Beef Free Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese
Creamy, tangy, and surprisingly rich, this cashew-based spread delivers everything you love about classic cream cheese — without a single animal product in sight. Soaking the raw cashews until plump is the secret move here; it transforms them into a silky base that blends down to an almost impossibly smooth texture. Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar bring that signature tang, while a touch of onion powder and optional nutritional yeast add savory depth that makes this taste far more complex than its short ingredient list suggests. Refined coconut oil gives the finished spread that firm, scoopable consistency once it chills, so it actually behaves like the real thing on a bagel or cracker. Store-bought alternatives can be hit or miss — full of stabilizers and often underwhelming in flavor — but this homemade version lets you control every element. A high-speed blender will get you there fastest, though a food processor works just fine with a little extra patience. Make a batch on Sunday and you'll have a versatile, crowd-pleasing spread ready to go all week long.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp refined coconut oil, melted
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- 2–4 tbsp cold water, as needed
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with cold water by at least 2 inches. Soak for at least 4 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator, until the cashews are plump and noticeably softened.
- 2
Drain and rinse the soaked cashews under cold running water.
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