Cashew Cream Cheese

Cashew Cream Cheese

Cashew Cream Cheese is so decadently good you'll want to scrape the bowl clean.
Being vegan has turned me into a "foodie."
The food is AMAZING.

We adore this cream cheese in our house. 

We don't have a food processor, so we blend this up in our Ninja using extra water so we don't explode the poor thing.  (Mental note: get a food processor.)  Even with our ghetto hacks, this recipe is amazing.  It never lasts more than a day before every last bit is scraped up.

Note: You need to soak the cashews, so plan in advance for this one.

I source my raw cashews from Trader Joe's.  Great prices and a little bit goes a long way.  These are great on salads, too.  (Just don't go nuts.  They are nutritionally-dense but very high in calories.) 

For a bit of festive holiday sweetness, try adding a few 1/2 teaspoons of sweetener.  Strict vegans can opt for maple syrup.  Loosey gooey vegans can go for honey.

Today's recipe comes from the blog, the Conoisseurus Vegan.  The creator is Alissa Sanchez.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Stir-ins of choice, such as chives, roasted garlic, veggies (roasted red peppers.)  For the holidays, try 1/2 tsp. maple syrup and/or chopped fruit such as strawberries.

Instructions

1. Place the cashews, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and salt into the bowl of a food processor, (or trusty Ninja, if you are ghetto, like us.)
   
   
2. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add a tablespoon or two of water to thin the mixture as needed.
   
   
3. Taste test and add additional salt and/or lemon juice if you like.
   
   
4. Add any stir-ins and pulse until finely chopped and well blended.
   
   
5. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.