I love cream cheese, you love cream cheese, we all love cream cheese!
That is until we stop eating dairy, of course.
While there are some vegan cream cheeses out there on the market, some of the ingredients popular brands contain are quite horrifying, such as partially hydrogenated soy oil, defatted soy flour, and so on, and so on.
However, I do love a creamy spread to slather onto toast, waffles, pancakes, or even burritos and tortilla chips, just without mystery ingredients. Especially ones that I can’t buy in a local grocery store or make in my own home.
Thus, I quickly took to trying my hand at homemade vegan cream cheese. After a couple of test trials, Kim and I achieved a smooth, spreadable, lightly tangy cheese that contains only ingredients you can spell – as long as you’ve passed the fourth grade – and is free from added oils & sugar.
Here’s a breakdown on the ingredients we used: tofu for smoothness, cashews for consistency, nutritional yeast for “cheesiness,” lemon juice & apple cider vinegar for tang, and a little salt to round it out.
That’s it, friends.
For a pleasant snack, I love putting this spread atop toasted sourdough (a local bakery here in Eugene makes one that’s completely gluten-free & vegan!), along with a few strawberry slices as shown in the photo above. Mmmm. However, the options are limitless with this cheese because it pairs just as kindly with the sweet side of cuisine as it does with the savory.
I truly hope you enjoy this delectable spread as much as I do. If you make a batch of your own, tag us on Instagram @noeggsorham ~ we’d love to see your own variation!
Vegan Cream Cheese
Six ingredient, one-step vegan cream cheese that's thick, smooth, tangy, and free from mystery ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 – 14 oz block of extra firm tofu, drained*
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend on high until creamy, about 5 minutes.
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
*For tofu, remove the liquid from the package, but do not press it to rid it of excess moisture. That moisture helps achieve the proper texture in this cream cheese. Thanks!
Expect one or two different flavor variations of this cream cheese within the next two weeks!
NO EGGS OR HAM 
Thanks for sharing. I’m a recently new vegan (about two months) and I’m finding that I miss cheese the most. I will definitely be trying this recipe out.
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Hey Jose!
Sorry for the late response – for some reason, this message was stashed in a separate place from our normal notification feed.
Never the less, I’m three years into being vegan and I still miss cheese from time to time! Not so much cheese sauces, as those are easy to transform into being vegan, but rather the idea of a slice of melted cheese on a burger is what gets me.
While this vegan cream cheese isn’t exactly “cream cheese” as it’s typically thought of, we feel that it fills the hap left behind by standard cream cheese quite well.
Hope you enjoy!
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