Vegan Cream Cheese with Dill Crackers

When I made this recipe, I took the leftover green onions that I didn’t use and put them in my compost pile. Well, a few months later, a completely new green onion plant grew from it! It reminded me how delicious this recipe was and that I needed to post it. I looked up a few different vegan cream cheese recipes online and incorporated ideas from all of them to create this recipe. The result? A smooth, creamy cheese that is perfect for a party, get together, appetizer, or just a snack. The dill crackers go with this dish perfectly, and they are so easy to make! Let’s get crackerin’! See what I did there?

To Make Cream Cheese:

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/3 cup of raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
• juice from 1 lemon
• salt & pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• splash of extra virgin olive oil
• splash of apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 cup filtered water (more if needed)
• chopped scallions/green onion/or chives

Directions

1. Put all ingredients (except choice of greens) into a blender or food processor and mix until smooth and creamy.
2. Take a handful of chopped greens and add to mixture, blending just long enough to distribute throughout.
3. I recommend plating the cream cheese and letting it cool in fridge for about an hour. Garnish with more greens and serve.

To Make Dill Crackers:

*also used in my Sunflower Cheese recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten free flour (I recommend brown rice flour or garbanzo bean flour)
• 1 tbsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp salt (plus extra for sprinkling)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp vegan butter (like Earth Balance), melted
• 1/4 cup water (more as needed)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the oil, melted butter, and water. Stir until a ball forms. Add more water if needed, a few drops at a time.
3. Make a disk with the dough. Place it between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out with a rolling pin until it’s about 1/8 inch thick.
4. Gently peel off the top piece of parchment paper. Use a knife to cut the dough into 1 inch pieces, but don’t separate the squares.
5. Sprinkle water on the squares and smooth with your fingers, then sprinkle with salt.
6. Transfer the dough to a cookie sheet and bake about 15-20 minutes, turning the sheet halfway through. You want your crackers nice and crisp, but not burnt.
7. Let crackers cool then break apart the squares.

You can store the leftover cream cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week, and the crackers can stay at room temp in a jar or ziploc bag. But trust me, they won’t last long!

Jillian