Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (2 ways!)

This Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting is sweet and tangy, luxuriously creamy and super versatile. It’s completely homemade but quick and easy to make. Perfect for frosting cakes, cupcakes and cookies! This recipe shows two ways to make it, using either cashews or coconut milk, so you can pick the one that’s best for you! Both are gluten-free, refined sugar free and soy-free.

I’ve made two different types of healthy vegan cream cheese frosting. One alternative to cream cheese frosting is made using blended cashew nuts, and the other is made using coconut whipped cream.

How to make Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Place soaked cashew nuts, maple syrup and lemon juice in a food processor.

Tip: Make sure the cashew nuts are soaked to make them easier to blend. Soak them overnight in cold water or in boiling water for at least 15 minutes.

• Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.

Tip: You will have to mix it around a few times to make it easier to blend up.

• Taste and adjust flavour if necessary, adding more maple syrup and/or lemon juice if you wish.

• The blending process will make the frosting warm, so it’s best left to cool before using to frost cakes.
• Make sure the cake has cooled completely before applying this frosting, otherwise it will melt.

How to make Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

• You’ll need to keep your tin of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy part to separate from the watery part at the bottom. Make sure it is full-fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won’t happen and you won’t be able to make this frosting!
• Open the tin upside down – the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies).
• Place the thick, creamy part into a glass mixing bowl.

• Add the lemon juice and maple syrup.

• Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy.

• Taste and adjust flavour if necessary, adding more maple syrup and/or lemon juice if you wish.
• Make sure the cake has cooled completely before applying this frosting, otherwise it will melt.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe:

• You can use any type of sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• The coconut whipped cream can be replaced with any thick plant-based yogurt. This means you won’t have to whip it up, and because yogurt tends to be naturally tangy anyway you can use less lemon juice as it might become too sour otherwise!

Ways you can adapt this Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

There are different ingredients you can add to this dairy-free cream cheese frosting to colour or flavour it for different types of cake:

• Cocoa powder – make sure to add extra sweetener to balance out the bitterness.
• Matcha powder – make sure to add extra sweetener to balance out the bitterness.
• Beetroot powder – for a pink colour.
• Cocoa butter – for a white chocolate flavour.
• Strawberry, raspberry, cherry or blueberry jam.

Tip: Add any of the above along with all the other ingredients before blending or whipping up the frosting.

How long does Cream Cheese Frosting last?

This Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting keeps well on a cake or cupcake for up to a few days.

Does vegan frosting need to be refrigerated?

• Yes – it’s best stored covered in the fridge, though it can sit out at room temperature for up to a few hours.
• If it is very hot, the coconut cream cheese frosting will get quite melty so I’d recommend using the cashew cream cheese frosting if you need it to sit out at higher temperatures.

Can Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting be made ahead?

• The cashew cream cheese frosting keeps covered on its own in a bowl in the fridge for up to a few days so can be made ahead of time.
• However, the coconut cream cheese frosting doesn’t keep as well on its own – it can be kept covered in a bowl in the fridge for up to a day, but gets hard and clumpy any longer than that. So I’d recommend making this one fresh when you need to use it.

Ways to use this Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

• This frosting can be used for frosting layer cakes, loaf cakes, cupcakes or cookies.
• To spread over a cake, cupcake or cookie, use a palette knife for frosting.
• The coconut cream cheese frosting is generally better for layer cakes, working well as a dairy-free carrot cake frosting or vegan red velvet cake frosting.
• It also generally works better for cupcakes, like vegan red velvet cupcakes or vegan lemon blueberry cupcakes, as it’s fluffy and creamy.

• The cashew cream cheese frosting is a bit firmer and tends to keep its shape, so is generally better for loaf cakes like this Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Loaf Cake or Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake.
• This means it’s also better for spreading over cookies, like these Gluten-Free Vegan Sugar Cookies or these Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Cookies.
• And it’s also better for piping.

More vegan dessert recipes:

• Strawberry Trifle
• Madeleines
• Chocolate Truffles
• Blueberry Cheesecake
• Chocolate Mousse

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (2 ways!)

This Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting is sweet and tangy, luxuriously creamy and super versatile. It's completely homemade but quick and easy to make. Perfect for frosting cakes, cupcakes and cookies! This recipe shows two ways to make it, using either cashews or coconut milk, so you can pick the one that's best for you! Both are gluten-free, refined sugar free and soy-free.

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cashew frosting, coconut frosting, vegan cream cheese frosting

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 111kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the cashew cream cheese frosting:

• ▢ 100 g (⅔ cup) raw cashew nuts (soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes)
• ▢ 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons lemon juice

For the coconut cream cheese frosting:

• ▢ 400 g (14 oz) tin of full-fat coconut milk *
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)

Instructions

For the cashew cream cheese frosting:

• Drain the soaked cashews and add to a food processor with the maple syrup and lemon juice
• Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary – you will have to mix it around a few times to make it easier to blend up
• Taste and adjust flavour if necessary, adding more maple syrup and/or lemon juice if you wish
• The blending process will make the frosting warm, so it's best left to cool before using to frost cakes
• Make sure the cake has cooled completely before applying this frosting, otherwise it will melt
• Keeps covered in the fridge for a few days

For the coconut cream cheese frosting:

• You'll need to keep your tin of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy bit to separate from the watery bit at the bottom. Make sure it is full-fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won't happen and you won't be able to make this frosting!
• Open the tin upside down – the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies)
• Place the thick, creamy part into a bowl
• Add the lemon juice and maple syrup
• Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy
• Taste and adjust flavour if necessary, adding more maple syrup and/or lemon juice if you wish
• Make sure the cake has cooled completely before applying this frosting, otherwise it will melt
• Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a day – any longer than that and it will start to get clumpy

Notes

*The coconut whipped cream can be replaced with any thick plant-based yogurt. This means you won’t have to whip it up, and because yogurt tends to be naturally tangy anyway you can use less lemon juice as it might become too sour otherwise!

Nutrition information is for the cashew frosting 

• The cashew cream cheese frosting keeps covered on its own in a bowl in the fridge for up to a few days so can be made ahead of time.
• However, the coconut cream cheese frosting doesn’t keep as well on its own – it can be kept covered in a bowl in the fridge for up to a day, but gets hard and clumpy any longer than that. So I’d recommend making this one fresh when you need to use it.

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (2 ways!)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 111 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 1g5%

Sodium 3mg0%

Potassium 122mg3%

Carbohydrates 14g5%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 21mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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