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Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese in a small jar

Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese

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This Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese is my favorite cream cheese. Its cashew cheese base is tangy. Its tiny match-stick diced carrots and thinly sliced scallions add fresh, delicate flavors and textures.

I have happy memories of eating garden veggie cream cheese on toasted bagels from Bruegger’s when I was a freshman in college. I miss the late 90’s.

Have It Your Way

The Garden Veggie cream cheese from Bruegger’s had tiny diced red peppers with the carrots and scallions. I prefer it with just carrots and scallions or chives. You can mix whatever veggies you would like into your cream cheese. Into spicy? Try jalapeños. Italian? Dice up some hydrated or oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes and mince some fresh basil.

Veggie To Cream Cheese Ratio

I like a lot of veggie pieces in my cream cheese. I do a 1:1 ratio of veggies to cream cheese. If you live with someone who loves this cream cheese but doesn’t understand why you would put veggies in it, you might not want to turn the entire batch into Garden Veggie Cream Cheese. Often I do 1/2 cup cream cheese with 1/4 matchstick diced carrots and 1/4 cup sliced scallions and/or chives.

Ways To Eat This Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese:

Ingredient Notes

Raw Cashews

Raw cashews aren’t actually raw. Referred to as raw cashews when they are unroasted and unsalted, actual raw cashews are not suitable for human consumption. Cashews are steamed to remove an outer toxin, here’s a more elegant explanation. This recipe uses unsalted, unroasted “raw” cashews. Oh, and cashews are seeds, not nuts.

Cashew Soaking Liquid or Water

You may need more or less than 1/3 cup. Use more for a softer dip style, or if you need more liquid to get it creamy. Use less liquid if you want a firm Philly style cheese, around 1/4 cup, this will set up in the fridge and get firmer.

Caper Juice

Hold back the capers with a fork and use 1 teaspoon of the juice from the jar in this recipe. You can sub pickle juice if you don’t have caper juice.

The Nooch

Nutritional yeast is gluten-free. As always, check your labels. This brand is labeled gluten-free. I always use and recommend unfortified nutritional yeast. The fortified stuff can taste synthetic or vitamin-y. I take this B12 supplement instead of getting it through nooch. Both vegans and non-vegans may have difficulty getting enough B12.

Let’s Make Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese

Soaked cashews, ready to drain and use in Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese
Soaked cashews, ready to drain and use in Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese

Put all ingredients except the veggies in the food processor.

Turn the food processor on high and walk away. Let it go for about 5 minutes, interrupting to scrape down sides with a spatula in order to help everything get incorporated.

Processing the vegan cream cheese
vegan cream cheese in the food processor
Cream cheese after processing
Carrot, scallions, and chives
Carrot, scallions, and chives
Chopping the veggies for Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese
Chopping the veggies

Place in a glass bowl mix in veggies with a spatula and chill until cold.

Mixing the veggies into vegan cream cheese
Mixing the veggies into vegan cream cheese
Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese
Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese

It will set up in the fridge and become thicker. If you let it chill overnight or longer it will become tangier. It’s worth the wait. However, we often go at this with crackers right out of the blender.

Notes

If you’d like this to be more like a dip (more spreadable and less firm) use 1/2 cup or more cashew soaking liquid instead of 1/3 cup cashew soaking liquid or water. Use less liquid if you want a firm Philly-style cheese, around 1/4 cup. This will set up in the fridge and get firmer. Process for 5 minutes or longer to get it creamy, especially when using less liquid.

Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese in a small jar with whole flaxseed crackers
Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese pictured with Flackers
Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese in a small jar
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5 from 5 votes

Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese

This Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese is my favorite way to enjoy cream cheese. Its cashew cheese base is tangy and the tiny match-stick diced carrots and thinly sliced scallions add the perfect delicate flavors and fresh textures.
Course Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American, California, Vegan
Keyword Brueggers, creamy, fresh, Garden Veggie, low-carb, no oil, tangy, vegan, Veggie
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Optional Chill Time 12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 15 minutes
Servings 8 1/4 cup servings
Calories 201kcal

Equipment

  • Food processor

Ingredients

  • 2 cups unroasted, unsalted "raw" cashews measured then soaked overnight in water, drained, set aside soaking water.
  • cup soaking water from cashews or just water You may need more or less (use more for a softer dip style, or if you need more liquid to get it creamy) use less if you want a firm Philly style cheese, around 1/4 cup, (this will set up in the fridge and get firmer).
  • ¼ cup lemon juice about a lemon's worth
  • ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1 teaspoon caper juice
  • ½ cup unfortified nutritional yeast link goes to gluten-free labeled, nutritional yeast is naturally gluten-free.
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Veggies

  • 1 cup carrots matchstick dice (Brunoise)
  • 1 cup scallions or chives thinly sliced

Instructions

  • Put all ingredients except the veggies in the food processor.
  • Turn the food processor on high and walk away. Let it go for about 5 minutes, interrupting to scrape down sides with a spatula in order to help everything get incorporated.
  • Place in a glass bowl mix in veggies with a spatula and chill until cold. It will set up in the fridge and become thicker. If you let it chill overnight or longer it will become tangier. It's worth the wait. However, we often go at this with crackers right out of the blender.

Notes

Nutrition information is approximate.
If you’d like this to be more like a dip (more spreadable and less firm) use 1/2 cup or more cashew soaking liquid instead of 1/3 cup cashew soaking liquid or water.
Use less liquid if you want a firm Philly-style cheese, around 1/4 cup. This will set up in the fridge and get firmer. Process for 5 minutes or longer to get it creamy, especially when using less liquid.

Optional Ingredients

The Garden Veggie cream cheese from Bruegger’s had tiny diced red peppers with the carrots and scallions. I prefer it with just carrots and scallions or chives. You can mix whatever veggies into your cream cheese you would like. Into spicy? Try jalapeños. Italian? Dice up some hydrated or oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes and mince some fresh basil.

Veggie To Cream Cheese Ratio

I like a lot of veggie pieces in my cream cheese. I do a 1:1 ratio of veggies to cream cheese. If you live with someone who loves this cream cheese but doesn’t understand why you would put veggies in it, you might not want to turn the entire batch into Garden Veggie Cream Cheese. Often I do 1/2 cup cream cheese with 1/4 matchstick diced carrots and 1/4 cup sliced scallions and/or chives.
www.planttestkitchen.com

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving of 1/4 cup | Calories: 201kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 309mg | Potassium: 361mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2798IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 3mg

For your shopping convenience, this post contains affiliate links.

Looking for more vegan cheese recipes? Try this Green Cashew-Fu Ricotta (a.k.a vegan cashew tofu ricotta), this Yippee-Ki-Yay Holiday Vegan Cheese Ball, or this Holy Grail Vegan Cheese Sauce.

Did you make this Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese?

Did it bring back any memories for you? Will you be making it again? Which veggies or herbs did you use? Did you eat it with a toasted bagel or crackers? Tell me about it below in the comments section below.

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One Comment

  1. 5 stars
    Vegan Garden Veggie Cream Cheese and the Flax Seed Crackers are AMAZING! My husband loved both of these recipes and had no idea that they are vegan. Delicious!

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