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Cashew Cream

4.1

(33)

Cashew Cream
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman

Cashew cream is more than just a dairy-free substitute for vegans. For me—a cheese-toting, egg-flipping, non-vegan vegetarian—it’s a multipurpose workhorse, an ingredient that easily functions as a sauce, condiment, or dressing. This version is distinctly savory thanks to the addition of garlic and salt, and it’s a gateway to lots of quick and flavorful weeknight dishes.

Many cashew cream recipes call for long soaking times to soften the nuts and make them easier to blend. If you have the time, you can certainly soak your cashews overnight in the fridge. I, however, prefer to speed things up: Soaking cashews in just-boiled water breaks down their crunchy texture in 30 to 60 minutes. 

Whip up this double batch and keep on hand for making a couple of weeknight dinners, such as Creamy Cashew Udon With Crispy Mushrooms, Roasted Carrots and Chickpeas With Herby Cashew Cream, or Broccoli and Cashew Cream Soup. —Hetty McKinnon

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

2

cups raw cashews

2

garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1

tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then remove from heat. Add cashews and let sit until tender, 30–60 minutes.

    Step 2

    Drain cashews and transfer to a blender (preferably high-speed) or food processor. Add garlic, oil, salt, and 1 cup water and purée until smooth.

    Do ahead: Cashew cream can be made 5 days ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill, or freeze in a resealable plastic freezer bag up to 3 months.

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Reviews (33)

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  • I mixed the cashew cream with water and chopped sun dried tomatoes to make a sauce for pasta. fabulous.

    • Anonymous

    • st petersburg fl

    • 8/27/2023

  • I thought this was fine but somewhat lacking in flavor.

    • Charlie

    • Southern California

    • 7/19/2022

  • Add water to your ingredient list.

    • Anonymous

    • 5/24/2022

  • Delicious though next time I'll roast the garlic first.

    • Chef Johnny

    • California

    • 4/5/2022

  • Great sauce, but only one of the three recipes listed tells us how much of the cashew cream recipe to use. That means that people are putting the FULL RECIPE of cashew cream into the udon and onto the carrots. Please update your recipes to tell us how much to use in each individual recipe. This is a rather silly editing error.

    • Anonymous

    • 9/16/2021