Plant-Based Healthy Cream Cheese

Cream cheese is a delicious food, and having a plant-based diet isn’t a reason to miss out. Here we have a protein-forward nuts-based cream cheese that we’re sure you’ll love (unless you’re allergic to nuts, in which case, maybe skip this one).

You will need

• 1½ cups raw cashews, soaked in warm water and then drained
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup coconut cream
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp MSG, or ½ tsp low-sodium salt
• Optional: ⅓ cup fresh basil

Method

(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

1) Blend all of the ingredients until creamy.

2) Optional: leave on the countertop, covered, for 1–2 hours, if you want a more fermented (effectively: cheesy) taste.

3) Refrigerate, ideally overnight, before serving. Serving on bagels is a classic, but you can also enjoy with the Healthy Homemade Flatbreads we made yesterday

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

• Pistachios vs Cashews – Which is Healthier? ← Pistachios actually won here, but cashews are also great and are better (from a culinary perspective) for making cream cheese
• Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts!
• Our Top 5 Spices: How Much Is Enough For Benefits?

Take care!