Vegan Cashew Cream

Recipe by Robin

I love dairy products, but they don’t always love me. After replacing cow’s milk with almond and oat milk, I’m taking it to the next level. This cashew cream recipe will substitute for sour cream in most recipes. It’s thick and noticeably sour, yet also a bit sweet. I’m using it to create nondairy cream of celery soup. Try a dollop in any pureed soup. Or thin it out with a little olive or other oils and/or water as a base for dips. It’s extremely easy to make, versatile, and vegan.

For variety, try spicing it up with spices like onion powder, cayenne, chili powder, sliced sautéed garlic, fresh parsley and chives or dill. Perk it up further with prepared mustard, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, or whatever you like. Or go the sweet route with dates, soaked raisins, or finely chopped dried fruit plus cinnamon to make a spread for crackers or bread.

For maximum creaminess allow time to soak the cashews 4-6 hours. If you can’t make the cream right away, rinse the cashews and store them in a bowl in the fridge, with paper or other towels above and below. Rinse, drain, and pat dryish again before blending. You can double this recipe, to yield about 3 cups.

My celery soup recipe will follow in my next post. Spoiler alert: the cashew cream performed beautifully, adding richness and a hint of flavor. Add a comment below if you’ve put cashew cream to good use with delicious results.

Cashew Cream
makes ~1½ cups

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tbsp. olive or other light oil
• 1½ tbsp. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. salt

Cover raw cashews with 2” of water and soak for 4-6 hours. Drain and rinse.

Place cashews, water, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt into immersion blender cup.

Blend together until perfectly smooth. Store in refrigerator.

For thinner cashew cream, start blending with 1/2 cup water. Continue blending in oil and/or water by the tablespoon until desired consistency is reached.

Thinner Cashew Cream is Perfect for Dips