Since I discovered that tofu makes a great cream cheese substitute, I’ve realised that I really missed cream cheese. When I was vegetarian I used to love it, and while there are great dairy free cream cheeses out there, I really love this tofu version. The first one I flavoured with spring onion and plant based bacon, the second is a sweet chilli smoked flavoured cream cheese. They’re great for spreading or dips, are lower in fat and higher in protein than regular cream cheese
In regards to the “bacon” I used Naturinni Vegan Bacon which I was kindly gifted, but This also make an amazing vegan bacon that would also work brilliantly
In regards to the tofu, in both recipes I used Tofoo but if that’s not available, just use a firm tofu, and drain and press it first
Let’s start with the creamy “bacon” and spring onion cream cheese
You’ll need;
- One 280g/9.9oz of extra firm tofu
- The juice of half a lemon
- Three tablespoons of unsweetened plant milk
- One quarter of a teaspoon of salt
- One tablespoon of nutritional yeast
- Three spring onions, thinly sliced
- 50g/1.8oz meat free bacon
Method;
- Start by frying the bacon in a teaspoon of oil over a medium heat. Fry it until it starts to crisp up, the time will vary depending on what bacon you use. Once crispy set aside
- Then finely chop the tofu, this just helps it to blend more easily. Add the tofu into a blender or food processor
- Add the lemon juice, milk, salt and nutritional yeast into the blender and blend until smooth. You may need to pulse and scrape the sides down so it blends properly
- Next finely dice the bacon and add it to the tofu mixture, along with the spring onion. Carry on blending until you have a smooth tofu mixture with very small pieces of bacon and onion mixed through it
- Now it’s ready to be stored in an air tight container and popped into the fridge, let it chill for at least half an hour before using
Smoked Sweet Chilli Cream Cheese
You’ll need;
- 280g/9.9oz extra firm tofu
- One tablespoon of nutritional yeast
- Five tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce
- One teaspoon of smoked paprika
- One quarter of a teaspoon of salt
- The juice of half a lemon
Method;
- Again we’ll be dicing the tofu and adding it into the food processor. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend it until it’s really smooth
- Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Give it half an hour to firm up before using it for best results
Bethany's Vegan Kitchen 