Carrageenan Free Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese
Most store-bought vegan cream cheeses rely on carrageenan as a thickener and stabilizer, which makes finding a clean option genuinely frustrating. This homemade version skips it entirely, getting its rich, spreadable texture purely from soaked raw cashews and a touch of refined coconut oil — no additives, no fillers, no label-reading anxiety. The lemon juice and apple cider vinegar give it that familiar tangy bite you expect from cream cheese, while onion powder and optional nutritional yeast add a subtle savory depth that makes it taste far more complex than the short ingredient list suggests. After a quick chill in the fridge, it firms up beautifully into something you'll want to spread on everything — bagels, crackers, toast, or straight off the spoon. The blending process is the real magic here: soaking the cashews until plump and then running them through a high-speed blender produces a silky-smooth result that genuinely rivals the dairy version in texture. It's one of those recipes that feels like a little kitchen trick once you realize how simple it actually is.
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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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