Whenever you tell people you’re vegan, there are inevitably one of two things they will respond with – “I’d miss bacon too much!” or “I couldn’t live without cheese!”. The bacon thing, I don’t really get all that much. But cheese… oh I do love me some cheesiness!
But there are so many ways to get that cheesy fix without dairy – shoutout to the humble cashew nut proving it is MVP in a vegan diet, yet again! I really want to spend some time this year trying to make more vegan cheese, but I thought it best to start simply… with a cream cheese.
This recipe is really quite simple and requires very few ingredients really. It is made with a creamy cashew base and is loaded with lovely garlic, fresh basil with just a hint of lemon cutting through it all.
My favourite way to eat this is slathered on a bagel in the morning – but it will also go down a treat with some crackers at your next gathering! Keep the cream cheese well covered up in the fridge and it should last you quite a while – usually a couple of weeks.
Basil & Garlic Cashew Cream Cheese
Ingredients
150g Cashews – soaked overnight
60ml Water
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Juice of half a Lemon
15g Basil Leaves – chopped
Pinch Salt and Pepper
Method
- Soak your cashews in water overnight to soften
- Add soaked cashews to blender with the 60ml of water – blend until you have a relatively smooth cashew paste. This may take a few minutes of blending – make sure you scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add coconut oil, nutritional yeast, garlic cloves, garlic powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper to blender. Blend very well until you have a lovely smooth consistency.
- Transfer to a bowl and mix through your roughly chopped basil leaves
- Place in bowl or wrap in cling film/cheese cloth and place in a fridge to set for at least an hour or until ready to serve.
Ready for Pinning!
