The Best Roasted Garlic Cream Cheese (Edit recipe)

My recent recipe for Avocado Cream Cheese inspired me to make a completely vegan version that tastes like the REAL DEAL. I love this cream cheese so much that I found myself using it in all sorts of ways: of course, as bagel or toast spread, but also as a sauce for homemade white pizza, as a dip for roasted veggies or as a salad dressing, thinned with a little lemon juice and water. It is also definitely customizable if you want to make it plain, or add chives or make it sweet!

4 hours

30 minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Show nutritional information

This is our estimate based on online research.
Calories:	159
Fat:	10 g
Carbohydrates:	8 g
Protein:	9 g
Cholesterol:	0 g
Sodium:	209 mg
Fiber:	1 g
Sugars:	1 g
Calculated for total recipe.

by Laura Lea

View original recipe

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

.5 cup Raw Cashews
1 tsp Avocado Oil
1 head Garlic
8 oz Tofu, extra firm (approximately .5 block)
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice, fresh
1 tsp White Miso Paste, mellow/sweet
.25-.5 tsp Sea Salt, ((start with .25 and add to taste; I use .5))
.25 tsp Black Pepper
.5 tsp Onion Powder
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

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Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Add cashews to a bowl and cover with room temperature water and soak for 4-6 hours.
Once your cashews are soaked: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the top .25" off of your garlic head to expose all the cloves. Add to a baking sheet, cloves facing up, and drizzle with a teaspoon of avocado oil. Roast garlic for 30 minutes, or until cloves are golden brown. Set aside to cool at least 10 minutes before touching.
While garlic is roasting, wrap your piece of tofu in a kitchen towel and top with a few heavy books--something heavy enough to press out the liquid but not squish it completely. Allow to sit 15 minutes.
Rinse and drain cashews, then pat dry and add to a high-powered blender. Add pressed tofu, lemon juice, miso, sea salt (start with .25 teaspoon), black pepper, onion powder and nutritional yeast. Once garlic is cool enough to touch, squeeze the cloves out of their skin into the blender.
Puree everything together, using a tamper to blend. BE PATIENT and use some elbow grease. If you add liquid it will get too watery. Just keep mashing it together and it will blend. Add more salt to taste, then refrigerate "cream cheese" for at least 2 hours before serving. Cream cheese will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing it.
VARIATIONS: remove garlic and add minced chives or dill | dice small pieces of carrot and bell pepper for a veggie version | chop black olives and stir in a tablespoon of olive oil | go sweet: remove garlic, pepper, onion powder and all but a tiny pinch of salt. Then stir in honey or jam or even some maple syrup and maple extract

Notes

The real secret to creating a cream cheese texture is to have a STRONG blender and the patience to blend it/use a little elbow grease. You want to avoid adding extra liquid at all costs, or it won't have the right thick, unctuous consistency. So don't skip on soaking your cashews, as this should help with the blending!