Cashew Cream

Cashew cream is a thick, creamy sauce that can be used almost entirely in place of cream and sometimes cheese. You can put it in soups to add creaminess. Replace most or all of the cheese in enchiladas and tacos. When making lasagna it can be used as the white sauce/ricotta layer. Use it as a base for salad dressings. Top off your desserts with a dollop of thick cashew cream instead of cholesterol-filled whipped cream. There are many many more possibilities. The choice is yours!

There are two tricks to making this decadent cream: 1. use raw cashews (not roasted), 2. plan ahead because they need to be soaked overnight. If you have a powerful blender, like a Vitamix, you can skip the soaking step and save yourself about 8 hours of soaking time, otherwise, soaking is required to soften the nuts.

This recipe is for a very basic cashew cream. You can always add other things to spruce it up like garlic powder, cayenne pepper, nutritional yeast, avocado, salt, etc.

I recommend making cashew cream in small batches because it only lasts a 3-4 days before it goes bad. Just make as much as you can use in a day or two. I have written this recipe to use 1 cup of cashews because it is an easy amount to work with. Since you use equal parts cashews and water, you can use any amount of cashews. This ratio of 1:1 makes a cashew cream that is the consistency of cream. To make a thicker cream use a few more cashews or a little less water. Likewise to make it thinner just use more water.

Makes: 1 1/2 cups

Preparation time: 5m
Cooking time: 5m
Total time: 5m

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • water (fresh and cold)

Equipment: blender

Instructions:

  1. Measure out the cashews into a strainer and rinse in cold water. The reason you need to measure is because you use about equal parts water to cashews. I recommend starting with 1 cup cashews until you figure out how much is a good amount for you. This will yield about 1 1/2 cups cashew cream.
  2. Place rinsed cashews into a container with a lid. Pour in enough cold water to cover the cashews, then put on the lid and place in the refrigerator over night (or before you go to work). They should soak for 6-10 hours. (If you have a powerful blender skip the soaking step and proceed to step 3).
  3. Drain the cashews, rinse again in cold water and place them into a blender.
  4. Add 3/4 - 1 cup water. I recommend starting with less water then adding more if you need it. The amount you use will make the cream more or less thick.
  5. Blend on high until smooth.
  6. Refrigerate and use within 3-4 days.