The creamiest, tangiest, most delicious Easy Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese Recipe! Made with just 4 ingredients. You'll never look at cashews the same again!
Can I just say that this is perhaps the coolest thing to have ever graced my lips?!
It never ceases to amaze me what you can do with plants. Now let me tell you how this vegan cashew cream cheese recipe came to fruition. We knew we wanted a kick-ass plant-based cream cheese for the bagel sammie on Alchemy 2's menu. I originally planned on buying it pre-made, but then I thought...that's a cop out. (Not to mention the fact that the store-bought versions are hella expensive.) I was up for the challenge!
Making fermented foods and dealing with bacteria can be a risky business, but it's also SUPER easy. Set it and forget it! To ensure your vegan cashew cream cheese making experience will be a total success, you want to make sure everything you're working with is squeaky clean. Give the bowl you're using a nice rinse in really hot water before you start.
Now let's talk tang. The first time I made this cashew cream cheese, I let it sit for 24 hours. When I tasted it, it was good, but it wasn't great. It needed more tang. So I let it sit for 12 more hours and OMG, best decision I ever made. The hardest part is waiting. And no peeking!!
The end result was so tangy and luscious and honestly so freaking SHOCKING because of how much it tasted like regular dairy cream cheese. Just picture me happy dancing my tush across the kitchen!
I was so pumped when I saw that you all were just as excited as I was about this recipe. As you saw in so many of my What I Ate This Week posts, this cashew cream cheese is such a dream on sourdough toast or bagels with everything bagel spice. It also worked like a charm in my Chai Carrot Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting and in my Broccoli Mushroom Breakfast Strata! I'm pretty confident that you can use this in any recipe calling for cream cheese.
Looking at the ingredients, you'd probably guess this would taste like cashew butter. Not at all! It tastes like tangy, yummy cream cheese heaven. It's crazy. Magical. It's science!
And guess what? It gets thicker and even more wondrous after you refrigerate it! The other amazing this about this recipe is that it lasts a while. Like, two weeks.
At Alchemy, we source our vegan probiotics from Terra Soul, so I used the bulk bag we had on hand for this recipe. My pal and tried n' true Hummusapien recipe tester Dylan used these ones and said they worked great. You should be able to break any probiotic capsule open and measure out the powder for this recipe. Regarding the cashews, please use raw ones for this recipe.
Cashew? I mean, kapeesh?
I also tested this recipe in this yogurt maker and it made it SO MUCH FASTER! I made the recipe the exact same way except I only let it sit for 9 hours and it was done. So basically you can make it four times faster if you have a fancy machine. It also starts cooling it once the time runs out, so you don't have to worry about getting home right in time to refrigerate it.
If you make this Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese recipe, please let me know! Use #hummusapien if you share on social media so I can see your beauteous creations!!!
YOUR LIFE IS ABOUT TO CHANGE.
Print
Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese Recipe
- Prep Time: 44 hours
- Total Time: 44 hours
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
The creamiest, tangiest, most delicious Easy Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese! Made with just 4 ingredients. You'll never look at cashews the same again!
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked
- ¼ cup filtered water
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp vegan probiotics
Instructions
- Place cashews in a medium bowl. Cover with water and let soak overnight or for 8 hours.
- Drain and rinse cashews. Place in a food processor with ¼ cup water and the sea salt. Blend until very smooth and creamy (about 7 minutes), scraping sides with a rubber spatula as needed. (I've also made this in a Vitamix and it worked but I had to add a bit more water).
- Spoon mixture into a glass bowl or container of choice that has a lid (I used a 4-cup Pyrex). Using a plastic or wood spoon (metal can disrupt fermentation), stir in probiotics.
- Cover and let sit out on the counter, unrefrigerated, for 36 hours.
- It should taste tangy and very similar to dairy cream cheese. Store in the refrigerator. It will last up to two weeks!
El Cyd says
When do you add the probiotics and where do you find this?
patricia says
Have you ever tried to freeze this, just in case I cannot use it all at one time?
patricia says
Have you ever tried to freeze this, just in case I cannot use it all at one time?
Carol says
Can’t wait to try this!! Do you think I could take a teaspoon or so of already fermented cashew cheeseand and blend it into a fresh batch of soaked and creamed cashews instead of additional probiotics? Probiotics are not cheap.
★★★★★
Alexis says
I've never tried it but let me know if that works!
Carol says
Can’t wait to try this!! Do you think I could take a teaspoon or so of already fermented cashew cheeseand and blend it into a fresh batch of soaked and creamed cashews instead of additional probiotics? Probiotics are not cheap.
★★★★★
Alexis says
I've never tried it but let me know if that works!
Cheryl says
You can use the Instant Pot on Yogurt setting instead of a yogurt maker! One less appliance!!Thanka for the recipe...making it tomorrow!
★★★★★
Cheryl says
You can use the Instant Pot on Yogurt setting instead of a yogurt maker! One less appliance!!Thanka for the recipe...making it tomorrow!
★★★★★