Place the cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse repeatedly to break the cashews down, until they form a coarse, wet meal. Scrape the sides of the food processor down with a spatula.
Turn the motor of the processor on. With the motor running, drizzle in the water and let the cashews process for about 10 seconds. Stop and scrape the machine down again. Continue processing for a full 1-2 minutes, or until the cashew cheese is smooth and thick, adding a tablespoon of extra water if needed. The consistency should be a little bit like hummus (see photos of finished cashew cheese as a cue).
Taste the cashew cheese and add lemon, salt, and pepper to taste. If you like, pulse in fresh herbs or other flavorings. Enjoy!
Reviews
Bette Brown on 2026-04-13 (4 stars): This is very tasty! I don't like the taste of nutritional yeast so I substituted the same amount of Miso paste. I also added 1/4 tsp smoked paprika. Yum!
Amanda M on 2026-03-21 (5 stars): I've used this recipe many times over the years! It's easy and delicious. I was inspired to make my own cashew cheese after having some at a vegan restaurant in Berlin, and this is just like it.
Amanda Weis on 2026-01-25 (5 stars): I went dairy free last week and this is the first vegan cheese I've ever made. I enjoyed this all week for anything I wanted a savory flavor. Lentil crackers were great with this and I even sauteed it with firm tofu, sesame oil, ginger, tamari chili and tomatoes. Brill! I made a coconut milk cheese today and the texture is more like cheese but I don't like the flavor of coconut so I've made this cashew cheese again. This is my go to recipe. I can add so many spices, herbs, miso etc. Cilantro and lime in today's batch. Yumm. Love it!! Thank you!! Dairy free is not easy but with this recipe I actually think I can do this!
Jennifer on 2025-11-30 (5 stars): This has been my 'go-to' cheesie dip recipe for a few years. My favorite variation is adding a tablespoon of white miso (reducing the salt), a teaspoon of liquid smoke, and some smoked paprika. The miso gives it a fermented tanginess. It's the most delightful smoky cheesie spread ever! Even the non-vegans can't get enough! Thanks, Gena :)
June on 2025-06-06 (5 stars): Just made this for the first time and it is so creamy. Looking forward to making it again and adding different additions
Robyn Gooch on 2025-01-15 (5 stars): Love love love this recipeit's such an easy go to base and I can add what I want for flavour. There are so many uses for this yummy cheese. For the first time I'm going sweet and trying a cheesecake with it
Deb Hunter on 2025-01-04 (5 stars): I'm a big fan of nutritional yeast and loved the subtle flavour with just 1 tbsp + 1 tsp in this(though I'll try the full amount and will likely love that, too). This is the 2nd time making it already this week. We're having it with homemade buckwheat toast, topped with a poblano-jalapeno pepper jam made for Christmas. So happy to find this recipe :). Thank you!
