Cashew Cream Recipe
This cashew cream recipe is a staple in vegan cooking. Use it as a creamy addition to soups, the base for a pasta sauce, topping on toast, or an ingredient in a creamy salad dressing.
Cashew cream is the plant-based alternative to dairy cream. Just like the latter, it makes an amazing addition to many sweet and savoury dishes.
Personally, I love adding it to soups, pasta dishes, and even salad dressings. In fact, two of my favorite recipes featuring homemade cashew cream are caramelized onion and sun-dried tomato pasta and the mind-blowing vegan tortellini soup.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Having a plant-based cream alternative is a must in vegan cooking. This cashew cream recipe allows you to make it at home, with no unnecessary ingredients!
- Speaking of ingredients, you only need FOUR to make this recipe, and one of them is water! This is whole-food plant-based cooking at its finest.
- This cashew cream recipe is super versatile. You can enjoy it as part of so many recipes!
- With a small adjustment, you can make this cashew cream sweet and enjoy it with dessert.
- It barely takes up any of your time! You just need to remember to leave the cashews to soak.
How to Make This Recipe
First, soak your cashews in boiling hot water. Leave them to soak for at least 10 minutes, ideally up to an hour.
Drain the liquid, reserving half a cup of the cashew water for later.
Add drained cashews, lemon juice, salt, and the water you reserved earlier to a blender. Process until smooth.
Yes, it’s literally that easy! Transfer your cashew cream to a sealed container and store in a fridge for 4-5 days.
Hack It!
- If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you can still achieve the creamy texture by soaking your cashews overnight.
- Add a clove of garlic if you want your cashew cream recipe to be savory, or a teaspoon of maple syrup for sweetness.
- Allergic to nuts? Don’t worry. You can achieve a nearly identical result by soaking and blending sunflower seeds!
- You can be completely in control of the consistency. If you want the mixture to be thicker, add less water and blend a little bit longer. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add extra water until you’re happy with the texture!
- If you’re not likely to use the entire batch of cashew cream, it’s freezer-friendly! You can freeze it in the ice cube tray and add to sauces and soups as desired.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Homemade Vanilla Extract
- Vegan Chicken Broth
- Oat Tortillas (Gluten-Free)
- Spicy Pickled Red Onions
- Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
One of my biggest passions is to encourage people to eat more plants, in all of their possible combinations! If that’s your goal, check out the PlantYou Cookbook. It’s a comprehensive vegan cookbook that features over 140 recipes for every occasion. This book is for everyone from beginner cooks to kitchen professionals, with a beautiful infographic accompanying each recipe!
And if you want to be more organised with choosing your recipes and prepping your meals, you’ll love the PlantYou Planner! It’s the perfect plant-based meal planner you can carry in your pocket! Our planner allows you to FULLY COSTOMIZE your weekly menu, as well as toggle the number of servings and enjoy the individual shopping list generated by the app. I promise, you won’t regret it!
The Recipe: Cashew Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews, raw
- ½ cup water, see instructions
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ¼ tsp salt
Optional
- 1 clove garlic , for savoury dishes
- 1 tsp maple syrup, for sweet dishes
Equipment
Instructions
- Add the cashews to a bowl with boiling hot water. Allow to soak for at least 10 minutes, and up to an hour. Drain, reserving half a cup of the water to blend.
- Combine all listed ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add a clove of garlic if savory, and a teaspoon of maple syrup for sweetness.
- For an easy salad dressing, take 3 tablespoons of cashew cream, and dilute with 1 tablespoon of water, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley.
