Vegan Cream Cheese (5-minute, High Protein)

Anastasia

4 years ago

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:

- 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.

Vegan Cream Cheese (5-minute, High Protein)

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Silky, smooth and creamy vegan cream cheese.

Author: Anastasia
Prep Time: 5 min
Total Time: 5 min
Yield: 2 cups
Category: Appetizer, Breakfast, Tutorials
Cuisine: American, Vegan

Ingredients

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.