Easy peasy Nut Free Vegan Cream Cheese is creamy, thick and delicious to the taste buds! It’s made with healthy ingredients and works great as a spread on toast or bagels or in sandwiches.
I am so happy to come with this oil free and healthy vegan cream cheese recipe. Now, it’s my all-time favorite spread. I keep it ready in my refrigerator most of the days and enjoy it as and when I am hungry.
Now, lunch for me has become pretty easy and doable. I quickly spread this cream cheese on my bread slices and stuff it with veggies. VOILA! I am done within minutes. Since it is nut free, I can send this to my daughter’s school lunch box as well.
Ingredients for Nut free Vegan Cream Cheese
Sunflower seeds – it gives a base to this recipe plus makes it nut free. Its healthy and low in calories too.
Extra firm tofu – Its high in protein and low in carbohydrates. In addition, it adds to its texture and creaminess.
Lemon juice – This brings the tangy flavor to this spread. Besides it is high in vitamin C.
Apple cider vinegar – It gives a sweet tangy aroma and flavor to this recipe. Moreover, it has many health benefits.
Dairy free milk – This not only adds calcium to this recipe but helps in further creamy texture.
Onion powder – This gives a subtle gentle herb kind of a flavor to this cream cheese.
Powdered white sugar – Since tofu does not have a taste of its own and mostly bland, sugar adds a balance to this recipe.
Salt – it is used to season and provide a balance of taste to this vegan cream cheese in all respect.
How to make this Nut free Vegan Cream Cheese
Firstly, I soaked sunflower seeds in hot boiling water for only 5 minutes. Then, I drained it and kept it aside.
In my second step, I combined the drained sunflower seeds, tofu, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and milk in a food processor. Further, I processed it smooth by scraping it once.
Later, I spooned it out into a mixing bowl. Thereafter, I stirred in onion powder, sugar and salt.
Lastly, I refrigerated it for a minimum of 3 hours so that all the ingredients blends together very well. This step not only brings out its best texture but enhances its flavor too making it very close to the traditional one.
Now, take it out of the refrigerator and use it over your toast/bagel/sandwiches.
Expert tips:
- Unsweetened tetra pack coconut milk/oat milk/hemp milk works best for this recipe.
- In fact, the best way to enjoy this vegan cream cheese is to blend it before sleeping and refrigerate it overnight. Just before using it stir this spread nicely and enjoy.
- Most importantly, do not substitute apple cider vinegar with white vinegar. Even though we use it in a very quantity here but it plays a vital role in this recipe.
Frequently asked questions:
- This cream cheese lasts for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator in an air tight glass container.
- Tofu does not require to be pressed for this recipe. However, it needs to be drained for sure.
- It is important to use unsalted and raw with NO shell sunflower seeds to get the right taste of this cheese spread.
- It works great as a sandwich spread or on toast/bagel. In addition, it works excellent as a dip too.
My other popular dips/spreads are:
Oil free Vegan Mayo
Fire Roasted Jalapeno Dip
Tofu Sriracha Dressing
Sriracha Mango Dip
Red Bean Hummus Dip
If you are looking for homemade bagels to pair with this recipe:
Habanero Cashew Sauce Bagels
Butternut Squash Amaranth Bagels
If you get a chance to make this recipe then please leave your feedback in the comments below along with the ratings. In addition, you may tag @kiipfit on Instagram because I love to see what you cook in your kitchen.
Nut Free Vegan Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (raw with no shell and unsalted)
- 1/2 of 15 oz extra firm tofu ( not silken)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp dairy free milk
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp powdered white sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Soak sunflower seeds in hot boiling water for 5
minutes. Darin it and keep it aside. - In the food processor/blender combine drained
sunflower seeds, tofu, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and dairy free milk. Blend
it smooth until creamy. Stop at intervals if required to scrape from the
bottom. - Spoon it out into a glass mixing bowl and stir in
onion powder, sugar and salt. (Do not steel mixing bowl as lemon juice might react to it and the taste of this spread might change). - Cover and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours.
- Take it out and spread it over your bagels/toast/sandwiches and
enjoy.
Notes
- Preferably unsweetened tetra pack coconut milk tastes best in this recipe. However, unsweetened almond milk/oat milk/hemp milk can also be used.
- The tofu here does not need to be pressed but drain the excess water from the package.
- This recipe tastes best the next day. The longer they stay in the refrigerator the better this cream cheese tastes. Therefore, let it rest a minimum of 3 hours before spreading it over your toast/bagel/sandwiches.
- Refrigerate the leftovers in an air tight glass container about 2 weeks.
- This recipe makes about 1 ¾ cups.
- I have provided step wise images in the post above for your reference.
Nutrition
irene McDonald says
Just made this today as I have a friend who allergic to nuts and obviously I can’t use cashews. I put the juice of a medium lemon in and I guess it was a little more than the recipe. It is fabulous and can’t wait to try it on cucumber sandwiches. It is very creamy and tangy, perfect for me.
Thanks for the recipe
Gunjan says
Cool! totally love your feedback. I am so happy that this cream cheese recipe worked for you and your friend.
Lynn says
I made this minus the sunflower seeds and it still turned out very good! Thank you for the recipe.
Gunjan says
It makes me so happy to know that this vegan cream cheese recipe worked out for you and that you liked it so much. Really appreciate your feedback Lynn!
Sue Tuffnell says
Want to make a nut free cream cheese for the kids packed lunch so this fits the bill. Half of 15oz of tofu, that’s 7.5oz isn’t it. Sorry this is a different way of writing it and I just want to make sure.
Gunjan says
Yes, basically, I used the one of the twin pack but you can just cut the 15 oz tofu block into half. Hope this helps.
Susan Tuffnell says
Thanks, made it now. Tried it without the seasoning and thought you had got it wrong as it was so sour but it’s completely right. Can’t wait to give it to the kids for their packed lunch.
Gunjan says
So glad it finally worked out for you! Thank you for trying and appreciating this cream cheese recipe.
Jess says
What an awesome recipe! Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to try it out! I will need to keep this recipe in my kitchen. What a great substitute for cream cheese – something I use very often in the kitchen!
Tara says
I really need to try this. I know a few people who can’t eat dairy and are always looking for alternatives.
Aleta says
This is amazing!! I’ve been buying vegan cream cheese but it is packed with all sorts of ingredients I cannot pronounce. Looking forward to trying this one, I love how simple it is!
kita says
I just had a friend looking for vegan cheese recipe last week! I cant wait to show her this.
Amber says
I never thought about making a vegan cream cheese but wow, delicious! SO many wonderful uses out there for tofu.
Marisa F. Stewart says
That looks so good and creamy I could dig in with a spoon. I love cream cheese and this vegan version is something that I know will be a regular item in our household. Thank you — will be fantastic for breakfast and lunch.
Jacqui Debono says
We love sunflower seeds in our house, They are so good on salads or as a snack. It never occurred to me to make my own cream cheese!
Gunjan says
hahaha 🙂 I tried it for the first time and it totally works.
Michael says
Hello Gunjan and thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with us!
It looks very interesting and I think this will be absolutely delicious! I‘m gonna try this out the nearest time.
But do you think it will also work with light soy milk?
Gunjan says
Thank you Micheal. Yes, it works with soy milk also. Any unsweetened dairy free milk will in this recipe. Enjoy!!!
Anna says
I have made vegan soft cheese in the past with cashews, but never with sunflower seeds, this is so clever! I can’t wait to try this version, the texture looks so smooth and so creamy!
Gunjan says
I hope you get a chance to make this cream cheese soon. I am sure you will love it.
Tanya says
I never thought about trying a milk-free cream cheese, but this looks awesome. Does this work as a substitute for cream cheese in baked goods?
Gunjan says
I have not yet tested it in baked goods but that’s on my to do list. If you try it then please leave a feedback here.
Cj says
Hi there! I was wondering if you ever tried baking with this, and if you did, how did it turn out?
Thanks for creating such a clever recipe!
Gunjan says
Thank you Cj! I often use this cream cheese recipe for baking. Here is one example https://kiipfit.com/strawberry-cheesecake-brownies/ where I have used this cream cheese recipe and the brownies came out really good. Hope this helps.
Jacque Hastert says
I am loving that this is vegan friendly and easy to make at home. I can’t wait to whip this together and enjoy it on my morning bagels.
Gunjan says
Totally! I do this almost every morning. I have batches made in my refrigerator these days 🙂