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Get ready to be amazed by this Vegan Mascarpone recipe! It's a culinary magic trick, turning simple, everyday ingredients into a creamy, dreamy spread. It's a friggin' plant-based miracle cream that'll get married to your vegan ladyfingers, making your vegan tiramisu taste like a traditional one, and will behave like a gorgeous, majestic pony galloping through the mist right into your heart!
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
This one's already gluten-free as written, no modifications needed.
Make it ahead and freeze for up to 3 months, just use a nut-based yogurt instead of soy so it freezes well.
Swap the cashews for blanched almonds, they're usually cheaper and work as a solid stand in, just soak them a bit longer.
Swap the sugar for maple syrup, coconut sugar, or palm sugar if you'd rather use a less processed sweetener in this recipe.
No rice vinegar on hand? Apple cider vinegar or plain white vinegar works fine as a swap here.
For the creamiest homemade vegan mascarpone, opt for full-fat vegan yogurt and use coconut cream, not coconut milk.
If you're short on time, a quick shortcut is to boil the cashews for 20 minutes.
Vegan mascarpone stores well in the fridge for up to five days. If it appears curdled after thawing, stir or blend it well to restore its creamy texture.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
Picture this: you're in your kitchen, about to whip up something incredible. You've got cashews, coconut cream, and a few other goodies. In just a handful of steps, you're going to transform these humble ingredients into the creamiest, most versatile mascarpone you've ever tasted. And the best part? It's made without harming any animals!
Dollop it on fresh fruit, swirl it into soups like masoor dahl, or my roasted carrot lentil soup, or spread it on a crunchy bagel as an alternative to cultured vegan cream cheese!
Excited? You should be, because this reliable recipe is a game-changer for your pizza, pasta and Italian desserts. Let's get blending!
I made this to use in the Tiramisu recipe. It was very close to the mascarpone I remember from my dairy-eating days, though it's been a while. Once I added the sugar/butter/vanilla from that recipe, it was unbelievably perfect for tiramisu. My whole family kept sneaking spoonfuls, my husband said it tasted just like cannoli filling so perhaps that's my next baking project 🙂
Jump to:
🥰 Why you'll love this dairy-free mascarpone recipe
✊ Vegan AF and GF: Like all my vegan dairy recipes, this is 100% plant-based. It also happens to be completely gluten-free too!
⚡️ Just 7 Simple Ingredients: You can make this with ingredients you probably have on hand! You don't need soy milk, coconut oil, silken tofu, or fancy, hard-to-find products like vegan heavy cream, or vegan butter to whip up this Italian cream cheese!
🌡️ Chill Factor: The magic happens in the fridge. Cooling allows the mascarpone to thicken, achieving that classic, spreadable texture.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: This Vegan Mascarpone cheese recipe is the culmination of meticulous adjustments and thorough testing, much like the other plant-based recipes I share. I refined this recipe until I was truly in love with it. After that, it was rigorously tested by a massive group of recipe testers I work with across the globe. It received unanimous approval before I decided it was ready to be shared with the world.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🥛 Ingredients for vegan mascarpone cheese
Cashews
Raw cashews bring a rich, creamy texture to the recipe, acting as the base for the dairy-free mascarpone. Unlike almonds and other more fibrous nuts, they become smooth when blended. That's why I use them in my dairy recipes like cultured plant-based cream cheese, and curries, like you will see if you make my lotus seed curry.
Unsweetened Vegan Yogurt
This adds a subtle tang and helps in achieving the characteristic mascarpone texture. I also love using it to make vegan labneh, and to make my plant-based tikka masala and Punjabi soya chaap curry more creamy and dreamy. There used to be an embarrassingly limited selection, but vegan yogurt now comes in many forms. This recipe works equally well with soy, almond, cashew, or coconut-based yogurts. Just make sure it is unsweetened and unflavored.
Coconut Cream
Canned coconut cream ain't just for making Vietnamese Kem Chuoi! Coconut cream contributes to the luxurious texture of dairy-free mascarpone. It lends a subtle, natural sweetness that helps balance the acidity of the lemon juice, vinegar, and tangy flavor from the yogurt to make the Mascarpone's flavor more well-rounded and full. For the right consistency, make sure to use the thick, fatty part only. This is easy to separate from the liquid if you chill the can for an hour before using, as the solidified fats will rise to the top. If you can't get coconut cream, simply use full-fat coconut milk, following the chilling method to separate the cream from the liquid in the can.
Rice Vinegar
Rice vinegar is my go-to, just very slightly funky acid to use in vegan dairy recipes (like my vegan sour cream), and it contributes to the overall umami. If rice vinegar is not on hand, apple cider vinegar, coconut vinegar, or distilled white vinegar could be used instead.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Italian Style with Prosciutto and Mushrooms: In Europe, mascarpone is commonly used on pizzas paired with prosciutto and mushrooms. This combination can be adapted to be vegan using my seitan recipe cut extremely thinly and marinated in dry red wine. Then think about serving the marinated seitan over pasta with mascarpone and vegan bolognese sauce, and if you are a real vegan meat-lover, some vegan meatballs on top. You can also stir some into your favorite creamy pasta sauces as you would with ricotta cheese. Vegan garlic bread on the side anyone? You would be downright crazy not to smash that.
Donut Filling/Topping? Oh yess: Considering mascarpone's key role in the classic Italian dessert tiramisu, a sweet variation of this vegan mascarpone could (and should) be created. Simply mix in a little dry granulated sweetener to taste (my top choice is palm sugar, but you do you, as they say). Then use the sweetened mascarpone on vegan apple fritters, apple cider donuts, Malaysian cekodok pisang, fluffy donut twists, or even Peruvian picarones. Or use them as a topping to serve buñuelos, or vegan lemon pound cake with. The opportunities are endless here.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make vegan mascarpone cheese
Nail this perfectly on your first shot by following these few simple steps with helpful tips. Or you can follow along with the easy-to-print recipe card towards the bottom of this page.
Step One
Cashew Bath Time:
Soak your cashews in water for at least one hour. For best results, let them soak overnight in a sealed container in your fridge. After soaking, rinse them under cold running water and allow them to air dry in a colander or wire mesh strainer.
Step Two
Blend it Up:
Take the soaked cashews and toss 'em in a blender with vegan yogurt, coconut cream, lemon juice, rice vinegar, salt, and sugar.
Blend everything together for about 90 seconds until you achieve a silky-smooth consistency. Remember to pause and scrape the sides to ensure everything is well-mixed.
A quality high-speed blender will give you the fastest results here.
Step Three
Chill and Set:
Pour your blended concoction into a storage container and let it rest in the refrigerator for a few hours. This chilling time is crucial as it helps the mixture thicken.
Before chilling, if you find the puree thicker than you prefer, add a small amount of yogurt or a splash of more coconut cream to get it just right. It will thicken a tiny bit more when you chill it.
Mascarpone goes great dolloped on top of vegan panna cotta, or stuffed into dairy-free bomboloni!
👉Top tips
- Use Full-Fat Ingredients: For the creamiest homemade vegan mascarpone, opt for full-fat vegan yogurt and use coconut cream, not coconut milk. The fat contributes significantly to the luxurious feel of the mascarpone.
- Cashew Proper Preparation: The longer you soak the cashews, the easier it will be to achieve the right creamy consistency. This is especially crucial if you have a crappy blender. My top recommendation is a Blendtec blender. I have been using Blendtec blenders personally and professionally for over 20 years (since before the company was even called Blendtec!) and they are a real pleasure to make food with. If you're short on time, a quick shortcut is to boil the cashews for 20 minutes.
- Adjusting Sweetness and Tang: The base recipe mirrors the slightly sweet nature of traditional mascarpone, but you can tweak it to your taste. For a sweeter and more diverse flavor, add a little more sweetener or opt for a mineral-rich one like maple syrup, coconut sugar, or palm sugar. If you want more tanginess, increase the lemon juice or vinegar to balance the sweetness.
- Storage and Re-Texturizing: Vegan mascarpone stores well in the fridge for up to five days and can be frozen. If it appears curdled after thawing, simply stir or blend it well to restore its creamy texture.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Keep your vegan mascarpone in a covered container in the fridge for up to five days. As long as you make it with a nut-based yogurt, and not a soy-based one, it's can be frozen for up to 3 months. After thawing to room temperature, stir it well to restore its creamy texture, even if it appears curdled at first.
For sure! While I am personally vegan because I don't want to cause harm to animals and the environment, the health benefits are a nice bonus, as far as I'm concerned. Here are a few reasons why the dairy-free alternative version of mascarpone is wayyyy better for you than the stuff that's made with animal products. And this holds true for other cheeses like vegan parmesan and dairy-free ricotta too!
Heart Health and Cholesterol: Traditional mascarpone is made from cream, making it high in saturated fats and cholesterol, which can contribute to heart disease. A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats, common in plant-based diets, can significantly reduce heart disease risk. A main difference is that vegan cheese, made from nuts and plant-based fats and proteins, contains no cholesterol and is lower in saturated fats, making it a heart-healthier option.
Nutrient Profile Enhancement: A study in the Journal of Nutrition highlighted that nuts, a primary ingredient in vegan mascarpone, are rich in essential nutrients, including magnesium, potassium, and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.
Dietary Fiber and Gut Health: Unlike regular mascarpone, vegan versions made from nuts contain dietary fiber, which is essential for gut health. Research published in the Nutrients journal indicates that dietary fiber supports digestive health, promotes gut microbiota diversity, and may lower the risk of chronic diseases.
✌️My faves to serve with cashew mascarpone cheese:
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Vegan Mascarpone Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews
- ½ cup unsweetened vegan yogurt
- ½ cup coconut cream the thick fatty part only
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons rice vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in water for at least one hour, or overnight in a sealed container in your refrigerator. Drain and rinse the cashews, and let them dry off in a colander or wire mesh strainer.
- Put the drained cashews, yogurt, coconut cream, lemon juice, rice vinegar, salt, and sugar into a blender pitcher. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- If the mixture is too thick, add a tiny bit of yogurt or more coconut cream to reach your desired consistency.
- Transfer the blended mixture to a container and chill it in the fridge for a few hours to thicken.
Video
Notes
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Jennifer says
Adam - Do you have any recommendations on replacing the cashews with another nut or seed in this recipe? Unable to eat cashews. Thank you so much!!!
Adam Sobel says
Pine nuts would be my top choice, though they will have a stronger (albeit yummy) flavor. Otherwise, blanched almonds would be a seconds best option- just make sure you soak them a little longer, because they are more fibrous.
KRB says
I made this to use in the Tiramisu recipe. It was very close to the mascarpone I remember from my dairy-eating days, though it's been a while. Once I added the sugar/butter/vanilla from that recipe, it was unbelievably perfect for tiramisu. My whole family kept sneaking spoonfuls, my husband said it tasted just like cannoli filling so perhaps that's my next baking project 🙂
Marlene Mandala says
I have read some of your recipes and do not recognize some of the ingredient's where I find vegan ingredients'. to make the Italian cheeses. I have kidney disease and one kidney so things I must watch are salt, proteins, phosphates. I am also border line diabetic. a vegetarian diet is recommended. where do I start? Can these products be purchased on line ? most of my cooking is traditional Italian.
Adam Sobel says
Writing to you right now from Sicily where I am with my family for the next week!
I provide links for you to order many of the specialty ingredients that I cook with.
Anything I provide links to appear blue and underlined (clickable) in the recipe card, and some of them are also linked to in the "Ingredients and Substitutions" section further up the blog post. That section might help introduce you to new ingredients you aren't yet familiar with, and what you might be able to use in place of them if you can't get them.