Vegan Strawberry Cream Cheese that is just 5 ingredients, takes 10 minutes to make and is incredibly rich in flavor! Made from freeze-dried strawberries, cashew butter, yogurt and lemon juice. You will love this thick, creamy and firm dairy-free cream cheese!
Oh boy, do I have a delicious and healthy treat for you all today! I grew up eating bagels and cream cheese and they have honestly always been one of my favorite breakfast ideas or snacks. But, eating cream cheese once I became vegan was a bit more challenging. I do not like the commercial brands…they are not good and taste off to me.
VEGAN CREAM CHEESE FLAVORS
Well, this isn’t my first cream cheese recipe on the blog. In fact, I have 3 other ones…Blueberry, another blueberry one, Blueberry Almond Cream Cheese using freeze-dried blueberries, Smoky Black Pepper and also a Strawberry one! You may be thinking, then why another strawberry one? Well, all 3 of those cream cheese recipes are to die for and have been super popular with you readers, but they take about 2 days from start to finish…mostly just chilling time. But still, sometimes when I want cream cheese and if I haven’t started my prep time already, then it will be a couple days before I can truly enjoy the yumminess.
Soooo, as always, my goal is to make delicious recipes that are also easy and as much as possible, quick! So, I took my strawberry cream cheese recipe and changed it up a bit and WOW, it may even taste better and it only takes 10 minutes to make!! There is a recommended chill time, but you can still totally eat it straight out of the food processor if you wanted to. It is better after it’s cold, chilled and firmed up a bit, but still incredibly yummy immediately too.
So, how did I make the original easier? Well, instead of using raw cashews that need a really long time to soak, I swapped it out for cashew butter and then to really amp up the cheesy flavor, I added yogurt and it was incredibly enhancing to the cream cheese flavor. I removed the water because of the added yogurt and it was incredible. Incredible. Did I say it was incredible?? I couldn’t get over the intense strawberry cheesy flavor. My daughter and I were both eating it out of the food processor.
This recipe uses freeze-dried strawberries and before anybody asks, NO, you cannot sub with fresh strawberries. The dried strawberries have a much stronger strawberry taste and fresh have way too much moisture in them and results in a runny, bland cheese. It doesn’t work. I find dried strawberries at most grocery stores these days, Krogers…HEB..Sprouts, Trader Joes, etc. so you shouldn’t have a problem finding them. Otherwise, you can always order them off Amazon. Just make sure you are getting freeze-dried, not just simply dried. Freeze-dried are very dry and crunchy and what you need for this recipe.
So, to recap, you only need 5 main ingredients (+ a pinch of salt) to make this Vegan Strawberry Cream Cheese:
- freeze-dried strawberries
- raw cashew butter
- dairy-free yogurt (I love Silk soy yogurt)
- lemon juice
- apple cider vinegar
To see step-by-step how to make it, check out the video and be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel and leave me a lovely comment if you feel like it 😉
Vegan Strawberry Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 28 grams FREEZE DRIED strawberries (fresh will not work so don't even attempt (I buy the Simple Truth brand 1 oz, 28g bag from Krogers but many stores sell them, just make sure you are using 28 grams)
- 1/3 cup (85g) raw cashew butter with NO ADDED OIL (I make my own here since it's SO hard to find raw with no oil added-which will ruin the flavor)
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons (115g) non-dairy plain yogurt (I use soy from the Silk brand and get it at Krogers)
- 1 teaspoon (5g) apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons (10g) fresh lemon juice
- heaped 1/8 teaspoon salt
- I use this scale.
- I use this food processor.
Instructions
- PLEASE please do not try to do this in blender of any kind. A Vitamix, Nutribullet, etc. will not work. This recipe has very, very little liquid and in order for all the dried strawberries to fully blend up into the cashew butter and yogurt, it needs the larger space in a food processor. Otherwise, you will end up with a gritty, chunky cream cheese that is not fully smooth and incorporated (like my photos) and the taste will be incomplete. You will end up tasting more nut butter than strawberry.
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and process until it gets wet and chunky. Scrape the sides and bottom well and process again for a couple of minutes or so until completely smooth and well mixed. I had to stop a couple of times to scrape.
- Add to a container and chill for a couple of hours or overnight. You can eat it right away if you like, as it is yummy and thick, but it will have the classic firm cream cheese texture after it has chilled in the fridge for awhile. Not to mention, it tastes better when chilled and firm.
I love strawberry cream cheese. I’m going to make this looking forward to a treat.
Thank you Nancy, definitely a wonderful treat! Feels like dessert, yet no added sugar, so it’s such a wonderful guilt-free recipe!
This sounds delicious. Can not wait to try this one. But hey, I love all your recipes.
So sweet, thank you so much Karen!
From 2 days to ten minutes–oh yes, my impatience loves this speedy strawberry cream cheese makeover! Plus I could just stare at that color all day, it’s gorgeously vibrant. So so smart to use cashew butter instead of whole cashews, plus I always have a jar of that on hand and only buy the whole nuts when I have a specific recipe in mind. And I can totally imagine where the flavor and texture of yogurt works perfectly too. You’re swirling shots in the video are just too dreamy! Ha good luck heading off the the strawberry sub questions, freeze dried vs fresh are so different I don’t think one could ever sub for the other. I actually find the freeze dried ones to have a bit of natural tang/tartness, so not only is the texture crucial to not making a watery mess but the flavor works better than fresh too I’m sure. Is it weird that I really want to spread this on a slice of chocolate cake or a brownie? Bagels with cream cheese were never a thing in my house, so my mind is jumping straight to berries + chocolate 🙂
Thank you Natalie! Really wanted to showcase that dreamy texture in the video because it’s just SO good. I have so many ideas after this one too now. Lol, I know, that’s why I made sure to express that in the post and the printed recipe because in my original strawberry version, I tried fresh and they are incredibly different! You would just end up with runny light pink stuff…yuck. The dried strawberries actually help to thicken it beautifully and dang, they are so tart like you said, so they are perfect for that tang that cream cheese has. Nope, not weird at all, seriously would be SO GOOD on brownies, yes girl!
Wow this is sooo stunning Brandi! Your photos are absolutely gorgeous. I’m obsessed with making vegan cream cheese, and the strawberry flavour sounds amazing! <3
Awww, thank you so very much Harriet! That is so kind of you!!
I have dried (not freeze dried….just dehydrated) Raspberry powder that I make myself. I wonder how that would work to make a cream cheese.
Probably would work well!
Freeze-dried fruit is my “not so secret” ingredient for flavored whips, spreads, etc – LOVE this cream cheese version. Way better than the processed stuff and the dairy stuff 🙂
It really is SO much better than fresh for something like this! My first time trying it was a couple years back on my original strawberry version and this one is so much better since it is so much faster. I can’t wait to try dried blueberries next…I was eyeing them at the store 🙂
This looks so dreamy! Super creamy! I LOVE freeze dried strawberries – love the little bit of tartness they have amongst all that sweet. And I love that this only takes 10 minutes!
Thank you so much Jenn! They are so yummy, aren’t they? Like candy!
I LOVE freeze dried fruit! It’s so good and tart and tangy…and perfect for flavoring and even coloring things. This look gorgeous and I’m sure tastes amazing!
Yup! That’s why I use it in the cream cheese, so much stronger than regular strawberries! I’ve used it in frosting too.
Looks delish! FYI it is Kroger not (Krogers) I was corrected myself one day 😉
Haha, yes, you are correct! Bad habit!
I love how quick and easy this recipe is! I foresee a bagel morning in future!
I love easy and tasty recipes like this one! Keep up the great work, Brandi!
Thank you so much Agness!
Just made this, the only difference was I used vanilla yogurt as my store was out of plain soy yogurt. I’m sure it’s much sweeter than yours but it is so good. Looking forward to subbing our dairy cream cheese with this. Thanks so much
Wonderful Nancy! So glad you loved it, thank you for the feedback!
Freeze dried fruit are such a secret weapon in the cooks arsenal. My go to cream cheese recipe takes ages to make. I am shifting over to yours. Kudos for simplicity and innovation!!!
Thank you so much, I hope you love it!
Hello! We bought a medium sized container of almon milk yogurt so I’m looking through all your yogurt recipes. Do you think this would be freezable? I know the texture wouldn’t be ideal. Thank you!
Hi Melinda! I have never tried freezing it because it’s so yummy and I eat it so fast, haha. But I imagine it would freeze just fine since the ingredients are similar to ice cream. Just when you are ready to use it, thaw it 24 hours or so in the fridge first. Make the Blueberry ice cream I recently posted and you can use yogurt there too 🙂
Sounds great! YES! Your blueberry ice cream is on the list. We bought yogurt to make your Mexican bake 🙂
Can’t wait to try this delicious looking recipe! But one question, how do I make the cashew butter called for in this recipe? I can’t find a recipe for it on your website. Thank you!
Sorry, just found your note about how to make raw cashew butter! Never mind! Thanks
Perfect! Let me know what you think!
I have a tree nut allergy. Is there anything that can be used in place of cashew butter? I would think peanut butter is too strong a flavor?
Hi Tricia! Yes, I definitely wouldn’t do peanut butter. I don’t think that would taste very good at all. Also, it won’t firm up the way cashew butter does in the fridge. I am working on a nut-free cream cheese for those that can’t have cashews, so stay tuned.
Thanks!
I noticed that your other version had the cashews soaking for a day or so before to make the cashew butter. Is it safe to say that can now be skipped with this version? I haven’t made either yet and want to make sure I get it right *hopefully* the first time. 😀
Oh yes, you don’t need to soak cashews at all to make actual cashew butter! The other version requires soaking because you are using whole cashews (not straight cashew butter) and they have to be super duper soft in order to process, but with this version, you can just use dry raw cashews, make the cashew butter and then make the recipe. Super easy and quick!
I just made this, and it’s amazing. It’s the best strawberry cream cheese I’ve ever tried, vegan or otherwise! And I’ve eaten a lot of strawberry cream cheese over the years 🙂
That makes me so very happy to hear Julie, thank you so much for the awesome review!
This looks amazing!! Can you please tell me how long it will keep in the fridge?
Hi Heather, it keeps about a week!
Brandi, this was so delicious! I would never have known about it if I hadn’t seen Natalie’s shout-out of it as an inspiration for her carrot cake icing. I have some left over—I’m wondering about using it in cookies—your chocolate wafers with the apricot cream and subbing this—what do you think?
Yay! Thrilled you loved it Ellen! It’s my daughter’s favorite and I love that there is no sweetener. Oh my gosh, that is a great idea! Wow, wish I had thought of that. I actually think that would be so darn delicious in the chocolate cookies, I need to give it a try now! Thank you Ellen!
Hi Brandi, thank you for a great recipe! I’m now madly looking for dried frozen strawberries in my area…. May I ask how much cream cheese it yealds? Thank you!!
Hi Antonia! It yields about a heaping cup 🙂
Made this last night and it tastes like strawberry cream cheese! 🙂 You are good!! I’m not much of a bread eater, (MTHFR) gluten free, but planning on melting some soy free chocolate to make truffles with this. Thanks for your time and energy in creating vegan, healthy treats. I also love that this has no added sugar; I used fresh cashews which were already sweet, so it was perfect.
Yay! So happy to hear that Felicia! Thank you so much for the lovely review!
Oils you use strawberry non-dairy yogurt instead of plain?
Could you use strawberry flavor non-dairy yogurt instead of plain?
Sure! This has a really strong strawberry flavor already so it will just make it more intense and sweeter but should technically still work 🙂
My boys LOVED this! They spread it on Ezekiel raisin bread and they were good to go! I used vanilla silk yogurt (that’s what I had on hand).
Thank you so much for this recipe.
Wonderful! So happy to hear that, thank you Maria!
I made this recipe yesterday and had it today with sliced apples sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon and YUM YUM YUM YUM!!!! It was easy and it was excellent!
Wonderful feedback Elizabeth, so glad you loved it, yay!
This is the best cream cheese I’ve ever had! Even better than the non vegan stuff I used to eat prior to the vegan days. My husband loved this, as well. I love the fact that the ingredient list is short and it comes together so quickly. This is going to be a staple in my house. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yay Donna, what a glowing review, thank you so much!!
Hello!! I want to make the recipe but in my area we don’t have dried freezed strawberries. Can I use just freezed strawberries? Or can I buy dried strawberries and put them in the freezer? Will it work the same? Sorry for the question.. Maybe is stupid..
Hi, no, I’m sorry, they need to be freeze-dried. Regular will make this very watery and bland in flavor! You can order them online or Amazon if you can’t find them in your local stores. It just won’t work with regular because freeze-dried are not the same as just frozen strawberries, but rather, have had the moisture removed, so they are dry, crunchy and much more potent and strong in flavor.
It was like eating strawberry peanut butter on my bagel. Pretty gross. It tastes NOTHING like real cream cheese. Unless you like cashew butter from the start (I don’t now) or miss real cream cheese you won’t like this recipe.
Sorry to hear that Evonne! Everybody, as you can see from all the rave 5 star reviews above, have loved it. If yours had a strong nut butter taste, that is definitely NOT RIGHT. In fact, it sounds like measurements were way off or by chance, you mistakenly used a ROASTED cashew butter or one with added oil, which in those cases, would totally overpower the flavor. I’ve instructed to use ONLY RAW cashew butter because of that very reason. I can assure you this tastes like pure strawberries, it is very tangy and sweet and nothing like nuts.
Hi there! I would love to make this recipe, but I am allergic to cashews 🙁 do you have any suggestions on any other alternative nut butters I could use? Thanks so much in advance!!
Hi! So sorry but this recipe is crucial to using cashews. It’s what makes it creamy and set and firm up like cream cheese. You could always try macadamia nut butter I guess, but I’ve never tried it. I’d make sure it’s completely raw with no additives like sugar or oil, or it won’t work.
I just made this (without the strawberries) to use in a king cake recipe (Happy Mardi Gras!), and it’s delicious! I just decreased the yogurt a bit so it wouldn’t be too runny without the strawberries. So good! Another winner!
Also, I was recently given your cookbook, so I’ve been flying through the recipes in it, and they’ve all been awesome. I love knowing that whenever I choose a new-to-me recipe to make, if it’s one of yours, I never have to worry about it being a flop. That’s actually how I ended up looking for a cream cheese recipe on your site. I knew that if you had one, it would be great!
Oh that is so wonderful to hear Brenna! Thank you so much for the kind words, so glad you loved this!
So yummy!!! Thank you!
Yay, glad to hear it Angie!
Made this last night. It was my first attempt at a non-dairy cream cheese and wow this recipe did not disappoint. A bit tangy, but I loved it. I really need to invest in a Vitamix blender cause I had a hard time with my bullet blender. I can’t wait to try another creme cheese recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it Kimberly! I recommend a food processor for making cream cheese, I do not find blenders to work well at all since there is such small amounts of liquid, that would be why you had some trouble!
I made this and I loved it! A food processor is a must. I tried the Vitamix and the Nutribullet then ended up put everything in the food processor and it worked great!
No nut taste at all. Delicious – as usual.
Thank you!
Thank you so much Twyla! Yes, a food processor is a must here because of the chunky dried strawberries and needing all that extra space. That way it completely mixes 100%. So glad you loved it!
I love love love the recipe however I added 2 tables spoons of granulated sugar and 2 oz of water, since I found the texture a tad too thick and a touch of sugar to gave it a kiss of sweetness.
OK this might be a dumb question but… In regards to the cashew butter, if I don’t see any oil sitting on top of the butter inside the jar nor does it mention oil on the front of the jar… How do I know if there is oil added into it? I just don’t want to waste buying a bunch of jars of cashew butter if I can avoid it. 😅
Read the ingredients. It should just say raw cashews. You don’t want added oil or sugar. You don’t want roasted either since the flavor is too strong. The only place that I’ve found that sells raw cashew plain butter is Whole Foods. So that’s why I always make my own! Recipe on my site!