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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Emily says
February 8, 2017 at 11:32 amThis is incredible. I’ve never seen the process before of making cashew frosting, and yours is so creamy and beautiful!
patricia says
February 8, 2017 at 1:15 pmLooks wonderful. About how much does this make? enough for a 9 x 13 cake pan?
Bethany @ athletic avocado says
February 8, 2017 at 6:23 pmI’ve made coconut cream frosting before but never thought of adding cashews. This recipe is genius!
Casey the College Celiac says
February 9, 2017 at 12:30 amWow! What a great twist on icing…and definitely a worthy celebration after Whole30!
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious says
February 9, 2017 at 11:52 amI 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!
Sara says
February 9, 2017 at 3:53 pmThis 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. 🙂
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets says
February 14, 2017 at 4:52 pmI’m Team Frosting all the way so this recipe intrigues me.
Also, you definitely want a Vitamix. It’s a dream come true.
Michele says
February 14, 2017 at 9:31 pmHaha I know, maybe my next wish list item, we’ll see!
Carol Stewart says
February 24, 2017 at 7:46 amMichelle, 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!
Michele says
February 24, 2017 at 9:31 pmOh 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 🙂
Laura says
March 5, 2017 at 10:32 amHow on earth do you not have a Vitamix?! You definitely need to get yourself one ASAP! 🙂
Michele says
March 6, 2017 at 11:09 amHaha I’m the last blogger on earth without one lol 😉
Meaghan says
March 7, 2017 at 8:01 pmThis 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 ???
Michele says
March 9, 2017 at 10:46 amSo glad you liked it! I definitely agree, hard not to eat the leftovers with a spoon!
Sarah says
March 18, 2017 at 9:32 pmThis 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?
Michele says
March 19, 2017 at 8:34 amAs 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/
Kassidy Kissack says
April 20, 2017 at 3:54 pmI 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!
Michele says
April 20, 2017 at 4:11 pmThe 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 🙂
Grace says
May 6, 2017 at 7:52 pmI 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 .
Ashley says
June 18, 2017 at 2:50 pmCan 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…
Michele says
June 18, 2017 at 5:10 pmIt’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!
Kathy says
December 15, 2017 at 8:10 pmI found both coconut cream and coconut milk at Whole Foods today.
Susie says
June 27, 2017 at 2:04 pmHi,
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
Michele says
June 27, 2017 at 2:45 pmHmm, 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!
Susie says
June 28, 2017 at 3:00 amWill definately will try again! Thanks for being so creative with your recipes. Would never have thought to use these ingredients!
Susie
Shannon says
February 14, 2018 at 1:12 amI used a Vitamix as well and mine also turned out too runny. I’d say stick with a food processor next time.
Crystal says
February 14, 2018 at 2:37 pmSame here. I wonder if there is a way to thicken it, hate to waste a whole batch.
Michele says
February 14, 2018 at 7:46 pmI wonder if you chill overnight if it would thicken up?
Sarah says
August 11, 2017 at 1:03 pmHi! I’m not clear – do the cashews need to be dried/dehydrated before blending or just blend them “wet” when they are done soaking?
Lauren says
August 18, 2017 at 1:42 amHi 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!
Michele says
August 21, 2017 at 8:25 pmYay! Happy you liked this 🙂
Christina Muscat says
November 19, 2017 at 3:52 amI was looking for a thick creamy recipe and yours seems perfect! Making this today for Sunday lunch and serving it on it’s own 🙂
Sage says
July 3, 2018 at 2:49 pmHave 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?
Michele says
July 12, 2018 at 10:18 amI think that might turn out too runny, but not sure.
Reagan says
July 5, 2018 at 1:47 pmHi! Making this tomorrow but can’t find raw cashews. Will organic unsalted cashews work?
Michele says
July 12, 2018 at 10:15 amYes that is fine 🙂
Ruti says
December 6, 2018 at 1:35 pmAmazing frosting – better than non-paleo frostings. We all ate it with a spoon. Great recipe.
Angie N Marei says
December 27, 2018 at 5:06 pmAbsolutely 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.
Linda says
January 2, 2019 at 4:01 pmHello,
I am allergic to cashews and I am wondering if there is another nut substitute for this frosting? Can you use macadamia nuts?
alyr says
March 15, 2019 at 11:15 amYes 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.
Holly says
February 16, 2019 at 12:46 pmEasy 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.
Kala says
March 30, 2019 at 11:29 amDelicious and easy to make
Michelle says
April 30, 2019 at 3:55 pmI 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!