3-Ingredient Vegan Cream Cheese – For baking and cooking!
Make your own vegan cream cheese using just 3 ingredients, and NO cashews NOR soy milk. It’s delicious, easy, and perfect for savory recipes, frostings, cheesecakes, and more!

Table of contents
- The perfect vegan cream cheese for both sweet and savory recipes- FINALLY!
- Ingredients Overview + Substitutions:
- Step by Step How To Make Vegan Cream Cheese:
- Ways to Use this Vegan Cream Cheese:
- Can I use this vegan cream cheese for cheesecakes?
- Can I use this vegan cream cheese in frosting?
- Flavor variations for savory vegan cream cheese:
- How to store homemade vegan cream cheese:
The perfect vegan cream cheese for both sweet and savory recipes- FINALLY!
The wait is finally over. If you’ve been looking for a HOMEMADE vegan cream cheese recipe that’s not only perfect for spreading, but also for cooking and baking, then you’re in the right place.
Introducing, the ultimate 3-ingredient non-dairy cream cheese- that’s made WITHOUT cashews without tofu (and no soy!!), and even without coconut cream, nutritional yeast, xanthan gum, and the like!
What we have is just an ultra creamy, smooth, perfectly tangy and spreadable vegan cream cheese that thickens and adds flavor to savory dishes while also being perfect for sweet bakes, like vegan cream cheese frosting and even vegan cheesecake! And any recipe in my cookbook that calls for cream cheese 🙂
And the absolute best part? Like my vegan mascarpone and vegan ricotta, this vegan cream cheese is just so easy and fool proof, and the texture is unbelievably creamy and spreadable.
We’re using the traditional method of making cream cheese, but swapping in our non-dairy and plant-based subs.
So you can forget your store bought vegan cream cheese brands, like Tofutti, Kite Hill, and the like. Just use this recipe instead!! It’s the absolute best vegan cream cheese around- and you’re about to see why!
Ingredients Overview + Substitutions:
Like I mentioned above, you only need 3 simple ingredients to make this homemade vegan cream cheese. None of which require any cashews nor tofu!
- Pea milk: I recommend using unsweetened pea milk. You can swap in soy milk or almond milk here. I’ve tried this recipe personally with the store bought almond milk and homemade almond milk, and could not get it to curdle like the soy milk, but others have said it works. Please just stick to pea milk here if you can. It’s really lovely!
- Lemon juice: You can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice if preferred!
- Vegan butter or Avocado oil shortening: Not just avocado oil, but avocado oil shortening. I use Chosen Foods, and it is INCREDIBLE. So simple, and really helps the cream cheese taste like cream cheese. If you’re using vegan butter, I recommend using either Miyoko’s or Om Sweet Dairy Free vegan butter here. I prefer to use salted vegan butter, so with the Om Sweet Dairy free, you’ll need to add in salt. Other options include using coconut oil, Plant Crock, or Miyoko’s oat butter. See the recipe card down below where I go over more tips!
Step by Step How To Make Vegan Cream Cheese:
The below steps are an overview with photos for how to make this lovely and creamy dairy-free cream cheese! Please note that all measurements are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Ways to Use this Vegan Cream Cheese:
The best part about this vegan cream cheese is that you can use it for any application that you would use normal cream cheese- that’s right, there are no restrictions when it comes to this homemade vegan cream cheese recipe.
- Spread on bagels: especially if they’re homemade, like these bagels! Or make the cinnamon sugar cream cheese variation below and spread it on my cinnamon raisin bagels 🙂
- As a dip for fruit and crackers: I love this with crackers and using the chive or garlic and herb cream cheese variation.
- In pasta sauces: Like my vegan creamy pumpkin pasta! Or any savory dish that would call for cream cheese 🙂
- Stirred into soups: I loveeee a few tablespoons in my vegan white bean soup!
- In baking: Use this in any of my frosting recipes for a portion of the vegan butter, or in cheesecakes!
Can I use this vegan cream cheese for cheesecakes?
Absolutely!! This unbelievably creamy vegan cream cheese is perfect for homemade vegan cheesecakes. You might consider adding in an extra tablespoon of vinegar for a super tangy cheesecake, but this cream cheese will set beautifully in your homemade cheesecake.
Try using it in this classic vegan cheesecake, vegan cannoli cheesecake, and vegan blueberry Basque cheesecake!
Can I use this vegan cream cheese in frosting?
Short answer: YES, YES, a million times YES! I just recently used it in my vegan cream cheese frosting for my vegan funfetti cupcakes, and oh my goodness. I was shocked. My vegan cream cheese frosting has never tasted so good before (and I thought it was really delicious before!).
Use this homemade vegan cream cheese freely in your favorite vegan frosting recipes! It’s really lovely in my vegan blueberry frosting as well, and for vegan cream cheese frosted cinnamon rolls!
Flavor variations for savory vegan cream cheese:
For these flavor variations, simply add them in along with the vegan butter in the food processing step of the recipe.
- Garlic & Herb: 1 tsp garlic powder + 1/2 tsp each of freshly chopped or dried parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme + sea salt and pepper to taste
- Cinnamon Sugar: 1 tbsp granulated sugar + 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pumpkin Spice: 2 tsp pumpkin spice + 1 tbsp pumpkin puree + 1 tbsp granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar
- Lemon & Dill: 1 tbsp lemon juice (in addition to the recipe) + 1/2 tsp dried lemon peel + 1 tbsp freshly chopped dill + sea salt and pepper to taste
- Chive: 1/2 tsp onion powder + 1 tbsp chopped chives + 1 tbsp olive oil + sea salt and pepper to taste
- Sun dried tomato: 2 tbsp chopped and drained sun-dried tomatoes + 1/2 tsp garlic powder + 1 tbsp freshly chopped basil + sea salt and pepper to taste
- Roasted red pepper: 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers + 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning + 1/2 tsp garlic powder + sea salt and pepper to taste
- Strawberry: 1 cup dried strawberries (blended into a powder) + 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
How to store homemade vegan cream cheese:
After you make your vegan cream cheese, I recommend storing in a glass container with a sealable lid. Then keep the cream cheese in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Alternatively, you can freeze this cream cheese for up to 1 month in the freezer.
I cannot wait for you to try this vegan cream cheese!! It’s truly life changing. Finally, a cream cheese we bakers can use in all of our recipes and enjoy simply spread on a bagel!
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Print3-Ingredient Vegan Cream Cheese – For baking and cooking!
- Prep Time: 2
- Chilling Time: 180
- Cook Time: 7
- Total Time: 3 hours 9 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups (360 g) 1x
- Category: Spreads
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Make your own vegan cream cheese using just 3 ingredients, and NO cashews nor soy milk. It’s delicious, easy, and perfect for savory recipes, frostings, cheesecakes, and more!
Ingredients
- 4 cups (920 mL) unsweetened pea milk*
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (75 mL) lemon juice*, divided
- 1/3 cup (76 g) avocado oil shortening or salted vegan butter*, melted and cooled
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Heat: In a large saucepan, add in the pea milk and 1/3 cup (67 g) of the lemon juice. Stir to combine. Then place the saucepan on medium high heat, and let the pea milk mixture heat and boil until the curdles have bubbled to the top and puffed up (see photos). This will take about 5-7 minutes.
- While the pea milk is heating: Grab a large bowl and place a sieve over the top of it. Place your cheesecloth in the sieve (see blog post photos). Make sure you have enough cheesecloth to twist the ends together and squeeze the cream cheese mixture liquid out.
- Strain: Once the pea milk mixture has boiled, remove the saucepan from heat, and pour the mixture into your cheesecloth lined sieve over the bowl. Allow the liquid to drain from the clumps of pea milk, and let the mixture cool off for 10 minutes before squeezing out more liquid. The pea milk curds will be really hot, so allow it to cool first for 10 minutes before straining anymore.
- Squeeze the remaining liquid from the cheese curds: Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, clump the top of the cheesecloth together with the curds inside and gently squeeze any remaining liquid from the curds into the bowl. Remove the cheesecloth from the bowl. You’ll see that the curds inside should almost resemble a cottage cheese appearance, but a little drier.
- Blend: Add the pea milk curds to a food processor or high speed blender, along with the avocado oil shortening or melted vegan butter and remaining 1 tbsp of lemon juice and sea salt. Blend until creamy, about 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. It should be super silky smooth. Taste the mixture to see if you need a touch more lemon juice or if it’s just right for your taste preference. See blog post for flavor variations!
- Chill: Scrape the mixture into a glass storage container and seal with the lid. Place the vegan cream cheese into the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Spread, blend, bake, and enjoy! When ready, your vegan cream cheese will be perfectly spreadable for bagels, toast, or to use in both sweet and savory recipes!
Notes
Flavor variations: See blog post for measurements on flavor variations!
Pea milk: I use Ripple unsweetened pea milk. This recipe will NOT work shelf stable soy milk nor almond milk. Others have tested this with almond milk, and it works, however, I have not had that result. Unlike vegan buttermilk, which works with almond milk, almond milk curdles, I’ve found, are too soft here. However, this will also work with soy milk. But for nut free and soy free, use pea milk.
Lemon juice: You can also swap in apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
Avocado oil shortening: This is not just avocado oil that’s liquid, but avocado oil shortening– it’s still 100% avocado oil, but it’s thicker, like coconut oil and has a neutral flavor. I use Chosen Foods.
Vegan butter: I used salted vegan butter here- Miyoko’s specifically. Om Sweet Dairy free is another favorite vegan butter, but you’ll need to add a touch of salt to it, as it’s unsalted. For other vegan butter brands, you can use Plant Crock or Miyoko’s oat milk butter. I would not recommend using Violife or Earth Balance here, as your vegan cream cheese will taste too processed. You can use coconut oil, but keep in mind that you’ll really need to blend it with the pea milk curds in order for the coconut oil to integrate properly. For less of a coconut flavor, use triple refined. Another option is adding in vegan heavy cream or vegan coconut cream instead.
Hi, I see you said this will not work with almond milk, would it work with oat milk?
Unfortunately not because oat milk won’t curdle :/ I haven’t had a chance to test this, but I was thinking that a highly puréed version of oats might work and then you wouldn’t have to boil it, but I’m still in the testing process with that!
Hi Star!! Sorry to meddle… I’ve done this with almond milk, and it curdles perfectly… But I do it with homemade almond milk, that way I’m sure it doesnt have any weird ingredients that maybe prevents it for curdling 😉
Love this! Do you think oat milk would work?
Hi Victoria! Unfortunately not because the oat milk won’t curdle- however I’m working on potentially using a highly puréed version of a thicker “oat milk” (I use the term oat milk loosely because I think it could work with almost an oat “cream”), but I’m still working on this!
Wondering if anyone has tried this with oat milk for those of us who can’t have soy?
Hi Autumn! Working on a way to make this with oat milk, but it’ll be quite different from the above since oat milk won’t curdle (since it doesn’t have much protein, compared to soy milk). My theory is using an oat milk “cream” but I’m still working on this! So sorry that it’s not ready yet!
Hello, has anyone tried this with coconut milk? I can’t have soy and nuts are questionable at times.
Hi Nada! Unfortunately coconut milk won’t work for this recipe, as it won’t curdle. I’m so sorry!
Hi Nada, you could make this with any other high protein bean by soaking, blending, and using a cloth to strain out any solids. If there is enough protein then curds will form. I’ve done this with red lentils, but they impart a lot of their own flavor, (which is delicious) whereas soy is pretty neutral. White beans may be better if you can find them.
LOVE THIS!
Does the Soy milk needs to be from the store, or homemade is good enough(no additives)?
You can use homemade! 🙂
To say no tofu is sorta not right because you are basically making tofu right in the recipe but using lemon juice as your coagulant.
Hi we’re actually not! So if you were to use store bought tofu, a) the consistency would NOT turn out like this (I’m not sure if you’ve tried, but it’s definitely not suitable for frostings and cheesecakes, which was my main concern in developing this) and b) the flavor is very soy-like. The acid neutralizes the soy enough that it’s not even there. I’m not sure where the soy flavor comes back in when making tofu that’s sold in stores, but how we’re doing this, it helps a lot with he flavor!
Tofu is made from soy milk. Here, Chef Britt is using pea milk, so no, she’s not making tofu. You can make curds from many protein-rich foods, dairy and non-dairy. My grandmother never bought cottage cheese, preferring to make it at home from whole cow’s milk so she had the whey to feed the garden or do other mysterious stuff with it. Well, mysterious to a 5 year old at least! Thanks Chef! This is a great recipe.
hi i will try it can you leave a video for the above recipe. thanks a lot !! 🙏
Absolutely!! I will work on a more full tutorial for it 🙂
Does the soy milk have to be unsweetened if you intend to use it in something sweet like frosting?
I think it would still taste too sweet, as the frosting already contains enough sugar to be just right in its sweetness!
So light, fresh and delicious! Next time, I will melt the butter and let it cool to room temp because it did not mix in with the strawberries. Even though the batter was a little clumpy, the cake turned out light and fluffy, just with a few air pockets.
Hi! How long would this keep do you think? Looks amazing can’t wait to try!
This will keep for about 5-7 days in the fridge 🙂 As long as it’s sealed properly!
This looks very interesting but I’m wondering if we could bypass the first step of making the curdles and opt for silken tofu instead? I understand why regular firm tofu won’t work, but isn’t the texture of the curdles similar to silken tofu?! Thanks so much!!
Hi Zara! I totally get your thinking on that! I’ve found that the curdles I produce on my own are still even firmer than using silken tofu, and they have all the water drained out (silk tofu as so much water content still!) that I think that making it like this is just a bit easier and will yield a consistency that’s better for frostings! My only concern with using silken tofu is that if you were to then use the cream cheese in a frosting, your frosting could split!
Hello Britt! How much cream cheese does one recipe yield? I wanted to make this cream cheese for your other recipes ao I wanted to know how much one recipe would make? Thanks! Love all of your recipes!
Hi Sarah! Oh yes! It makes about 1 1/2 cups (360 g) cream cheese in one batch 🙂 Thanks for the reviews too, that’s so sweet of you! Enjoy 🙂 And let me know if you have any other questions!
so excited by this recipe! I just made it with a refrigerated soy milk and it has turned out soooo well! so smooth, light, and tangy. thanks heaps for the recipe!!
This is wonderful!! So glad you loved it 🙂 Thank you so much for leaving this review!
Weird question… Instead of putting everything into a good processor, could I put them into a stand mixer?
I look forward to trying this as always have soy on hand and hate buying df cream cheese! This recipe will be a life saver!
Oh absolutely! You definitely can! Can’t wait to hear what you think of it 🙂 Enjoy!
My soy milk did not curdle. Not sure what happened. Like only 1/4 of it curdled, the rest was liquid. I boiled for 5-7 and then kept going, didn’t help. Bummed.
Hmm that’s very bizarre, which vinegar did you use? You will be draining a lot of water but the cream part of the soy milk will curdle!
Is there a specific soy milk you need to use? Can it be the shelf stable boxed soy milk or does it need to be from the refrigerated section? How important is quality in producing curds?
I would use a refrigerated soy milk, and quality is very important! I would try to get an organic soy milk if you can- that seems to work the best!
Every time I tried to make cream cheese out of cashews, it would end up being grainy (I don’t have a high speed blender). So I thought this recipe would be my shot at having a smooth vegan cream cheese (and I was right!!). I ended up adding an extra tablespoon or 2 of butter and a bit of white vinegar for a consistency and a tang that was more to my taste. It was divine on toast with capers, red onions and olive oil. Thank you so much for this great recipe 😊!
Made this and it turned out so well. For the people wonder what soy milk works, I used the Kirkland/Costco unsweetened soy milk, white vinegar, and the Trader Joe’s vegan butter. I also added some lemon juice and nutritional yeast. I was having trouble with the butter and curdled soy to come together to I added about a teaspoon of mustard as an emulsifier. You can’t taste the mustard at all btw!
hello ! May I know the brand of pea milk that you used. Thank you for this recipe I am so excited to try it!
Hi Neha! I use Ripple unsweetened pea milk. 🙂 Hope this helps!
This is a great recipe with just 3 ingredients and a beautifully cream resulting product! The only problem is that the prep/cook time was much longer for me than the listed 9 minutes (when you add draining/squeezing time for the curds as well as melting and cooling time for the butter). I assume, with practice that will get better. Also, since I have never made any kind of cheese before, I wish you would list the amount of liquid one should expect to drain/squeeze. ( I got 3 full cups liquid and barely a tablespoon or 2 over a cup of cheese. Is this what one should expect? Also wondering if there is any nutritional value in the drained liquid? If so, can you recommend how one might use it?
Tried this with shelf-stable and reconstituted powered soy milk and both failed to curdle, but with refrigerated Silk soy milk it worked beautifully. So glad to have a homemade vegan cream cheese that actually tastes great!
Hi there, is there a substitute for the vegan butter like olive oil perhaps?
Oh I would recommend coconut oil! You need something that solidifies more at room temp 🙂
This vegan cream cheese recipe is great, so easy and the recipe was clear. Thank you
So happy to hear this! Thank you so much for the review, and enjoy 🙂
Hi just wondering if this recipe can be increased to double or triple and still work ok?
Hi Shayley! Yes, but you’ll just need an extra big pot!
I just made this recipe today and letting it chill overnight for some vegan cream cheese frosting , so far the recipe is working like a charm!
I am trying to reduce waste in my kitchen and am wondering if there anything I can do with the left over liquid after straining the soy milk and lemon curdles? I am wondering if this is like a buttermilk almost? Any suggestions would be appreciated ☺️
This is wonderful! So happy to hear it! And that’s actually a great question! I haven’t tried any plant-based option for what would be considered the leftover “whey” in this process. I imagine some ways to incorporate it would be similar to how you would use leftover whey from the traditional cream cheese making process (like with how they use it for ricotta and mozzarella). I’m wondering, I’ll have to experiment a bit with it!
Hi Jasmine!! So I did a bit of digging and research for you, as well as testing on my own recipe, and turns out, the uses are similar to that of whey from making regular dairy cheese! 🙂 You can add it to soups, smoothies, sauces, and even bread dough! Some people say you can use this as a coagulant for the next batch of cheese- I have not personally tested this but I’m eager to try as I’m currently working on a dairy free ricotta. Stay tuned!!
would this work using nuttelex “butter”
Hi Connie! I’m actually not sure because I’ve never tried nuttelex (don’t have access to it by me)- I’m so sorry!
Hi Britt!
I was wondering if there’s an alternative to the food processor as I don’t have one/don’t have space for one at home.
Thanks!
Hi Niki! Absolutely! You can use a high speed blender, no problem at all!
hi!!!.. 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞You think this would work with Sunflower Seed Milk?
I’m afraid it won’t work, as there isn’t enough protein! It needs to have at least 6 g of protein per 8 ounce serving.
Hi thanks for the recipe, this has unfortunately not worked for me, the curdles were tiny and soft and went through the cheesecloth with the water. I used a brand called mighty pea milk from the UK and used a medium/high heat for 7m on a gas hob, any advice? Many thanks
Hmm that’s so interesting, I’m so sorry this has happened! I’ve never had an issue with pea milk, but I do know that for some reason, shelf stable dairy free milk (either soy, almond, or pea) will NOT work here- do you know if it’s shelf stable/not kept in the refrigerated section?That might have been the issue!
No worries! You know what, it was in the refrigerated section but I just checked the carton and it actually is shelf stable or UHT as we call it in the UK. Thanks for your help 🙂
I used pea milk as suggested – flavor- and consistencywise, it turned out great! Strangely though, I only ended up with about 240g cream cheese, so I had to repeat the recipe to make enough for your pistachio cheesecake.
Hi!
Love your recipes
Will this work with Homemade Hemp Milk?
Thank you 🙂
Aw thank you!! I actually havent tested this with hemp milk, so I’m not sure it would work- I’m so sorry!
If I would not mind buying non dairy butter, I would also not mind buying non dairy cream cheese.
I think a proper recipe shouldn’t require you to buy some fancy butter. sorry.
I totally understand your perspective! I think we’ve come a long way with vegan butter, but vegan cream cheese still leaves much to be desired (also there aren’t as many great options for vegan cream cheese as there are for vegan butter). That’s why I recommend using vegan butter in here. But avocado oil shortening or coconut oil will also work here!
Where I’m from pea milk is not easy to get, so I did it with soy milk instead, and it curdled but not much, so the rest of the recipe was a disaster. Should I wait til de curdles are super big to get it off the stove? I don’t know if maybe I should have not followed the “when the curdles start to come up”… Can someone help?
Were you using shelf-stable soy milk or refrigerated? This recipe will not work with shelf stable- whatever they put into the soy milk to make it shelf stable seems to inhibit the milk’s ability to curdle.
It did work!where I live there’s no refrigerated plantbased milk but the shelf one has only soy, water and salt. It seemed a fail because before putting it in the fridge to cool down, the texture was not looking creamy but then it cooled down for a night and then it was quite good. 🎂🎂👯
Thank you!
the next step would be your cannoli cheesecake.
hi! Is there a way to make this without oil?
Hi there! Unfortunately not :/ you need oil here for a firmer cream cheese.
So it’s going to work with soy milk or not? I’m a little confused with the information about that at the end…
It will work with soy milk, but not shelf-stable soy milk. I use pea milk to keep it soy free for those with allergies.
Life 👏🏼 changing 👏🏼 recipe 👏🏼 took me a couple tries, because the first time silly old me thought I should be whisking the mixture on the stove, which seems quite ridiculous in retrospect. But I found chilled soy works wonderfully, and I found using salted butter and only a tsp of lemon juice was just right for me. But it is so ridiculously easy to make, just mix and leave it on the stove to curdle, strain and blend! Vegan cream cheese is so expensive and this is so much tastier, creamier, and contains a lotess funny stuff in it! Made the most delicious cream cheese frosting, and it’s become my new favourite breakfast on freshly baked bread with a drizzle of maple! Works out so much cheaper, and makes baking cheesecakes and cream cheese frosting much more feasible! It’s wonderful to have delicious cream cheese become a house staple without breaking the bank, don’t think I could ever go back to store bought- it doesn’t nearly compare in flavour, every bake I use it in is soooo much nicer. Thank you so much britt!!