Keto Cucumber and Vegetable Cream Cheese Slices
How to Make It
Step 1
Pull your cream cheese out in advance to soften at room temperature. Microwaving won’t be helpful, since it will make the cream cheese too soft. Once the cream cheese is no longer cold, mix it in a stand mixer on high speed for about 5 minutes until it is light and extra creamy. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down your mixing bowl periodically throughout the mixing. If you don’t own a stand mixer, check the introduction for suggestions.
Step 2
While the cream cheese is whipping, you can prepare the vegetables. Use a cheese grater to shred clean mushrooms and whole celery stalk into fine shreds. The celery in particular will yield extra liquid and you’ll be discarding much of the fibers. You can also use a kitchen knife to mince these ingredients, but using a cheese grater will save you a lot of time. Add the shredded vegetables and chopped pimentos to the stand mixer.
Step 3
Mix the ingredients together. Scrape your mixing bowl down one final time, then mix in all the remaining ingredients. Once the vegetable cream cheese spread is consistent without any white streaks, you can stop mixing. Transfer the cream cheese spread to a sealed container to chill in your refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This time is included in the preparation time of the recipe.
Step 4
While the cream cheese is chilling, prepare the cucumber. To make 24 slices, you will need a medium-sized cucumber. Cut the ends of the cucumber off and peel it entirely. Cut the peeled cucumber in half to make 2 short pieces. Then, slice each piece in half lengthwise to create 4 long pieces. Use a spoon to scrape all the seeds out of each piece of cucumber. Scrape away enough from the core of each piece to create hollow “canoes”. The weight listed in the ingredients is the final yield of the prepared cucumbers.
Step 5
Use a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture on the cucumbers. Once the cream cheese is chilled, use a spoon or spatula to fill each cucumber “canoe”. Smooth the top of each canoe so the cream cheese is flat. If necessary, chill the filled cucumber canoes in your refrigerator to firm the cream cheese spread. Otherwise, continue to slice ½”-1”-thick pieces. Each canoe should yield about 6 slices. Keep chilled for serving.
Ingredients
- Cream cheese – 4 oz
- Brown mushrooms (Italian or Crimini mushrooms), raw, high in vitamin D – 0.75 oz
- Celery – 0.5 oz
- Pimento Canned – 1 tsp
- Salt – 1 dash
- Paprika – 0.25 tsp
- Onion powder – 0.13 tsp
- Garlic powder – 0.13 tsp
- Scallions – 0.5 tsp, chopped
- Cucumber, raw, without peel – 9 oz