Vegan Blueberry Cream Cheese made with cashews, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar to give a sweet and tangy perfectly flavored cream cheese. Dairy-free, oil-free and so easy to make!
1cup (140g)raw whole cashews (soaked at least 12 hours, the longer the better and the smoother your cheese will be)
1 1/2tablespoonslemon juicefresh
1/2-1tablespoondill pickle juice, to taste
1/2teaspoonapple cider vinegar
1/8teaspoonfine sea salt
1tablespoonpure maple syrup (do not omit, this brings out the blueberry flavor)
1/4cupfresh blueberries (do not use frozen! + 2 extra tablespoons for stirring in at the end)
NOTE
Don't be tempted to add extra blueberries or it can water down the cheese and affect it from setting up.
Instructions
Important: I would suggest prepping this 2 days before you want to eat it, for the best results. You must soak the cashews 12 hours or so. I soaked mine about 16 I think. You should literally be able to crumble them after soaking, that's how soft you want them. Trust me, I tried a quick boil method with the cashews and it was not as silky smooth or best in flavor. This recipe uses very little water, so trying to skip the long soaking method will affect the results.
After your cashews have soaked, drain them well and add to a food processor. Add the lemon juice, pickle juice and apple cider vinegar. Process until a somewhat smooth paste forms. Scrape the sides down well and process again. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth at this point.
Sprinkle the salt around on the cheese mixture, and add the syrup and blueberries. Process until mixed, scrape down the sides and process for several minutes. Walk away and let it run until completely smooth. The longer it runs, the smoother it will be.
Taste it and if you want it sweeter, add a little more syrup, but keep in mind the blueberry cream cheese flavor will be more prominent after it has become very chilled in the fridge. You will also be stirring some blueberries in as well for flavor.
Scrape all the cream cheese out and add it to a container or bowl. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of blueberries and place in the fridge to completely chill and firm up over night or several hours. Enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from my Smoky Black Pepper Cream Cheese Nutrition: I didn't really know how many servings to state this as, since it will be all dependent on how much you load the cheese on your bagel or the purpose you use it for, but it will give substantially enough for at least 6 bagels, so that's how I calculated it. 144.25 calories, 10.2 g fat, 10.7 carbs, 4.2 g protein, 4.3 g sugar, 38.8 mg sodium