This rich and totally addictive vegan cream cheese frosting tastes just as good as the real thing! Raw cashews take the place of cream cheese in this ingenious little recipe that nails that perfect frosting flavor and texture without any need for dairy.
I have to confess something: I’ve never really liked frosting. I was the kid at a birthday party who scraped the frosting off the cake.
My homemade cashew based cream cheese frosting turned that around, though! There’s something about that rich, tangy, creamy icing that I just find absolutely perfect. It’s much less sweet than regular cream cheese frosting, and there’s also an extra depth of flavor in there that I love.
Soaked raw cashews make a surprisingly good substitute for cream cheese, and a bit of pure maple syrup is all the sweetness this recipe needs. Try it on top of my Paleo Carrot Cake, or spread it on some Morning Glory Quick Bread. Make a double batch if you plan to frost a layer cake!
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients!
Ingredients for Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Here’s your list of ingredients for my dairy-free cream cheese frosting. This recipe requires only a few basic ingredients, all of which you may already have in your pantry.
Raw Cashews: Soaked and blended raw cashews develop this incredibly creamy and rich texture that perfectly imitates cream cheese. They are worth the additional cost versus using a dairy-free brand of cream cheese.
Pure Maple Syrup: My favorite natural sweetener. Adds sugary goodness to our dairy free cream cheese icing without the need for anything artificial or refined!
Fresh Lemon Juice: When mixed with the raw cashews, fresh lemon juice accurately imitates the subtle tang you expect from cream cheese frosting.
Unsweetened Almond Milk: Helps to smooth out the texture and control the consistency of our vegan cream cheese frosting. The neutral flavor and lack of sugar stop it from overpowering any of the more potent ingredients.
Pure Vanilla Extract: Adds a warm, cozy, bakery-style sweetness and a tantalizing aroma to our frosting.
Sea Salt: Amplifies the sweetness and tang of this recipe. Sea salt also helps bring out the depth of flavor in the vanilla and lemon. In short, it’s the ultimate supporting character!
Recipe Customizations
- Many recipes use store-bought vegan cream cheese instead of cashews. Feel free to try these out! I personally prefer the more natural taste of this cashew-based frosting.
- Looking for a low-carb, keto-friendly version of this frosting? Replace the pure maple syrup with sugar-free confectioners’ sweetener and add ⅓ cup of full-fat coconut milk to compensate for the loss of liquid.
- Substitute pure maple syrup for any natural sweetener you like!
- For extra lemon flavor, add in 1 to 2 teaspoons of lemon zest.
- Prefer sweeter frosting? Add extra powdered sugar to sweeten it to taste.
Now that we’ve covered the main ingredients, let’s make this easy recipe!
Recipe Tips
- I love this vegan frosting recipe for the tang! If you’re like me, use an extra tablespoon of lemon juice to turn up the tang factor.
- It’s not vegan, but I regularly make this recipe using raw honey. If you eat honey, I think this addition brings the taste a little closer to that of traditional cream cheese frosting.
- The amount of almond milk controls the thickness of the frosting. Use more for a thinner texture, and vice versa!
- The only part of this recipe that requires a little forethought is soaking the cashews. You can get away with soaking them for a few hours if you use boiling water, but the frosting will turn out far creamier if you soak them overnight.
How to Make Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Soak your cashews overnight in water. To speed up the process, you can soak cashews in boiling water for one hour.
Drain them and give them a rinse, then add them to a high-powered blender along with the rest of the ingredients.
Blend until completely smooth, adding more almond milk if the mixture becomes too thick and stops blending.
Taste your frosting for flavor, and add more maple syrup or lemon juice as needed.
Scoop your cream cheese frosting out of the blender, and enjoy your creamy frosting! Use it to frost cake layers, or even as a perfect topping for muffins or quick bread.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
I love that this creamy, tangy vegan cream cheese frosting uses whole foods instead of non-dairy cream cheese for a healthier take. This decadent frosting is perfect for frosting cakes
Fan of my easy vegan cream cheese frosting? Here are five more delightful vegan recipes for you.
More Vegan Recipes
- Vegan Oatmeal Banana Bread
- Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
- “Cheesy” Vegan Roasted Cauliflower
- Vegan Pumpkin Curry
- Vegan Peach Pie Bars
The best part is it’s made with all natural ingredients!
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews soaked overnight
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup*
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice to taste
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or more for thinner frosting**
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in water overnight, or at least 3 hours. Drain cashews and pat dry.
- Add the cashews to a food processor and process until a thick paste has formed. You’ll need to stop the food processor and scrape the sides several times – this will take a couple of minutes!
- Leaving the food processor on, slowly stream the pure maple syrup, lemon juice, and almond milk through the opening. Add the pure vanilla extract and sea salt, and continue processing until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Taste the frosting for flavor and add more pure maple syrup and/or lemon juice if desired. For thinner frosting, add more almond milk
- Transfer frosting to a sealable container or jar and refrigerate until ready to use. Frosting will keep for up to 1 week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Very good frosting. Mine is not anywhere as white as the photo shows. i even used clear vanilla. Can’t say it tastes like cream cheese but maybe I needed more lemon juice. I like it at any rate. I made mine in the blender as I already blended cashews in it for another purpose
Thanks for sharing your experience, Pep! If you aren’t vegan and you’re able to do honey, replacing the pure maple syrup with honey makes it taste closer to cream cheese frosting 🙂
Cashews are a problem for both my husband and I.
Can I use almonds, or pecans, or walnuts in place of the cashews?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Nadine! I haven’t tried using any other nut but my sneaking suspicion is that the recipe won’t turn out creamy using anything else. I imagine it would turn out fairly gritty, unfortunately. You can make a dairy-free cream cheese frosting using dairy-free cream cheese as an alternative – I’d google a recipe 🙂
How much cashew butter would I need?
Hi Diana! I haven’t tested the recipe using cashew butter. If it were me, I would start with 1 cup of cashew butter, leaving everything else the same. If the frosting seems too runny, I would add more (likely 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup) until I achieved a consistency I like. Let me know if you try it!
Hi! Can you make this recipe without a food processor if you substitute the raw cashews with all-natural cashew butter?
Thanks!
Hi Maya! Ooh, that’s a great question! I’m not entirely sure because I haven’t tried it, but I assume it would work. To start out, I would add less pure maple syrup to be sure the cashew butter doesn’t thin out too much. As long as it stays thick and spreadable, you can add more. Let me know how it turns out!