{"id":26161,"date":"2017-08-07T05:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T11:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blissfulbasil.com\/?p=26161"},"modified":"2021-04-27T10:42:15","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T16:42:15","slug":"hot-pepper-pot-vegan-cultured-cashew-cream-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blissfulbasil.com\/hot-pepper-pot-vegan-cultured-cashew-cream-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Pepper Pot Vegan Cultured Cashew Cream Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"

This hot pepper pot vegan cultured cashew cream cheese is incredibly simple to make and packed with all the beloved tanginess of the \"real\" thing. Made with just three ingredients (plus water and sea salt), this homemade vegan cream cheese is sure to please dairy lovers and vegans alike!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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There's a quaint coffee shop not too far from our condo that Dan and I like to walk to on Saturdays. Its name\u2014Beans & Bagels\u2014is perfectly descriptive given\u00a0that the cozy caf\u00e9\u00a0specializes in homemade bagels and flavor-forward coffee brews.<\/p>\n

Creatures of habit, our weekly order never veers far off course.<\/p>\n

I typically stick to a chai latt\u00e9 with soy milk + a sesame bagel with a generous smear of hummus.<\/p>\n

Dan, on the other hand, is a cold brew + salt and poppy bagel kind of guy. He's not one to pick favorites with cream cheese though, so his choice usually varies from week to week.<\/p>\n

That being said, lately he's been on a Hot Pepper Pot cream cheese kick. Hot Pepper Pot\u2014is that not the cutest name for jalape\u00f1o cream cheese? He's been raving about the stuff\u00a0for the last several weeks and has been begging me to create a vegan version so that we can enjoy it at home.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, I've had it on my to-test list since June but haven't had the courage to actually get to work on it. The thing is, vegan cream cheese involves culturing.\u00a0Basic cashew cheese<\/a> is one thing, but cultured cream cheese? That's way outside my comfort zone. Or so it\u00a0was<\/em> way outside my comfort zone.<\/p>\n

For weeks, I'd planned to try my hand at the whole culturing thing, but I was majorly intimidated. I'm telling you, no matter how many blog recipes I've written (over 500 at this point) and despite the fact that I wrote a\u00a0cookbook<\/a>, certain recipe concepts still elicit the kitchen jitters.<\/p>\n

I recently came to the conclusion\u00a0that these kitchen fears probably fall under the umbrella of \"resistance\" that Steven Pressfield references throughout his brilliant book The War of Art<\/span><\/a>. As he so gracefully articulates, \"The more important an activity is to your soul's evolution, the more resistance you will feel.\"<\/em><\/p>\n

Welp, apparently cultured cream cheese was so very important to my soul's evolution, because the resistance was fierce.<\/p>\n

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But guess what?<\/p>\n

I squashed it. And I'm pretty sure my soul\u00a0did<\/em> evolve. Albeit in a small way.<\/p>\n

Last week, I boldly\u00a0went where I'd never gone before, and I took my raw cashews and probiotic capsules with me. Hot damn.<\/p>\n

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The best part?<\/p>\n

It turns out that vegan cultured cashew cream cheese is one of the easiest things to make... ever.<\/p>\n

No, really. I swear. Cross my resistant heart.<\/p>\n

This particular cashew cream cheese requires just three ingredients\u2014raw cashews, probiotic capsules, and jalape\u00f1os\u2014plus water and sea salt.<\/p>\n

Even better? You'll only need to spend about 20 active minutes in the kitchen. The rest of the \"prep\"\u00a0is culturing downtime in which the probiotics work their magic to transform ordinary cashew cheese into a tangy, delightful\u00a0cream cheese spread.<\/p>\n

So, how do you make cultured cashew cream cheese? In three easy steps...<\/p>\n

1) Add soaked raw cashews, the contents of a few probiotic capsules, and a bit of filtered water to a high-powered food processor. Give it all a lengthy, several-minute whirl until smooth, then transfer the cashew mixture to a non-reactive (i.e., non-metallic) bowl or jar.<\/p>\n

2) Let the jar sit at room temperature for 18 to 24 hours to culture.<\/p>\n

3) Roast and dice a few jalape\u00f1os, and stir them into the cultured cream cheese along with a generous pinch of sea salt.<\/p>\n

That's it. Almost painfully easy, right?<\/p>\n

Having tackled this cultured vegan cream cheese adventure, I feel a bit silly having harbored\u00a0all that fear. And yet it was still refreshing to bust down the stubborn walls of the ol' kitchen comfort zone.<\/p>\n

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Once your hot pepper cream cheese is ready, slather that stuff on everything.<\/p>\n

I'm talking bagels, sandwiches, your favorite spoon... whatever suits your fancy.<\/p>\n

If you like what you see in the photos, here's a rundown of the goodness:<\/p>\n

Toasted everything bagels.<\/p>\n

Sliced cucumbers + red onions.<\/p>\n

Capers.<\/p>\n

Carrot \"lox\" (i.e., sprinkle\u00a0thinly sliced carrots with a bit of hickory smoke salt, wrap them in foil, and roast at 425F for 20 minutes).<\/p>\n

And, of course, plenty of that tangy cream cheese.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcd6 Recipe<\/h2>
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Hot Pepper Pot Vegan Cultured Cashew Cream Cheese<\/h2>\n
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This hot pepper pot vegan cultured cashew cream cheese is incredibly simple to make and packed with all the beloved tanginess of the \"real\" thing. Made with just three ingredients (plus water and sea salt), this homemade vegan cream cheese is sure to please dairy lovers and vegans alike! <\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Course <\/span>Breakfast, Spread<\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Cuisine <\/span>Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, plant-based, Vegan<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Prep Time <\/span>18 hours<\/span><\/span> hours<\/span><\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Cook Time <\/span>10 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Total Time <\/span>18 hours<\/span><\/span> hours<\/span> 10 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Ingredients<\/h3>