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This tofu cream cheese is made with 5 simple ingredients and it's smooth, velvety, and perfect to use as a starter, dip, or spread in a sandwich.
And you can easily flavor the basic recipe of this vegan cream cheese with many vegetables like roasted aubergine, sun-dried tomatoes, or artichoke hearts.
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What is tofu cream cheese?
This tofu cream cheese is basically a vegan cream cheese recipe that is very versatile and delicious.
We love eating this as a substitute for cream cheese on toasted bread, wraps, sandwiches, and even to stuff roasted vegetables such as roasted peppers or mushrooms.
You can make this in literally 5 minutes with a few ingredients.
Watch a quick 30 sec video on how to make this cream cheese with tofu.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Tofu: we prefer to use firm tofu for this recipe.
- Lemon juice: freshly squeezed, it helps neutralize the tofu flavour.
- Olive oil: best if extra virgin and of good quality since you are going to taste it in this recipe. Any other neutral vegetable oil would work too, but we like the olive oil flavour.
- Salt: to taste, we like to add a couple of pinches.
- Tahini: this is the key to a smooth, rich and velvety tofu cream cheese. Thaini adds loads of flavour, healthy fats, and makes this recipe irresistible.
Tip on Tahini: choose one made with 100% hulled and toasted sesame seeds.
You can find it written in the ingredients, it is important that they are hulled otherwise the tahini has a different, stronger flavor.
To make this tofu cream cheese even more flavourful you can also add a variety of vegetables. For example, try adding:
- the flesh of a roasted aubergine.
- artichoke hearts in oil (drained from the oil).
- sun dried tomatoes in oil (drained from the oil).
- fresh herbs such as parsley, dill or chives.
How to make tofu cream cheese?
To make this vegan cream cheese you'll need a blender. Put the 4.5 ounces (125 grams) of tofu in the blender.
Break it up with our hands, then add about 2 tablespoons (20 grams) of extra virgin olive oil, two pinches of salt, 3 tablespoons (40 grams) of lemon juice, and about 2 tablespoons (30 grams) of tahini.
Blend well until the tofu cream cheese is very smooth. If you think it's too thick, then add a tablespoon or two of water.
Then once the cream is smooth we transfer it to a bowl to serve it.
I sprinkle this with a little parsley and if you want you can also drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top.
Variations
When we have friends over for dinner, we make two or three kinds of this tofu cream cheese as an appetizer.
For example, with the same basic recipe, you can make one with a delicate artichoke flavor by adding well-drained artichoke hearts in oil.
Blend as before until the sauce is smooth, et voila, this one on toasted bread rubbed with garlic - bruschetta style - is my absolute favorite, and if you are an artichoke lover you must try it.
Louise, on the other hand, is crazy about the roasted eggplant variation. To make it, just follow the same procedure as before, that is, put all the ingredients in a blender, then add the flesh of half an eggplant roasted in the oven at 370F or 190C for about 20 minutes.
This version is very reminiscent of Baba Ghanoush, a delicious aubergine dish popular in the Middle East.
Serving suggestions
Our favorite way to serve tofu cream cheese is on toasted bread, lightly oiled, and rubbed with garlic, like Italian bruschetta, as an appetizer.
We spread the tofu cream cheese on top, then to enhance the flavor even more you can add some sun-dried tomatoes in oil, some pickled onions cut julienne, and some artichokes hearts in oil.
Served this way, the tofu cream cheese is truly irresistible.
If you want to make an even more varied appetizer, you can use this vegan cream cheese to fill some peppers. Here I use peppers that I lightly roast on a grill, then cut in half and fill with the tofu.
To finish I add a squeeze of lemon juice on top, a pinch of salt, and just a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil. There you have it, this is a quick and original appetizer that everyone will love.
Storage
Store this vegan cream cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Let warm up at room temperature for 30 minutes before eating. Not suitable for freezing.
Video
Recipe
Tofu cream cheese
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
Base Recipe
- 4.5 ounces (125 grams) firm tofu
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons (20 grams) olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoon (30 grams) tahini (from hulled sesame seeds and light in colour)
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 grams) salt or more to taste
- 1 handful fresh herbs (parsley, chives, spring onions)
Roasted Aubergine Cream Cheese
- ½ aubergine
Artichoke Cream Cheese
- ½ cup artichoke hearts in oil (drained)
Sun Dried Tomatoes Cream Cheese
- ⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil (drained)
Instructions
- Squeeze the tofu with your hands to remove some of the water from it. It's ok if it breaks as we are going to blend it.
- Add tofu, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, and salt to a blender and blend for 2 to 3 minutes till you have a very smooth tofu cream.
- Serve as a spread on toasted bread, in sandwiches, bagel, or as a dip. You can either mix the finely chopped fresh herbs in or sprinkle then on top.
Variation with Sun-Dried Tomatoes or Artichokes
- Drain the sun dried tomatoes or the artichokes to remove as much oil as possible. Then add them to the blender with the other ingredients and blend till you have a smooth cream.
Variation with Roasted Aubergine
- Preheat the oven to 390F or 200C. Cut the aubergine in half, and bake it for 20 minutes or until very soft, cut side down, on a baking tray line with parchment paper.
- With a spoon, remove the flesh of the aubergine from its skin. Add the flesh to the blender with the other ingredients and blend till you have a smooth cream.
Video Recipe
Nutritional Values
If you liked this recipe, you might also like:
- Tofu with pizzaiola sauce
- Tofu and spinach pesto
- Cutlets with spinach and tofu
- Tofu cacciatore
- Pan-fried tofu with lemon
- Mushroom tofu - pan fried
- Oven baked tofu with cherry tomatoes and olives
Did you try this recipe at home? Let us know in the comments below.
Buon appetito!
Nico
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