- 1 recipe Cashew Cream Cheese Base
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp onion granules
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (hot or sweet, or combination)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste*
- 2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp miso paste
- 1 - 7 oz jar/can pimento peppers, drained, roughly chopped
- 1/2 to 1 tsp hot sauce, to taste*
- 1/4 tsp sea salt, such as fleur de sel, or to taste
To start, first prepare the Cashew Cream Cheese Base — but do not flavor the cream cheese (step 3), as we will do that in this recipe — just to make life easier.
Alternatively, you can just use cashews that have just been soaked for several hours (or overnight) and skip the fermenting step. In this case, blend the cashews first in a food processor until smooth.
To make the pimento cream cheese, place the cashew mixture into a food processor and the nutritional yeast, onion and garlic granules, paprika, cayenne, lemon zest, lemon juice, miso, and half of the pimento peppers — blend until smooth. Alternatively, this can all be done in a bowl but you will just have to cut up the pimentos a bit nicer. The texture and color will also be a bit different as the pimentos will not get blended into the cream cheese the same as if made in a food processor.
Note: Instead of cayenne, or as well as, hot sauce (such as Cholula or sriracha) can also be added.
Lastly, taste for seasoning, add a bit more salt, nutritional yeast, paprika, lemon, heat, etc., as desired.