Super quick & easy to make Vegan Cream Cheese. It's creamy, rich, tangy and delicious. Just perfect for spreading, snacking and dipping!
Holy moly. I made the best Vegan Cream Cheese. It's creamy, luscious, tastes amazing and is a major food feature in my life right now.
I have been making it all the time and I am not ashamed to say that I eat it straight out of the food processor. But it's even better when used as cream cheese is supposed to be. Like spread on bagels, bread and crackers and other appropriate things that are not just a silicone spatula.
It's made in minutes in a food processor and uses pretty standard vegan pantry/fridge ingredients.
You could say I'm on a cheese roll ... ha ha. What with this and my very recent Vegan Feta Cheese, which is, incidentally, getting the most amazing feedback. These creative vegan tofu recipes just keep on coming!
What is vegan cream cheese?
Vegan Cream Cheese is a delicious cream cheese substitute, made from simple ingredients. It can be made in a food processor in just a few minutes and can be used for spreading, dipping and snacking just like regular cream cheese. You can also use it for making things like vegan cheesecake or for baking with, but for sweet recipes I recommend omitting the nutritional yeast and dried dill.
Vegan Cream Cheese has less calories than regular cream cheese and also contains less than half of the saturated fat. It also contains more than double the protein. It is a great option for anyone looking to reduce the amount of saturated fat they consume, while still enjoying a delicious, creamy, indulgent tasting cream cheese spread.
What do you need to make Vegan Cream Cheese?
To make my Vegan Cream Cheese you are going to need:
- tofu
- almonds (and yes, there's a nut-free option - see the recipe notes)
- lemon juice
- vinegar
- nutritional yeast
- salt
- coconut oil (it's optional so if you're WFPB you are good to go too!)
- dried dill (trust me on this one ... it doesn't actually taste of dill when blended but it adds a certain something)
And although for the very best-est creamiest, richest results, almonds and coconut oil are kind of necessary, it can also be made without either so if you can't, or choose not to eat almonds or coconut oil, you can still make it!
I like to use my food processor for making this recipe, as although I like the cream cheese to turn out pretty smooth, I actually like a tiny bit of graininess, but if you prefer it perfectly, velvety smooth, then go for a high powered blender like a Blendtec or Vitamix instead.
How to make Vegan Cream Cheese
SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
It's easier to make a Vegan Cream Cheese than you might think.
Basically, you're going to blend all of the ingredients up in a food processor. And that's about it. You're done. You made cream cheese. Told you it was easy.
You can eat it right away or let it firm up a little in the fridge first. It depends how desperate you are to eat it!
Ways to use my cream cheese substitute are many.
Here are some ideas:
- spread on bagels, all alone or with toppings of choice
- with crackers. The one's in my photos incidentally are Jenny Marie's Crackers. They are handmade here in Victoria, are all vegan and are super yum!
- melted into hot pasta (so good!)
- in sandwiches
- on my Easy Flatbread Recipe
- as a dip for, or spread on things like celery, carrot, cucumber and bell pepper sticks
- as an ingredient in dips
- in baked goods .... think cream cheese swirl in brownies, muffins, cakes or breads*
- dolloped on pizza before or after baking
- with waffles or pancakes*
- stirred through your tofu scramble just before serving to make it super creamy
- jalapeno poppers
*Please note that for using it in sweet recipes, I would recommend omitting the nutritional yeast and the dried dill.
It's so adaptable! You can go crazy wild and flavour it up.
Want some ideas for that too? Try adding:
- lemon zest and poppy seeds
- dried cranberries, orange zest and walnuts
- chopped fresh rosemary or any other fresh herbs
- harissa and mint
- roasted garlic
- black pepper
- everything bagel seasoning
- drained and chopped pickles
- powdered freeze dried fruits like strawberries and blueberries
- chopped jalapenos
- a little sriracha
- fresh chopped chives
There's more where that came from!
If you love my vegan cream cheese recipe, check out these great vegan dairy alternative recipes too:
And if you love this recipe, please do check out my cookbook, and subscribe to my email list for a fabulous FREE eCookbook featuring my top 10 recipes. Being on the list means you will be first to see my new recipes and you’ll be kept in the loop on all things new and exciting too!
Vegan Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- ½ heaping cup / 75 g raw almonds , for nut-free option see recipe notes
- 454 g / 16 oz medium firm, firm or extra firm tofu (NOT silken tofu) , I like medium firm for this recipe. Using firm or extra firm will create a slightly firmer cream cheese.
- 3 tablespoons / 45 ml fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons / 45 ml white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup / 60 ml refined coconut oil (melted but not hot ... measure while liquid) , for oil-free option see recipe notes
- 1 - 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon dried dill , the finished recipe won't taste of dill (heck, I don't even like dill much!), but it adds a certain something that I can't quite put my finger on. I really recommend you don't skip it!
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil some water in a kettle and cover the raw almonds in the boiling water. Let them soak for 15 minutes. Drain, then remove the brown, papery skins by pinching the rounded end of the almond and squeezing. They should pop out really easily. Discard the skins.
- To a food processor add the soaked and skinned almonds, tofu, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, nutritional yeast, coconut oil, 1 teaspoon of the sea salt and the dried dill. Process until completely smooth. It will take 2 to 3 minutes, longer in a less powerful food processor.
- Taste, and add the remaining salt to taste then blend again. I always use the full 1½ teaspoons.
- Spoon out into a container. It can be eaten right away but is best if refrigerated for at last 1 hour so it firms up a little.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy only. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Chaitra Guptha says
Hi Mel, Could we use this to make baked cheese cakes? Thank you for getting back.. Regards,Chaitra
A Virtual Vegan says
This recipe as it is, is very savoury tasting. It's also very slightly grainy. Extra firm or firm tofu also can go a little lumpy and almost curdled looking when baked. I haven't tried it in cheesecake because of that. If you were to try it you would definitely need to omit the dill, and garlic powder etc and I think then if it was an unbaked cheesecake it could work ok with some sweet flavours introduced. I don't think it would do so well in a baked one though.
I do have an amazing baked cheesecake recipe on my website. It gets great feedback and it's always my go-to. You can find it here: https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-new-york-cheesecake/
And watch this space because I've just developed a ricotta recipe which I think would be perfect for cheesecakes! I'll be sharing it in a few weeks.
Andy says
Really REALLY good.
I only had a 12 ounce block of extra firm silken tofu on hand so I used that, then made several other reductions to adapt to the lesser amount of tofu. Luckily the proportions turned out right.
I also used just 1 tsp of malt vinegar, and added a little dried rosemary and the recommended chives. Fantastic. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it Andy!
Suzanne says
Wow!!!! Made it yesterday for the first time it was delicioooooous!!! This morning, I took part of the veganchiz and put a little bit of onion, a little bit of celery and a little bit of veganmayo, put everything in a vegan bun with some lettuce and, unbelievable brunch that was... Miam!!!!! Thank you sooooo much for this newforme recipe...
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Suzanne! You brunch sounds delicious!
George says
Can you substitute Olive oil instead of the refined Coconut oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
I use refined coconut oil because it firms the cream cheese up as it solidifies and adds a creamy mouth feel. Olive oil won't do that and might make it a little too loose. There is an oil-free alternative mentioned in the recipe notes. It's not as rich and creamy without the oil though. You could make it that way then see what you think of the texture and if you don't mind it a little looser add a drop of olive oil. Just be careful not to let it get too slack as it won't firm much in the fridge.
Carolyn Riddle says
Next time I'll use less salt and less (or no?) vinegar. I'm used to using Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese. This isn't a substitute for that. However, it is a good dip.
Charlette Bell says
Hi...can I use this in a cream cheese frosting along with the vegan butter?
A Virtual Vegan says
My butter recipe is fine in frosting etc, but I wouldn't recommend using this cream cheese recipe as it is written in sweet recipes. It's flavour is too savoury and the texture isn't as smooth as store bought cream cheese. You could probably omit the dill, the nutritional yeast and some of the salt and blend it really thoroughly in a blender to get it smoother and more suitable though.
Sarah says
Awesome! I made it with extra firm tofu and without the oil, and it tastes fantastic.
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thomas says
If I don't have white wine vinegar, can I use apple cider vinegar instead?
A Virtual Vegan says
You could but white wine vinegar does gives the best flavour.
Mélanie says
Did you try to make a cheesecake with this recipe ? And did you still put some dried dill in ?
A Virtual Vegan says
I have not tried it for making cheesecake because I love my baked cheesecake recipe too much and always just make that. In case you haven't seen that one here it is: https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-new-york-cheesecake/
But I do think this cream cheese would work well in an unbaked cheesecake. I'm not sure about one that gets baked though. If I was going to use it for a cheesecake I'd definitely omit the dill and maybe omit or reduce the nutritional yeast too. It's quite a savoury tasting cream cheese with those ingredients added.
Have fun if you experiment with it. I will try it myself one day. It would be good to have an unbaked cheesecake recipe here at some point!
Tricia lim says
Hello! Great work!
Should it be really white wine vinegar? We don’t have that a lot here in our country.
A Virtual Vegan says
I have no idea why but white wine vinegar helps it taste cheesier. But, if you can't get it apple cider vinegar would be fine. Failing that regular white vinegar but it's sharper so you might not need as much. Use half then add more to taste very gradually as you blend. You could probably get away with omitting it completely if you don't mind the cream cheese not having a tang. Hope that helps!
MARIO SALINAS says
can i use coconut extra virgen instead?
A Virtual Vegan says
The coconut flavour in extra virgin coconut oil isn't good in this recipe which is why refined coconut oil is best to use.
Jo-Ann Sebanc says
i made your butter i am ecstatic about it . thank you so much for your sharing. you are doing such good work.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much Jo-Ann! I'm really pleased you are enjoying the butter!
Jeanne says
Hi! Is there a reason why Extra Firm Silken Tofu won't work? I can't find any other brands where I live except for 'Morinu Silken Extra Firm' or 'House Foods Soft Tofu'. I'm going to use the cheese later in Rugelach Cookies. Any suggestions would be HIGHLY appreciated :)
A Virtual Vegan says
This recipe works best with regular tofu and not silken. Silken tofu is produced without separating and pressing the soy curds so has a much higher water content, which is why its softer. If you use it in this recipe the cream cheese will be a lot thinner and might not be so spreadable. You might be able to make up for it by increasing the coconut oil but it would need playing around with to get right. Silken tofu is best for sauces/dressing/dips/smoothies etc.
Paola Dembroski says
Is it OK to use a coarse almond flour instead of soaked almonds?
Melanie McDonald says
Yes that will be fine. I would weigh it though so that you get exactly the right amount. It would be hard to tell from volume alone.
Melanie McDonald says
I hope you get to try it soon!
With regards the "jump to recipe' button, I've been in 2 minds about having one for ages. I used to and removed it because I spend so much time crafting my posts, that I felt like by having the button I was kind of telling new visitors that my posts weren't worth reading. Of course that's different for people like you who are coming back to the same recipe again and again and obviously aren't going to read the post every single time. My ad company always tell me it will hurt my income too, and of course I depend on that to be able to keep doing what I do.
But, I have just added the button again. I will monitor my earning for the next week or so and as long as there isn't much of a change I will keep it there.
Emma says
Wow! I've just made a batch of your freakishly authentic vegan cream cheese. Who'd have thought that small list of ingredients would create such pleasure in my household. Nice one Mel!
Melanie McDonald says
Right?! It's so hard to believe it will taste good but it really does eh? I'm so pleased you enjoyed it Emma, and thank you for coming back to leave a comment. I really appreciate it!