more cashews and blend them in – and if you end up with a huge batch you can stick some in the freezer!
this is the best dairy free cream cheese I’ve tasted and ever made! Going on my homemade honey whole wheat bagel tomorrow morning! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Glad to hear it! Thank you so much Sara!
I am excited to make this tomorrow with the smoky portobellos! I make and love a lot of your recipes, and I have a kind of general question for you. Do you always use freshly squeezed lemon juice or do you get a jar of it? Lemons have been crazy expensive around me lately and I wonder if you think the taste will suffer too much if I use the jar of lemon juice. I found a nice bottle of it, cold pressed organic, not from concentrate.
Thanks as always for sharing your wonderful food and ideas.
I usually go with fresh lemon juice, but I think jarred or bottled would be just fine. Every now and then I use bottled lime juice because my supermarket doesn’t always have the best limes, and I’ve never had a problem. :) I hope you enjoy the sandwiches! Thanks Cori!
Made this just before Christmas (used bottled lemon juice, btw) and added dill, garlic, etc., and it was a huge, huge hit, with omnivores and vegans alike! Just made another batch today, plain, no extra flavours. Beautiful just as it is, and super simple to make. Thank you so much, keep the easy, delicious recipes coming!
Just finished making this, and it tastes pretty good! I did less lemon juice and more oil (olive). I thought it tasted a bit pasty so I also added a couple tablespoons of oat milk to thin it out. I then added oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder! Looking forward to eating some veggies with this!
Those sound like delicious additions! Glad you’re enjoying it!
OMG i am in love with is vashew spread!!! Love it i use olive oik instead of canaola oil and inadd i littke little water, amazing !!! Thank yiu for sharing
Yay! Glad you’re enjoying it!
I am looking at this to replace a cream cheese filling in baking. Would you recommend using it as the filter itself or directly substituting it for the cream cheese? I have made cashew cheesecake before, although it used maple and vanilla to sweeten it. But I’m not sure about adding the eggs in with it. I avoid milk due to a good allergy, but can still eat eggs.
Filling, not filter
Hmmm…I haven’t used this in cheesecake and I don’t cook with eggs so I’m really not sure how to go about it or if it would even work at all! Sorry! I do have a bunch of vegan cheesecake recipes on this site that you could try (this is a favorite: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/caramel-apple-vegan-no-bake-cheesecake/).
I avoid Dairy, Oils and Processed foods. What do you think would be a good Oil Replacer?
I think a splash of water or non-dairy milk would work. :)
So,this looks really good and easy, but I am confused. I have seen comments about omitting the oil, but I don’t see oil in the recipe or video. Am I missing something?
I recently revised this post and simplified the recipe, so the oil is no longer included. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Alissa, I made this recipe last year and absolutely loved it! Recently, I started to get a craving for this cream cheese again but saw the recipe is not the same as before! Is there a possibility that you still have the old recipe as I loved it so much and I don’t seem to get the consistency and taste right on this new one..
Sending you an email!
New to this site & due to cholesterol issues am trying to go to a vegan diet. Is there recipes such as spanakopita, pasta dishes… using the cashew cream cheese?
I have a couple of recipes on this site that specifically call for this cream cheese (sushi: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-cream-cheese-and-veggie-sushi/ and stuffed mushrooms: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/tempeh-bacon-stuffed-mushrooms/) as well as a whole bunch that use blended up cashews the same way (like this: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-mushroom-stroganoff/). If you do a search for “cashews” in the side bar you should find a whole bunch. :)
I have made a few different recipes for cashew cream cheez. This is the best one I’ve found! And so simple! I blended in some sun dried tomatoes and basil. Yum!
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks Tina!
Can I use a Vitamix blender to make the cream cheese versus a food processor?
Yup! You might just want to double the batch size to make sure you’ve got enough material to blend up. :)
It’s wonderful. What type of food processor would you recommend? The food processor we saw before could provide the function with Chop and Grind only. We are not sure if it can work for this recipe as it needs to be blended. Thank you
Thank you! I use a Cuisinart 11 cup food processor, and I’ve also used a Hamilton Beech (I think it was the 8 or 10 cup, and the cheapest one you can buy), both with good results!
This is so tasty! I added red onions, chives and sun dried tomatoes. Lunch just got much better. I’ll have it on toast topped with roasted tomato slices.
Sounds delicious! Glad you’re enjoying it!
I have a question about raw cashews. I’ve been told they are toxic in their raw form, with the same toxin found in poison ivy. Being HIGHLY allergic to poison ivy, and having just gone to whole foods/plant based, I’m still experimenting with vegan recipes. I’ve ordered raw cashews, but now I’m afraid to try them. I’ve seen where raw are actually steamed, but I’m curious as to whether others have reactions to them. I had to order from Amazon and I can’t find whether my particular brand of cashews have been “lightly” processed or not. I drink cashew milk with no issues. Help! I don’t want to make myself sick this weekend trying new recipes!
Hmmm…that’s the first I’ve heard of this, but I did a quick google search and it sounds like raw cashews aren’t actually raw: https://www.fooducate.com/app#!page=post&id=57A35A5E-CDBF-4922-422B-B9AC8B57DF84 I had no idea! If you’re still nervous I’d just make sure to buy them from a reputable seller. I usually get mine at Trader Joe’s and have never gotten sick. :)
I have a recipe that could
Be vegan but contains cream cheese. Would this work
In place of cream cheese in a soup?
I’ve never used it in a soup, but I don’t see why not!
Hi can I add lime juice instead of lemon? Does it change the flavour much?
It probably will change the flavor a bit, but I think it’ll still taste good!
Thanks! I added lime but you’re right the flavour changed. It was too tangy. I’ll try with a lemon this time.
I use olive instead of canola oil and I think it’s okay..
I would make this !
Looks so easy to make and delicious
Thanks! I hope you do, and enjoy it!
a delicious vegan cream cheese recipe for anybody who loves cream cheese – easy to make!
I’m glad you think so! Thank Andrea!
A great way to avoid buying those annoying plastic containers and still have a treat! Now off to find my bagel recipe.