Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
November 9, 2020
Sometimes, I create a recipe, and even I can't believe how amazing it turned out. This frosting is one of those recipes.
As I've mentioned in previous recipes, I used to have a cupcake business many years ago. I've been (slowly) working on creating vegan versions of my old recipes. When I created my vegan carrot cake recipe, I wondered how I was going to recreate a cream cheese frosting to go with it. I wanted to avoid using store-bought non-dairy cream cheese because they vary so widely in their taste and ingredients.
However, after a little trial and error, I've come pretty close to the taste of traditional cream cheese frosting. With raw cashews and vegan butter for creaminess, and lemon juice for a tangy flavor, the results are absolutely delicious!
This vegan cream cheese frosting recipe goes perfectly with my vegan carrot cake, but it can also work with other vegan cakes like vegan lemon cake, red velvet cake, or my vegan chocolate cupcakes. You could also use it as a topping for cinnamon rolls.
If you're looking for more vegan frosting recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth, I also have a vegan cookie butter frosting recipe and a vegan buttercream recipe. You can also try my vegan cheesecake recipe if you want another vegan cream cheese recipe that doesn't require store-bought cream cheese.
I've given a range of measurements for the powdered sugar; start with the lower amount and add more if needed. If you're planning to pipe a lot of frosting onto cupcakes, you'll probably need to add the additional powdered sugar to stiffen it up a bit.
This recipe makes enough frosting for 24 cupcakes with a thin layer of frosting, or 12 cupcakes with more frosting per cupcake (as shown in the pictures).
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Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield24 servings
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Timen/a
Total Time25 minutes
Pin itIngredients
- 1/4 cup vegan butter sticks, softened
- 6 tbsp. raw, unsalted cashews, soaked*
- 6 tbsp. water
- 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 to 4 cups vegan powdered (icing/confectioner's) sugar
Instructions
Set vegan butter out in advance to soften. Soak cashews in water for 2 hours (or boil for 10 minutes) before blending, if not using a high-speed blender. Combine cashews and water and blend until creamy, about 2-4 minutes. Remove cashew cream from blender and measure out 1/4 cup to use in the frosting.
With an electric mixer (stand mixer or hand mixer), mix vegan butter and 1/4 cup of cashew cream from previous step until well combined. Add lemon juice, vanilla, nutritional yeast, and salt and mix well.
Sift powdered sugar into a small mixing bowl. Slowly mix in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. If your frosting becomes too dry, you can add a dash of the remaining cashew cream or some non-dairy milk. Turn your mixer up to medium-high speed to whip the frosting for a minute or two.
Use an icing spatula or piping bag to spread or pipe frosting onto your cake or cupcakes. Garnish with cinnamon or walnuts. Enjoy!
Notes & Hints
You will likely have some cashew cream left over, you can keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for use in other recipes.
I've put a range for the powdered sugar measurement; start with less sugar and add more if needed. If you're planning to pipe a lot of frosting onto cupcakes, you'll probably need to add the additional powdered sugar to stiffen it up a bit.
Storage: Keep unused frosting in an airtight container with plastic wrap over the frosting for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. Return to room temperature before piping or spreading.
Nutrition Data
Serving Size 1/24 of recipe
| Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories 88 | Calories from Fat 27 | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 3g | 4% | |
| Saturated Fat 1g | 5% | |
| Trans Fat 0g | ||
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% | |
| Sodium 46mg | 2% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 16g | 5% | |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% | |
| Sugars 15g | ||
| Protein 0g | 0% | |
| Vitamin A 0mcg RAE | 0% | |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin B12 0mcg | 0% | |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% | |
| Calcium 0mg | 0% | |
| Iron 0mg | 0% | |
| Potassium 15mg | 0% | |
| Zinc 0mg | 0% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note: This data should be used only as an estimate. Please see the nutrition section of my terms and conditions for more information on how this data is calculated.
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Leave a Comment
I love reading comments! I'll do my best to answer questions, too. If you made the recipe, please leave a star rating, it helps support the blog so I can make more recipes and articles. Thank you!
Kerri says
Thanks for this recipe! Delicious! Worked very well for cinnamon rolls. I hate store bought vegan cream cheese and this avoids the extra step of making home made cashew cream cheese and then making a frosting recipe. I added a small amount of white miso paste just to up the slight umami and tang of cream cheese frosting and it turned out beautifully. I used the leftover cashew cream in a carrot lentil soup. Thanks, again!
Steph Sunshine says
The miso sounds like a great addition! I'm glad to hear it worked well for you, thank you for the comment :)
Sherry Shane says
The best. Don't even try anything else. Serious. Trying to resist piping it into my mouth instead of the infused pumpkin spice muffins I made.
Steph Sunshine says
Lol, you can do it! Thanks for sharing :)
Jamie says
I agree with the other reviewer. I tried the daiya and so delicious brand cream cheese to make vegan cream cheese frosting and it never came out reliably. I used this for cinnamon rolls I made and the frosting is a perfect compliment. I also appreciate that you Can play with the recipe to adjust for taste and consistency. Thanks!
Annalise says
Wow! I was using a recipe before that uses store-bought vegan cream cheese, and it was okay, but it also tastes different depending on which brand you can get. This one was a little more work, but definitely worth it! The taste is amazing and I know how it's going to taste every time.
End of comments.