Creamy Vegan Mascarpone Cheese (Nut-Free Recipe!)

This thick and creamy vegan mascarpone recipe is made with just 5 ingredients, 5 minutes of prep time and a blender. Silky smooth results every time with 30 seconds of blending and NO nuts! It’s the perfect accompaniment to many a recipe, from desserts such as tiramisu, to pasta sauces and soups.

This vegan mascarpone recipe is easy to make; you only need 5 simple ingredients and 5 minutes to prepare it from start to finish. It can be used in sweet or savoury dishes; from tiramisu and banoffee pie, to pasta sauces and soups. We make our dairy-free mascarpone without nuts, so there is no soaking time and you achieve a perfect creamy texture every time with just 30 seconds of blending.

This recipe is versatile; you can choose to serve the silky smooth mascarpone at room temperature for a thick, creamy and pourable consistency, or refrigerate it for a firmer texture that is similar to cheesecake. It makes the perfect vegan substitute for mascarpone in a wide range of dishes – we hope you love it as much as we do!

Quick Links:

• The written recipe
• Why you’ll love this recipe
• Success tips
• Step by step instructions with photos
• FAQs
• Other incredible recipes like this one

What is Mascarpone?

Mascarpone is a soft, mild and creamy Italian cheese that is sweeter and less acidic than Italian cream cheese, and is similar to ricotta cheese. It has a rich, creamy flavour and a thick texture, which is particularly suited to sweet desserts such as tiramisu, banoffee pie and fresh fruit salad. Mascarpone is also used in savoury dishes, such as creamy tomato pasta sauce.

Mascarpone is not vegan, so if you’ve been on the lookout for a vegan substitute for mascarpone, look no further! We’ve created this versatile vegan mascarpone cheese recipe as a dairy free alternative for your desserts and pasta dishes.

For our dairy free mascarpone we use a combination of vegan cream, silken tofu and coconut oil to create a creamy, silky texture that is soft at room temperature but firms up in the fridge like traditional mascarpone. We also add a little bit of sugar and vanilla to give our vegan mascarpone cheese substitute a touch of sweetness.

Why you’ll love this Vegan Mascarpone recipe

Easy to make and minimal prep. This is a straightforward and quick recipe – just add the five ingredients to a high speed blender and blend for 30 seconds until smooth. That’s it!

It’s a versatile recipe. You can use this dairy free mascarpone in a range of recipes. Try it in our Biscoff Vegan Tiramisu recipe here, or use it to create a creamy topping for banoffee pie or vegan trifle. Alternatively, omit the vanilla and use it in savory dishes such as gnocchi, lasagne, creamy butternut squash soup or tomato and mascarpone pasta sauce.

Easily vary the texture. The coconut oil in this vegan mascarpone substitute will help to firm it up when it’s refrigerated. Use your mascarpone straight away when creating desserts for a pourable consistency that is similar to a thick vegan yogurt, or pop it in the fridge if you’d like it to be a firm texture that you can scoop into your creamy pasta sauces.

A good source of protein. Our vegan substitute for mascarpone is a good source of protein with 3g per serving, which is an added benefit, particularly for savoury dishes.

Success Tips

1. Pick a mild-flavoured coconut oil. Coconut oil brands vary in how much of a coconut flavour they carry. Whilst having a hint of coconut flavour in the mascarpone is quite pleasant, especially for some sweet dishes, it doesn’t suit all recipes so opt for a mild coconut oil if you have one (like this one from Biona).
2. Don’t substitute the coconut oil. It’s important to use coconut oil for this recipe, as opposed to vegan butter or another type of oil, because it hardens when refrigerated which gives the mascarpone more structure. Don’t substitute the coconut oil for vegan butter or another type of oil.
3. You can substitute the vegan cream. We have tested this homemade vegan mascarpone recipe with soy cream, fava bean cream and coconut cream. Whilst our preference is soya cream, they all work well.
4. Omit the vanilla for savoury recipes. Whilst not essential, if you plan to use this mascarpone in savoury recipes we recommend omitting the vanilla. This vegan mascarpone recipe is not overly sweet, however if you’d like to also omit the sugar you can also do this if you plan to use it for savory recipes.
5. Serving suggestion. If you’d like to use this dairy free mascarpone in a dessert, ideally use it when freshly made as it will be a pourable consistency similar to vegan greek yogurt. Then pop your dessert in the fridge and the mascarpone layer will firm up. If you’d like to use the mascarpone in a savoury recipe, store it in the fridge in an airtight container and you can scoop out a spoonful as you need it.
6. Storing. Store this easy vegan mascarpone cheese in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days. We don’t recommend freezing this mascarpone.

How to make this Vegan Mascarpone recipe

Ingredients

Coconut oil. Opt for a mild-flavoured coconut oil (like this one) if you can. You can use any coconut oil but some will transfer a hint of coconut flavour to the mascarpone (which is quite pleasant for some sweet desserts!).

Silken tofu. Look for silken tofu which is usually in the world foods section of the supermarket (usually unrefrigerated). Don’t substitute for firm tofu.

Vegan cream. You can use soya cream or coconut cream for this recipe.

Caster sugar. You can use granulated or caster sugar.  We don’t recommend using a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup.

Vanilla extract. Feel free to omit this ingredient if you don’t have it to hand.

That’s it!  No need for any acid such as apple cider vinegar, white vinegar or fresh lemon juice – we’ve tested this and the mascarpone tastes better without.

Equipment

The only equipment you need for this recipe is a high-speed blender. We used a small upright blender like this one, which worked perfectly.  You could also use a food processor.

Steps

Make sure to head to the recipe card below for the full recipe and instructions!

Gather together the ingredients and then follow the simple steps to make this homemade mascarpone.

If your coconut oil is solid then melt it gently in a saucepan until it is in a clear liquid form. Let it cool to room temperature before using it.

Add all of the ingredients (coconut oil, silken tofu, cream, sugar and vanilla) to a blender cup and blend for 30 seconds until smooth.

FAQs

Is mascarpone vegan?

No, traditional mascarpone is not vegan because it uses cream made from full fat cow’s milk. We’ve created a dairy free mascarpone using vegan cream, silken tofu and coconut oil for a silky smooth texture and creamy flavour.

What is vegan mascarpone made of?

Vegan mascarpone can be made a variety of ways. Popular methods include the use of either raw cashews or soaked cashews to form a base, or creating soy curds from soy milk.

We’ve opted to make our vegan mascarpone substitute as easy and quick as possible.  We use a base of vegan cream, silken tofu and coconut oil for a super simple method that takes just 5 minutes, 5 ingredients and a blender to make.

What can you substitute for mascarpone in tiramisu?

If you need a great dairy-free substitute or vegan alternative to mascarpone, this 5-minute vegan mascarpone recipe is the perfect choice for tiramisu. In fact, we’ve used it in our Biscoff Tiramisu recipe here!

What is the difference between mascarpone and cream cheese?

The main difference between mascarpone and cream cheese is that mascarpone tends to be sweeter and less acidic than cream cheese. We prefer to use this vegan mascarpone recipe over cream cheese in sweet recipes because shop-bought vegan cream cheese tends to be quite salty which doesn’t suit many dessert recipes.

How long does vegan mascarpone last?

Store this mascarpone in the fridge in an airtight container and use it within 2 days.

Can I freeze this dairy-free mascarpone?

No, we don’t recommend freezing this vegan mascarpone.

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Loved this vegan mascarpone recipe? Here are some delicious vegan recipes you could pair it with

Vegan Biscoff Tiramisu

Tangy Lemon Cream Pies

I hope you LOVE this recipe for vegan mascarpone! Please share this recipe with someone you think will enjoy it too because it’s our goal to encourage as many people as possible to try plant based eating.

Also, don’t forget to tag @aveganvisit on social media when you make this recipe. I love seeing your re-creations! Enjoy 🙂 x

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below – this provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. If you want more delicious vegan recipes be sure to subscribe to the A Vegan Visit newsletter. We’d also love for you to join the AVV community on Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

The Written Recipe:

Creamy Vegan Mascarpone (Silky Nut-Free Recipe!)

This thick and creamy vegan mascarpone recipe is made with just 5 ingredients, 5 minutes of prep time and a blender. Silky smooth results every time with 30 seconds of blending and NO nuts!

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Sweet Treat

Cuisine: Italian

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Total: 5 minutes mins

Serves: 4 people

Calories: 263kcal

Author: Tara

Ingredients

 

MetricUS

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 65 g coconut oil (melted and then cooled to room temperature*)
• ▢ 175 g silken tofu
• ▢ 105 g vegan cream**
• ▢ 15 g caster sugar
• ▢ ¾ tsp vanilla

Equipment

• High Speed Cup Blender

Instructions

 

• If your coconut oil is solid (white) then you’ll need to melt it to a clear liquid first. To do this melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat and then set it aside to cool to room temperature.
  65 g coconut oil
• Add the silken tofu, vegan cream, caster sugar, vanilla extract and room temperature coconut oil to a blender cup and blend for around 30 seconds until smooth.
  175 g silken tofu, 105 g vegan cream**, 15 g caster sugar, 3/4 tsp vanilla

Notes

Vegan / Dairy Free / Egg Free / Nut Free

Recipe inspired by: Italy

* Pick a coconut oil with a mild flavour to reduce the coconut flavour that comes through into the mascarpone. You can use any coconut oil but some have a stronger flavour and whilst this isn’t unpleasant, it’s better if you have a mild coconut oil. Biona do a mild flavoured coconut oil that you can get here.

** We have tested this recipe with both soya cream (such as Alpro) and coconut cream and both work well. If using coconut cream, you want to only use the thick white part from the top of a tin of full fat coconut milk (discard the clear liquid underneath). If your tin of coconut milk has combined (clear liquid and thick white part) then cover it and pop it in the fridge for around 30 minutes. You should find that the mixture will separate again and the ‘cream’ part will solidify at the top of the tin.

Please check the allergens on the ingredients you purchase before use. The allergen information provided in this recipe is intended as a guide only and is based on the specific ingredients and brands used at the time of creating the recipe, therefore we cannot guarantee that the same will apply to the ingredients you use.

Prep time excludes any inactive time.

We highly recommend you use the metric and 1x options on this recipe card for the best results. Please note that this recipe has not been tested using US measurements or increasing ingredient quantities to 2x or 3x, therefore results may vary.

Nutrition

Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Sodium: 3mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Net Carbohydrates: 6g

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