This perfectly tangy and creamy cashew cream cheese is naturally cultured with probiotics! Just 2 ingredients are required to make the best vegan cream cheese!
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This cashew cream cheese is by far one of the recipes I have been making the most. It is super simple, rich and tangy, and incredibly versatile. It can be used on toast, bagels, stirred into pasta, and more! Plus, it's cultured and packed with healthful bacteria!
⭐️ Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It's super easy: Just blend the cashews with water, stir in the probiotics, and let it ferment. Nothing more!
- It's naturally cultured: Meaning this vegan cream cheese is PACKED with good bacteria, helping with digestion and improving immunity.
- It's incredibly versatile: Use it to make sweet or savory dips, pasta sauces, and dips, or use it as is on toast or bagels.
🥛 Ingredient Notes
This vegan cream cheese recipe requires just 2 ingredients:
- Cashews - Use raw cashews. As opposed to roasted cashews, raw cashews have a very neutral flavor, making them perfect for this recipe.
- Probiotics - To help the cream ferment. I used Acidophilus capsules, but almost every type of probiotic will work.
- Sea salt - Optional, but it helps enhance the overall flavor.
🥣 How to Make Vegan Cream Cheese
This recipe consists of two steps: blending the cashews into a cream and culturing it.
Make the cream
First, soak raw cashews overnight or for at least 6 hours. This step softens the cashews and helps get a super creamy texture.
Once cashews are soaked, drain them and transfer them to a high-speed blender (or food processor). Add water and blend until smooth. You should get a thick and smooth texture.
Fermentation
Next comes fermentation. Transfer the cashew cream to a clean jar or bowl and stir in two capsules of probiotics. Simply open the capsules and add the powder to the cashew cream. If you have probiotics in powdered form, use about ⅛ of a teaspoon.
For information: the probiotics capsules I use here are the Advanced Acidophilus Plus and contain 500M microorganisms. You don't have to use this specific strain, but if your probiotics are stronger than that, use less.
Finally, cover the jar or bowl with plastic film to touch (the plastic film should be in contact with the cashew cream to prevent it from drying on top) and let ferment at room temperature for 12-48H.
During summer, 12 hours is enough for the cream to get a tangy flavor. During winter, it might take up to 48 hours. You know the cashew cream is done when it has a light texture with small air bubbles and a tangy flavor.
Note About The Consistency
You can easily adjust the consistency of your cashew cream by increasing or decreasing the amount of water.
- For a thick and spreadable cream cheese: use the recommended amount in the recipe. This yields cream cheese that can be used in sandwiches, on toast, etc.
- For a slightly softer texture: add an extra ¼ cup of water. This will give you a cashew cream that is perfect to use as a dip.
🥯 Where to Use It
This cultured cashew cream cheese is so versatile! It can be used in:
- Sandwiches or bagels
- Toasts: For example, in this Cream Cheese & Roasted Pumpkin Toast.
- Burgers: To add freshness and subtle cheesiness.
- Mashed potatoes: Incorporate a few tablespoons of cashew cream cheese into mashed potatoes for extra creaminess and a hint of tanginess.
- Bakes or lasagna
🥬 How to Flavor It
Now comes the fun part, flavoring the cream cheese! You can opt for the following:
- Original: Simply season with salt for a plain version.
- Chives & Garlic: Stir in ⅓ cup of finely chopped chives and 3 cloves of garlic, minced.
- Smoky: Add ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika and ¼ teaspoon ground cumin. You can also add a few drops of liquid smoke.
- Seaweed: Stir in 3 tablespoons of finely chopped rehydrated seaweed.
- Be creative: You can also make a sweet version by adding cacao powder, cinnamon, or raisins!
💬 FAQ
Can I skip the fermentation step?
Yes, if you are in a hurry, you can omit the probiotics and add 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Alternatively, you could replace the water with vegan yogurt.
My cream cheese is too tangy. What happened?
You probably let it ferment for too long, or at a too-warm temperature. Next time, let the cream cheese ferment in a colder room.
My cream cheese is not tangy after 24 hours. What can I do?
Depending on the temperature and probiotics used, it can take up to 48 hours for the cream cheese to get a tangy flavor. Let it ferment for another 10-12 hours and taste it.
Can I use this vegan cream cheese to make cheesecake?
Unfortunately, no, I didn't get good results with it.
How long does vegan cream cheese keep?
This vegan cream cheese will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
I hope you are going to love this vegan cream cheese! It's a MUST-HAVE recipe for anyone trying to reduce their dairy consumption!
🧀 More Cultured Vegan Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
📖 Recipe
The Best Vegan Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews soaked overnight
- ½ cup water
- 2 capsules probiotics I used Solgar's Advanced Acidophilus Plus
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Drain the cashews and transfer them to a high-speed blender. Add the water and blend on high speed for about 30 seconds or until the cashew cream is very smooth.
- Next, transfer the cashew cream to a clean jar or glass bowl. Open the probiotics capsules and add the powder to the cashew cream. Use a wooden spoon to stir.
- Cover the cashew cream with plastic film to touch and let ferment in a dark place, at room temperature, for 12-48 hours. During warm months, the cashew cream just needs about 12 hours to ferment, while in the winter, it can take up to 48 hours. You know the cashew cream is ready when you see small air bubbles have formed. It should have a tangy flavor but should not taste sour.
- Once fermented, refrigerate the cashew cream for at least 2 hours before using it, as it tastes better chilled. Add salt to taste and use in sandwiches, toasts, bagels, etc.
- This fermented cashew cream cheese will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Original: Simply season with salt for a plain version.
- Chives & Garlic: Stir in ⅓ cup of finely chopped chives and 3 cloves of garlic, minced.
- Smoky: Add ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika and ¼ teaspoon ground cumin. You can also add a few drops of liquid smoke.
- Seaweed: Stir in 3 tablespoons of finely chopped rehydrated seaweed.
- Be creative: You can also make a sweet version by adding cacao powder, cinnamon, or raisins!
I made this yesterday from the same recipe, different blogger. It is really good. I was surprised.
Thanks for the recipe. Your recipes are my favourite from the internet. Your vegan fish was sensational.
I wanted to share my tofu fresh cheese with you. It starts with me buying the Chinese 4 litre soy milk. In Vancouver we have a very large Chinese population so that part is easy to find. I buy it because it is much cheaper than buying the two quart SILK or other brand alternative milks. I like soy milk (NON-GMO) best. I also like Almond, but the politics behind Almond milk .... oh never mind. Anyway, I buy 4 litres at a time and often (especially since my son moved out) some of it goes sour. I put the sour milk in a jar, in a hot water bath. within a few hours it has separated. I pour off the whey which I use for many other things... bread liquid, pickling vegetables, etc... the list goes on.
I take the curds and depending on what I want it to taste like, I add lemon juice and nutritional yeast and spread it on crackers, bread, use as dips etc. I almost always have some in the fridge.
You are great!
Jeannie
Thanks so much for your kind words Jeannie!
Natural soy milk is definitely the best, it's much better than those tasteless commercial brands! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Fantásticas tus recetas.
Sugerencia:somos muchísimas las personas que te seguimos de habla ESPAÑOLA.
¿Podrías traducir los vídeos de YouTube al
Español? Muchísimas gracias.
Un saludo desde Las Islas Canarias en España.
Hi Valentina,
Thanks for your kind words! Unfortunately I don't speak Spanish and translating recipes is not planned at the moment.
I made a lot of cashew mass - and then see it keeps only for a week - is it freezable?
Yes, you should be able to freeze it!
Thus looks interesting. Could I use a little milk kefir instead of probiotic capsule?
Thanks, Elaine
Hi Elaine,
I believe that should work, but I haven't personally tried.
Just curious if stirring in the probiotics has to be done with a wooden spoon? Would silicon or metal induce a bad reaction from the bacteria?
I recommend using a wooden spoon just as a precaution, but a few times I stirred using a metal spoon and never had any issue.
Same here, i add probiotics while blending, metal blades but never any issues.
Made this and love it. I used a liquid coconut kefir probiotic made in Nova Scotia and there were bubbles within 12 hours. It is tasty as it but I plan to add some herbs to part of the batch for variety.
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback Terri!
I have been making fermented cashew cream for years. Sometimes I add coconut milk instead of water. Always wonderful result, perfect for soups or replacing cottage cheese
Thanks for your rating Evva!
Awesome The Crazy Vegan luv it thanks for sharing
I was wondering if this recipe is the updated version of the cultured cream cheese recipe found in your ebook or simply a different version? I made the cultured cream cheese the other day with mesophilic culture and it turned out amazing! I was totally blown away by how similar to non-vegan cream cheese it was with its tanginess.
Going forward, would you recommend the acidophilus over the mesophilic culture?
It's not an updated version. Mesophilic culture is not resonating with many people, so to make it simpler I went with probiotics for this recipe.
If you have mesophilic and can find it easily, I definitely recommend it over the probiotics. The flavor is slightly better and more complex in my opinion.
I so agree with this statement. The mesophilic is far superior in taste to me, also.
Do you think this would work using tofu instead of cashews? Trying to get more soy in my diet. Thank you.
Hi Rebecca,
I haven't tried but I think using tofu will not yield the same rich and creamy texture. I'm also not sure how it would ferment.
Hello!
I love your recipes, thank you so much for all the work that is behind them.
Regarding the translation into Spanish, I’m from Spain, I speak English and I can do it for free, it would be my pleasure if more people can access this amazing blog.
Cheers;
Erica
Hello Erica,
Thanks for your kind words! We are not looking to translate recipes for now, but thanks for your offer!
I love this recipe
Can I use this fermented cream to make cheesecakes?
Thank you
Thanks Andrea!
I haven't tried yet, but I doubt you will get a texture very similar to an authentic cheesecake.
In your camembert recipe you say it's okay to use mesophilic as a substitute for probiotics. Is it also okay to substitute mesophilic for the probiotics in this recipe?
Yes!
I wanted to thank you for your wonderful recipes. I have used your cashew cream cheese recipe many times and it is wonderful. I used to just soak and then puree cashews and add lemon juice but it never had the tanginess of real cream cheese. Then I downloaded your free cheese book and started using your recipe (with probiotics) of cultured cream cheese. Brilliant! The other day, I accidentally used too much water in blending the cashews but I fermented it anyways and it came out like a lovely crème fraîche. Thanks for all the positivity and wonderful recipes you are sharing on this blog.
Thanks for your kind words Diane! I totally agree, nothing can replace the flavor fermentation brings!
Hi, two questions; 1-can we add fresh garlic and herbs at the same time with probiotic? or should we add extras including salt after fermenting? 2- which one is better; garlic powder or fresh minced garlic? Thank you!
Hi Afsan,
I would add those after fermenting, to make sure it doesn't affect the fermentation process. Fresh garlic will yield a nice flavor.
Hi! I’m making your ebook cream cheese recipe, and when you say to cover with plastic wrap “to touch”, does that mean to touch it to the surface of the cheese, or the top of the jar? Also with the mesophilic culture, will it work to use 1/4 cup of the fermented cream cheese as a starter (like with yogurt) in subsequent batches? Will I still need to add a little additional culture too? Thanks!!! Julie
Hi Julie,
Yes, I mean the plastic wrap should touch the surface of the cream cheese to prevent it from drying.
I believe using some of the fermented cream cheese as a starter should work without having to add more culture!
Thank you so much! The cream cheese is delicious with the mesophilic culture! I’ve done it with probiotics before, but this culture is new to me. Thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes!
Thanks for your feedback Julie 😉
I’m confused about the winter vs summer portion of the recipe. Indoor temps are the same year round. Is the dish supposed to be placed outside?
No, you should let it ferment indoors at around 68°F (20°C).
I Thomas
in this recipe you use Acidophilus, whereas in the book, you advise Mesophilic.
Which is the difference between them?
Furtermore, I'd like to learn about probiotics. Could you please advise me on a book or something like that where I could increase my knowledge?
Thanks a million.
Ps. I've just tried your Creme Caramel...I felt over the moon! I also added a small pinch of tumberic!
Hi Tania,
Mesophilic yields a more buttery, slightly less acidic flavor. Some brands of acidophilus contain too much probiotics (unless you use the one I recommend) and can make the cream turn bad while with mesophilic you won't have that problem.
Unfortunately I don't have any book to recommend, I learned most of it online and by testing.
Glad you liked the creme caramel 😉
Hi Thomas !
Thank you for this wonderful recipe (and all the recipes on your website !). Never failed me.
I like to experiment so I was wondering if I could do something similar halfway through greek yogurt/cream cheese by straining soy yogurt for 6h then mixing probiotics and let it sit at room temp for 12h.
What do you think ?
Hi Cass,
Thanks for your kind words 😉
Well, I am not sure why you would want to culture yogurt again? Straining the yogurt will give you a thick texture with a tangy flavor already.
I’m excited to try this recipe! How much mesophilic culture should I add to this recipe, in place of the probiotics? Also, do you think it would work if I used a combination of macadamia and cashews in this recipe? Thanks!
I would say about 1/16 tsp of mesophilic should be enough.
And a mix of macadamia and cashews should work!
Beautiful recipe Thomas, thank you. I have made it before with excellent results. Delving into Keto, I thought I'd try it with Brazil nuts. It worked great - soaked as per the recipe and just needed more water to get a smooth consistency (and next time I will blanch the Brazils to remove any brown skin). I let it ferment, and once it was done, I sprinkled in some psyllium husk to thicken it up. It wasn't overly watery anyhow - and an option was to also strain it through a bag, but I wanted to try the psyllium to see what it did. I found it very successful.