How to Make Velvety, Tangy Dairy-Free Cream Cheese From Scratch

For many Americans, a bagel isn’t complete without a thick slather of cream cheese. The savory, creamy, slightly tangy spread complements the bread’s dense, chewy, and often crispy texture perfectly. But cream cheese isn’t just limited to bagels—it can also help to create the perfect fluffy mashed potato, for example, be stirred into a thick creamy pasta sauce, or enjoyed with raw vegetables for added flavor and texture.

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Due to its wide culinary range, it’s no surprise that the cream cheese industry is always on the up—according to Fact.MR, the market exceeded $6.5 billion in 2023 and could hit more than $11.3 billion by 2033. Dairy-free cream cheese is also growing in popularity. In fact, it’s expected to reach a value of more than $300 million within the next decade, according to Market Research Future.

“As more individuals adopt plant-based diets and seek alternatives to traditional dairy products, the demand for dairy-free cream cheese has surged, leading to a vibrant and competitive market landscape,” noted the market research firm. Some of the leading brands in the industry include Philadelphia, which launched a plant-based version of its iconic spread back in 2022, Daiya, Miyoko’s Creamery, Kite Hill, and Tofutti.

Daiya

RELATED: From Jalapeño Poppers to Nacho Fries, These 26 Cheesy Appetizers Are All Dairy-Free

It’s easier than ever to head to the store and stock up on dairy-free cream cheese, but if you prefer, you can also make it from scratch using minimally processed, whole-food ingredients. Check out some of our favorite simple plant-based cream cheese recipes below.

Is dairy-free cream cheese healthy?

Traditionally, cream cheese is made from ingredients like milk, cream, lactic acid, and salt. Because of this, it tends to be quite high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Per HealthCentral, just one ounce of cream cheese contains around 27 milligrams of cholesterol. When consumed in excess, research suggests that foods high in cholesterol might increase the risk of heart disease. 

Dairy-free cream cheese, on the other hand, is totally cholesterol-free. And while many store-bought versions of the spread can be high in saturated fat and salt, when it’s made from scratch with plant-based ingredients, like nuts and tofu, it can also be a healthy treat loaded with vitamins, fiber, protein, minerals, healthy fats, and antioxidants.

How to make vegan cream cheese from scratch: 7 recipes

Making dairy-free cream cheese at home is quick, easy, and delicious. Find some of our go-to recipes below, all of which use simple plant-based ingredients like cashews, macadamia nuts, firm tofu, lemon juice, and dairy-free milk.

Julie Platt

1 Vegan Coconut-Cashew Cream Cheese

This simple, tasty recipe from the This Cheese is Nuts! cookbook requires just four ingredients: cashews, coconut oil, coconut meat, and aquafaba. To bring it all together in a delicious creamy spread, all you need is a high-powered blender and some cheese molds.
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The Colorful Kitchen

2 Homemade Cashew Cream Cheese

Making a plant-based version of a lox bagel with cream cheese is easy with this tasty recipe. Carrots and liquid smoke replace the salmon, while soaked cashew nuts, lemon juice, vegan yogurt, and nutritional yeast form the basis of a deliciously velvety, zingy, dairy-free cream cheese.
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So Vegan

3 Vegan Herbed Cream Cheese

Garlic, thyme, and cream cheese are a match made in heaven. This recipe from the So Vegan in 5 cookbook combines them all to make a velvety, tangy, delicious cashew-based spread you’ll want to put on everything.
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Okonomi Kitchen

4 Tofu Cream Cheese

Tofu is incredibly versatile. It can be anything from nuggets to scramble to, you guessed it, cream cheese. This recipe from Okonomi Kitchen transforms the neutral soy block by combining it with ingredients like lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, cashews, nutritional yeast, and white miso. “If you love cream cheese, your life is about to be changed,” declares recipe developer Lisa Kitahara.
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Plantifully Based

5 Nut-Free Pea Cream Cheese

Many plant-based cream cheese recipes involve nuts, which isn’t suitable for those with allergies and intolerances. Luckily, this recipe from Plantifully Based will show you how to make an ultra-velvety nut-free spread by simply using pea milk, lemon juice, salt, and nutritional yeast. “I truly felt like I was back eating a bagel from a bagel shop when I bit into this,” says recipe developer Francesca Bonadonna.
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Exceedingly Vegan

6 Almond Cream Cheese

Phillip Ertl of Exceedingly Vegan accidentally created this recipe with almonds when he was trying to up the calcium content of one of his favorite dairy-free cheeses, gouda. But instead, he ended up with a delicious cream cheese spread. “It spreads really nicely, has a great consistency, and tastes absolutely delicious,” he says.
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Joyous Health

7 Macadamia Nut Cream Cheese

Just like cashews, macadamia nuts are often used to form the basis of thick creamy dairy-free sauces and spreads. They work perfectly in this cream cheese recipe, which, according to recipe developer Joy McCarthy, is “creamy, yummy, and bursting with flavor.”
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