Vegan Mascarpone Recipe

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If you're looking for a dairy-free substitute for all those delicious desserts, this vegan mascarpone recipe is the perfect choice. It's easy and versatile!

A glass jar filled with mascarpone cheese sitting on a striped towel

I love having all the dairy-free cream options ready to use when needed, so creating this mascarpone cheese substitute was a much needed addition to my list.

What is Mascarpone?

The easy explanation is that mascarpone is like an Italian cream cheese. It has a sweeter flavor because of the high fat content and is also not as thick.

Cream cheese was created in America, and it uses whole milk as a base. Mascarpone is Italian and is made using heavy cream. Which is where the richer and slightly sweet flavor come from.

How to Make Vegan Mascarpone?

Since mascarpone is traditionally dairy filled and not vegan, I had to make a mascarpone cheese substitute. I used my vegan cream cheese recipe as a base, since the mix of raw cashews and slivered almonds created a great creamy flavor.

The recipes are similar, with this one focusing on a little less tang and bringing out some of the sweetness.

Ingredients

In order to get the flavor I was looking for I needed the perfect mix or tang and nut base. Here is what I used:

Raw cashews
Blanched slivered almonds
Creamy dairy-free yogurt
Lemon juice
White vinegar
Sea salt
Sugar (this is optional for use in sweet recipes)

Making the recipe itself is super easy as all you need to do it blend them well. Here are the simple steps:

Add everything to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Serve as a topper or mix into recipes.

Uses and recipes

Since mascarpone has a slightly sweet flavor, it is often used in desserts. However you can also use it in savory dishes. Some general ways to use mascarpone are:

Dip for fruit
Spread on toast
Pizza topper or sauce
Sub for whipped cream
Mix it into pasta sauce
Soup topper
Add it in vegetable dishes for a creamy twist
Make desserts with it

This vegan mascarpone is great used in many of the recipes on this site. Here are some ideas:

Vegan Tiramisu
Use it instead of frosting on my vegan vanilla, vegan chocolate or vegan pumpkin spice cupcakes
Use it on this pina colada smoothie
As a topper for this vegan peach cobbler
Top this vegan apple crisp with it
As a sub for whipped cream for my vegan pumpkin pie
Drop a scoop into this vegan hot chocolate
Serve it over this vegan strawberry shortcake
Drizzle it on these maple roasted carrots
Use it in these vegan mashed potatoes

Three glass jars of tiramisu sitting on a grey towel

Common Questions

What's the difference between ricotta and mascarpone?

The main difference is the flavor. Ricotta isn't as sweet as mascarpone. It also has a little bit of a different texture. It's more textured and although creamy, isn't as smooth.

What would be a suitable substitute for mascarpone for a vegan dessert?

If you don't have mascarpone, you can substitute cream cheese, but you may want to mix it with a touch of milk to remove some of the tartness and thin it out a bit.

You can even sub coconut whip if you are using it in dessert and don't mind the fluffier texture. For savory dishes I would use a plain yogurt or sour cream.

How do you store mascarpone?

This is best stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

What is the shelf life?

You don't want to keep this longer than 7 days in the fridge. You can freeze it for longer shelf life but it will need to be blended up again once defrosted to get back some of the texture.