I think most of us are familiar with cultured cashew cheese. Sometimes I make my own using homemade rejuvelac. But the whole process of making basic vegan cream cheese takes up to a week. What if I want to spread something on my bagel right now?
This time I didn’t want to rely on cashews alone. First, it makes the cream cheese too high in fat/calories. Second, it is expensive. I wanted my cream cheese to be high in protein, calcium and all other good stuff. Here’s what I did:
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- I chose tofu as the base for protein and calcium. Keep in mind that some tofu has very distinctive soy taste. Choose one that is more neutral.
- For richness and creaminess I added soaked cashews. Cashews have subtle sweet flavor and they blend really well.
- A little bit of vegan yogurt gives a cultured flavor to vegan cream cheese. Although it is completely optional and you can just add a touch of water, if the mixture doesn’t blend well.
- Apple cider vinegar brings out the tanginess. Increase the amount, if you decide to omit vegan yogurt.
- Nutritional yeast, garlic powder and onion powder. These are my go-to “cheesy” flavorings. Skip garlic and onion powder, if you’re planning on using these cream cheese in desserts.
Speaking about desserts, this vegan cream cheese is not firm enough to make pipeable cream cheese frosting for double layer cake, but it’s ok for frosting loafs and single layer cakes.
Drain and dice tofu, so it blends easier.
Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides if needed.
Place your vegan cream cheese in an airtight container and refrigerate for few hours to firm up. Makes 500g.
PrintVegan Cream Cheese (5-minute, High Protein)
Silky, smooth and creamy vegan cream cheese.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Appetizer, Breakfast, Tutorials
- Cuisine: American, Vegan
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 C cashews, soaked for 4–6 hours
- 1/4 C unsweetened vegan yogurt
- 400g firm tofu (drained)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Drain and dice tofu, so it blends easier.
- Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides if needed.
- Place your vegan cream cheese in an airtight container and refrigerate for few hours to firm up.
Notes
Skip onion and garlic powder if you’re planing to use this vegan cream cheese in desserts.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tbsp
- Calories: 46
- Sugar: 0.7g
- Sodium: 151mg
- Fat: 3.1g
- Saturated Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 2.4g
- Fiber: 0.4g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Can this be frozen? It makes quite a bit and I live alone so I’m eating it all by myself…in my morning oatmeal, in my evening shakes, on bagels…it is SO yummy!
I’m not vegan so used dairy yogurt, but found this recipe when I was looking for a recipe to use up some leftover tofu. I’m an equal opportunity eater…I eat what makes my mouth sing and my body happy. Not always vegan but quite frequently.
Hi Carol!
I haven’t tried freezing it. It might affect the texture, but I’m not sure.
If you try it, please let me know 🙂
Anastasia