This vegan mascarpone is rich, creamy and made with simple pantry ingredients. It makes the perfect dairy free mascarpone substitute for use in desserts and savory dishes.
Mascarpone is also known as Italian cream cheese. So if you’re generally a fan of cream cheese then you know you’re just going to love this.
Traditional mascarpone is very rich, very creamy and also quite plain. Our vegan mascarpone is not ‘quite’ as plain as a regular mascarpone, since we based our recipe on cashews, and cashews, while very neutral, are not quite as neutral in flavor as dairy cream.
Nonetheless this vegan mascarpone is absolutely delicious and makes a perfect substitute for the original.
It works great for both savory dishes – stir it into soups, add it to pasta dishes, or use it as a replacement for cream in almost any dish – and sweet. Tiramisu is the first dessert that comes to mind when you think of mascarpone but it can also be used in frostings or cheesecakes.
And if you love this cashew mascarpone you’ll also love our vegan heavy cream, vegan cream cheese and vegan sour cream.
Ingredients For Vegan Mascarpone Cheese:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- White vinegar – distilled white vinegar has a very particular flavor that works great here.
- Lemon juice – should be freshly squeezed for the best taste but bottled will work in a pinch.
- Raw cashews – should be soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and then drained and rinsed.
- Coconut cream – should be canned and unsweetened. We also only use the hardened cream at the top of a chilled can. You could use full fat, canned, unsweetened coconut milk as well, so long as it’s chilled first and you only use the hardened cream at the top.
How To Make Vegan Mascarpone
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add raw cashews to a bowl. Pour boiling hot water from the kettle over the top so that the cashews are submerged. Leave them to soak for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes of soaking, drain and rinse the cashews.
- Add cashews, coconut cream, lemon juice, distilled white vinegar and salt to a high powered blender or a food processor and blend until smooth.
Chef’s Tips
Blender or food processor. This recipe requires a high powered blender or you will simply burn out a less powerful blender. So if you don’t have a high powered blender then a food processor also works great. It won’t end up quite as smooth, but that’s not a problem.
Savory or sweet. We based this recipe on real mascarpone cheese which doesn’t contain any sweetener. Even so, the cashews do provide a small hint of sweetness. If you want to sweeten it up to use in a dessert or tiramisu, then feel free to add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar or maple syrup and blend it in.
It thickens in the fridge. The consistency of your mascarpone will thicken up in the fridge. So if you need it to be thicker, just give it some time to thicken up in the fridge before using.
Serving Suggestions
This vegan mascarpone is delicious served with fresh fruit, it can be stirred into soups or pasta dishes or spread on crackers or bagels. It’s even delicious on top of vegan pizza.
Or simply use it in any dish that calls for mascarpone. Of course it’s also awesome in a tiramisu, though I must say that we used a different version of mascarpone in our vegan tiramisu, but I look forward to making it again and using this version instead.
Storing Instructions
Keep it stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Give it a good stir before using.
You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it thaw and then stir it up very well again before using. It may look curdled while thawing, don’t worry about it, just stir it very well and it all comes back together.
More Vegan Cheese Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Mascarpone
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Raw Cashews (225g)
- ¾ cup Coconut Cream (180ml) Hardened cream only*
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
- 1 teaspoon Distilled White Vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Add raw cashews to a bowl. Pour boiling hot water from the kettle over the top so that the cashews are submerged. Leave them to soak for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes of soaking, drain and rinse the cashews.
- Add cashews, coconut cream, lemon juice, distilled white vinegar and salt to a high powered blender or a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Transfer to a jar or container and store in the fridge. It will thicken up in the fridge.
Notes
- Coconut cream. This should be canned and unsweetened. We also only use the hardened cream at the top of a chilled can. You could use full fat, canned, unsweetened coconut milk as well, so long as it’s chilled first and you only use the hardened cream at the top.
- Blender or food processor. This recipe requires a high powered blender otherwise it’s best to use a food processor instead. It won’t end up quite as smooth, but that’s not a problem.
- Add sweetness. If you want to sweeten it up to use in a dessert or tiramisu, then feel free to add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar or maple syrup and blend it in.
- Storing: Keep it stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Give it a good stir before using.
- Freezing: You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it thaw and then stir it up very well again before using. It may look curdled while thawing, don’t worry about it, just stir it very well and it all comes back together.
- Servings: This recipe makes 2 cups of vegan mascarpone. Each serve is around ¼ cup.
For once, a really tasty and useful vegan cheese recipe. Quite delicious and very similar to real mascarpone.
Thanks so much Sheona!
So the addition of lemon and vinegar doesn’t make it sour? Dairy mascarpone doesn’t have a sour taste to it.
It’s not sour at all.
I love mascarpone cheese so much. Thank you for the recipe. Instead of coconut cream, can I use almond or soy cream? Nowadays I have seen these in the non-dairy section. I believe they are a substitute for regular heavy cream?
Hi Chelvi, yes I think as long as the other non-dairy cream is thick, it will work fine.