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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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?
yes, another lazy cook here: have you ever tried it with store-bought cashew butter, (which is surely more liquid)? I wonder how much of it would correspond to the home-made cashew butter… ?
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!