Coconut cashew cream cheese frosting that comes together in minutes in a food processor or blender. This is the perfect thick, creamy and healthy frosting for cakes and cupcakes, cookies and brownies!
So, last Friday was Adam’s birthday. He timed his Whole30 perfectly so he could finish right before his birthday AND the Super Bowl – two days of the year I’m guessing most of us don’t want to be committed to a Whole30.
I mean – I’m willing to make Paleo cupcakes (of course), but I’m doubting anyone truly wants a meatloaf/egg “cupcake” with sweet potato puree for frosting to celebrate their own birthday. Right?? Or wrong? Definitely speak up if the meatloaf/egg cupcake is your thing. 
Anyway, since I had big success making cashew coconut cream for my raspberry cream cups, I decided to run with a good thing and go for “cream cheese” frosting.
There were cupcakes involved too (you can see the first photo!) I’m not trying to hide them or anything – just waiting until Saturday to post them since this coconut cashew cream cheese frosting deserves a post of its own. It’s crazy delicious, very versatile (you can frost your own arm if you wish) and can even serve as a sweet dip if you dare to go that way.
Ultimate chewy chocolate chip cookies – you might have just met your soul mate.
As you can see from the photos, I used my food processor for this job – but – I’ve heard that blending cashews into cashew cream can work well in a Vitamix too if that’s what you prefer. I personally don’t have one yet (on my wish-list) but I’ve spoken to people who swear by it for the creamiest of creamy sauces, so I’m guessing it can handle soaked cashews like a dream.
Because this frosting was all about go-big-or-go-home, I also dug out my cake decorating tips to make this creamy coconut cashew cream cheese frosting look extra pretty. For best results, I recommend chilling the frosting for at least an hour prior to decorating to get it extra creamy and thick.
Luckily this frosting doesn’t harden OR get too gooey – it keeps its texture really well – I just found chilling it gave it that extra bit of thickness that a cream cheese frosting should have. Or rather, “cream cheese” frosting, I suppose.
So – how did this all go over with my family? No one completely rejected it, which is saying A LOT around here. Better yet, no one had any clue that the creamy cupcake frosting they were eating was actually blended up cashews. Pretty cool, right? Frosting can be a picky, tricky subject for many, and healthy frosting is that much more of a challenge, don’t you think? Let me know if you like it! Now let’s get soaking, blending and frosting 🙂
Coconut Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting {Paleo w/Vegan Option}
Coconut Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting {Paleo w/Vegan Option}
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews soaked in filtered water for at least 4 hours**, drained, rinsed, and gently dried
- 2/3 cup coconut cream chilled*
- 2.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp coconut oil solid
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4-6 tbsp raw honey or pure maple syrup for the vegan option (adjust sweetness to preference)
- Large pinch fine grain sea salt
Instructions
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In a food processor or high speed blender, blend cashews on high until a paste forms, then scrape the sides.
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Add remaining ingredients and continue to blend or process on high for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is creamy.
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Makes enough frosting for one dozen cupcakes or a 9" double layer cake. Store frosting covered in the refrigerator for up to one week. It will thicken when chilled but won't completely harden. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*You can use a 5.4 oz can, refrigerated - any water in the can discarded, or the thick part of a can of full fat coconut milk.
**Prep time does not include the time needed to soak cashews.
Nutrition
Want more Paleo and vegan sweet treats? Try one of these!
Cashew Caramel Clusters (with date caramel)
No bake Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
No Bake Chocolate Coconut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Cookie Dough Truffles
Tell Me!
Do you enjoy decorating cakes, cupcakes, cookies?
Favorite cake/frosting combo?
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This is incredible. I’ve never seen the process before of making cashew frosting, and yours is so creamy and beautiful!
Looks wonderful. About how much does this make? enough for a 9 x 13 cake pan?
I’ve made coconut cream frosting before but never thought of adding cashews. This recipe is genius!
Wow! What a great twist on icing…and definitely a worthy celebration after Whole30!
We’ve nut (all) allergies at home. Can we use sunflower seeds to replace cashews? Have you tried that with success? Thanks
I actually just made something similar for one of the sites I write for. It was only almond milk and soaked cashews. I’ll have to try yours with the extra ingredients!
This frosting looks so creamy dreamy!! I make coconut whipped cream all the time as frosting for cupcakes and such, but I love the idea of adding cashews – totally makes sense for the texture, and I bet it’s so thick and rich! Everything a good frosting should be. 🙂
I’m Team Frosting all the way so this recipe intrigues me.
Also, you definitely want a Vitamix. It’s a dream come true.
Haha I know, maybe my next wish list item, we’ll see!
Michelle, your recipe is divine. I tried it yesterday since I was having a few friends over and everybody loved them. Some were even amazed how it fits paleo so I shared your blog with them! Please keep sharing recipes like this, I love it!
Oh wow I’m thrilled to hear you guys liked it! I recently made a carrot cake using this frosting and it was perfect, I’ll be posting it next weekend 🙂
How on earth do you not have a Vitamix?! You definitely need to get yourself one ASAP! 🙂
Haha I’m the last blogger on earth without one lol 😉
This recipe is the bomb dot com!!!! I absolutely LOVE cream cheese frosting and I think that this recreates the flavour wonderfully. Thank you for sharing ???
So glad you liked it! I definitely agree, hard not to eat the leftovers with a spoon!
This looks delicious however, my son is highly allergic to cashews (he is also not supposed to go eat pecans, walnuts or pistachios). Can the cashews be substituted with another nut?
As far as I know cashew is the only nut that produces the correct texture for a thick frosting. To make more of a whipped cream frosting you can beat coconut cream alone, add a bit of honey or maple and vanilla, then chill for several hours to firm it up. I’ll link to a recipe with that type of frosting: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/paleo-chocolate-chip-cookie-cupcakes/
I was wondering how this frosting holds up? Does it need to be refrigerated? Can it be put on a cake ahead of time or not until right before consumption? My daughters 1st birthday party is Sunday and I’m trying to find a frosting alternative for her smashcake!
The frosting thickens after being chilled so I recommend making it ahead of time and chilling overnight for the best texture. Once it’s on the cake it won’t change much, so if you want to frost ahead of time and refrigerate until serving that would be fine 🙂
Hi. After chilling overnight, will the frosting hold up if I frost the cake and leave at room temperature for a few hours?
Thanks!
I have been planning to make a surprise birthday cake for my husband. He is on the SIBO diet, and little bored with it.. Anyhow, I made a dark choc cake. Made the cashew coconut cream frosting and I used a little extra honey and whipped it up in our magic bullet it turned out pretty good, then I frosted the cake with it and sprinkled shredded coconut over the frosting and put the cake in fridge It was a wonderful frosting thanks for sharing it .
Can you explain the difference between coconut cream and the full fat coconut milk? I’ve used both before with different results and can’t ever figure out which is best to use for what types of recipes…
It’s confusing because coconut cream is sold alone, but it’s also the “thick” part of a can of coconut milk that’s been chilled long enough to separate. So, coconut milk is the thick and liquid part blended, whereas the cream is the thick part – you would discard all the liquid. Here is an example of a can of coconut milk that separates well into cream/water: http://amzn.to/2sHNmwk
I also buy small cans of coconut cream only, in order to easily make whipped cream: http://amzn.to/2sHQcBq – I know that in some grocery stores you can also buy coconut cream in larger cans too, I like the smaller ones since I often don’t use a lot at once. Hope this helps!
I found both coconut cream and coconut milk at Whole Foods today.
I bought the Native Forest brand coconut cream that you recommended and when I opened the can, it had the same thing going on as a regular can of full-fat coconut milk. The top 2 inches was cream and the rest was the same watery liquid you find under the creamy stuff in coconut milk. Is that your experience? Are you saying we should use the whole can, including the watery stuff? Or just the quarter cup or so of cream on top? Thank you! Looking forward to giving this a go.
(I ask b/c the recipe calls for 2/3 cup, but the amount of “cream” in the little can is more like 1/4 cup)
Hi,
Absolutely love the flavor and creamiest of the cashew frosting except, it was very runny and thin. We followed directions, soaked cashews overnight. Used Maple Syrup not honey. Only thing different is we used a Vita-Mix Blender. Is it possible we overblended using the time alloted for a food processor? Even after overnight refrigeration it would not hold any form out of a piping bag. What did we do wrong? Any suggestions?
Susie
Hmm, not sure. Did you use coconut milk (with the water part included) rather than the cream only? That’s the only thing I can think of. It sounds like it might be an issue with the coconut cream rather than the cashews or over blending. If you try it again, make sure to use just the thick part of a can of full fat coconut milk (one that separates when chilled) or buy the canned cream only. Sorry it didn’t work out!
Will definately will try again! Thanks for being so creative with your recipes. Would never have thought to use these ingredients!
Susie
I used a Vitamix as well and mine also turned out too runny. I’d say stick with a food processor next time.
Same here. I wonder if there is a way to thicken it, hate to waste a whole batch.
I wonder if you chill overnight if it would thicken up?
Hi! I’m not clear – do the cashews need to be dried/dehydrated before blending or just blend them “wet” when they are done soaking?
Hi Michele! Wow, I am not a vegan but love a challenge, and this recipe is so delicious! I was on the hunt for a non-chocolate cake (boyfriend’s mum can’t eat chocolate), and I came across the carrot cake recipe. I just finished making the frosting and had to comment, really loving it so far. Thank you!
Yay! Happy you liked this 🙂
I was looking for a thick creamy recipe and yours seems perfect! Making this today for Sunday lunch and serving it on it’s own 🙂
Have you ever thought to flavor/color this? I’m heading towards a preschool birthday party and so have some very choosy critics to face. 🙂 I found a recipe for a blueberry frosting that had a great color, but looked very runny — more glaze than frosting. I’m wondering if I can merge the recipes — mash the blueberries and simmer until thickened; puree; add in to this recipe? Do you think that would work?
I think that might turn out too runny, but not sure.
Hi! Making this tomorrow but can’t find raw cashews. Will organic unsalted cashews work?
Yes that is fine 🙂
Amazing frosting – better than non-paleo frostings. We all ate it with a spoon. Great recipe.
Absolutely love this recipe! It came out very light and creamy. I added a bit more lemon juice for a little extra tang. It was really perfect. Thank you.
Hello,
I am allergic to cashews and I am wondering if there is another nut substitute for this frosting? Can you use macadamia nuts?
Yes Macadamia nuts make a great cream/frosting, too. Also, people who had runny mixture in a Vitamix were definitely using the wrong ingredient (milk vs cream). I make this all the time and it’s perfect in the Vitamix.
Easy to make! I used honey as sweetener and since I don’t usually eat sugar, it was on the verge of being too sweet but not. For me, this is what worked best – Spread and covered well but needed to be chilled a little- 20 min. Otherwise i needed to make sure cake is totally cool and then keep in fridge after icing.
I used my grandfather’s (yes grandfather’s) cake baking trick. Remove cake from oven and cover with foil and immediately put in freezer for 20-30 min. It locks in that fresh cake moisture plus acts like a super chiller. I tend to overbake my cakes sometimes – trial and error with recipes – and this saves them every time.
Delicious and easy to make
I love this frosting! What a pleasant surprise how well this turned out. It is thick creamy and delicious. I added generous vanilla and added 1/2 honey and 1/2 maple syrup. I also only used 1/3 coconut milk because I didn’t want any coconut flavor if possible. This is a keeper. Thank you!
I’m a bit of a lazy cook… can u use store bought cashew butter in place of the soaking/cashews?
My mixture is a bit runny. What might I have done wrong
Hello Michelle,
Max I ask where you got the blue white bowl, which is shown in the last picture at the end from? Thank you so much for answering! Lena
Amazing consistency and flavor!
Beyond delicious! I also made a version with cacao powder which was ok, buT would have been better without the lemon.
what is the serving size for the nutritional content? I cant seem to see it. Maybe 2 tbsps?
what is the nutritional content serving size? I cant seem to see it…thanks!
Superb cake for Thanksgiving 2020. This recipe is a keeper. I used cranberries (instead of raisins), added 1/2 cup chopped pineapples plus 1/3 cup more Tapioca flour to compensate. Frosting is divine. Thank you.
I don’t know how to share a photo here, but The cake is absolutely beautiful.
I do not have cashews. Which other nut would be best to substitute here? And would i need to change this recipe then?
Just made my fitst recipe with cashews…I was very excited! I wanted to prepare this frosting before bed and refridgerate it for a good length of time before baking and frosting the carrot cake tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted on the thickness and creaminess (post chilling). To tell you the truth, after processing it and scraping it into my topperware. I found it somewhat grainy and more liquidy than expected. On the other hand, when I zoom into the recipe photos, it does ressemble the slightly grainy texture I ended up with. We’ll see 😉
Holy cow! I was skeptical that it would taste so similar to real cream cheese frosting. Boy was I wrong and I am so happy. I used my Nutribullet Rx, threw all the ingredients in at once, and let ‘er rip through one complete cycle on the blender. Super creamy, no cashew bits and the taste is outstanding. I just put it in the fridge to thicken up and I can’t wait to frost up my cupcakes. If all goes well, I will be making your Carrot Cake recipe with the frosting for Thanksgiving. I love your recipes!
This looks great! I can’t wait to try it. Do you think I could frost an entire cake with this frosting?
This frosting is magical. I can’t wait to keep using this recipe!
Was runny even after 3 hours in fridge- had to add arrowroot and gluten free flour to try and thicken it and put it in freezer and still not great… not sure what I did wrong…
Baffled how to thicken the frosting. I didnt see your note to use fat only of coconut cream til after fact. I mixed the fat and liquid together. But now have this flat (runny) like frosting. Any help appreciated.
I love the taste but i think what i didn’t do correctly til after reading after recipe notes was recommended using Fat part of cocky cream. It turned out rather runny. Will see what it does overnight. If nothing else my suggestion to fix it would be to blend more cashews and add maple powder sugar to thicken. My fault though. I definitely am curious if using vitamix makes it runnier than it should since i see massive comments having same issue. Maybe need less soaking time with cashews since it makes them more wet and swell. Id imagine that is why we soak them in the first place. Your other recipes i dont soak long because of runny issues. We live and learn.
I love this page and have been following for a long time but this recipe just did not turn out well. I used it to ice a cake I made because my friend is allergic to cornstarch but the icing just wasn’t thick enough even after refrigerating overnight. It basically started to melt as I was icing the cake. Very disappointed and I would not recommend. Sad to say