How to make Cashew Cream? (Perfect Dairy-Free Alternative)

• Recipe: Cashew Cream
• Writer: Nicolas Wilson
• Content-Type: Food Blog

This dairy-free vegan cashew cream is a great substitute for sour or heavy cream! It’s creamy, adaptable, tangy, and refreshing. What’s not to like about that?

Cashew cream will become your new best buddy if you want to eat more plant-based meals. It’s quick and easy to create, with only 6 ingredients, and it’s as rich and creamy as sour or heavy cream.

I use it to make creamy vegan pasta sauces, top baked potatoes with it, and serve it over burrito bowls, among other things.

The ingredients in my vegan cashew cream recipe are simple. It’s made with raw cashews, water to help it mix, extra-virgin olive oil for richness, and lemon juice, garlic, and salt for a bright, acidic flavor.

To make it, simply combine all of the ingredients in a blender and puree until completely smooth.

If necessary, scrape down the edges of the blender canister to ensure that everything is thoroughly blended. Then have fun!

Cashew Cream Suggestions

• Cashews should be raw, not cooked. Roasted cashews will impart a nutty, cashew-like flavor to the cream. Though I adore cashews, we’re not going for that here. Raw cashews, on the other hand, have a neutral creamy flavor that goes well with a variety of savory dishes.
• Is it better to soak or not to soak? That is the question, and the solution is dependent on the type of blender you have. There’s no need to soak cashews if you have a high-powered blender. I recommend soaking cashews for at least 4 hours if you have a less powerful blender. Simply add the cashews to a basin with enough water to cover them and set them aside. Drain and rinse the cashews after they’ve soaked, then follow the recipe below. Your cream will be gritty if you don’t do this.
• Invest in a powerful blender. If you plan to create handmade fundamentals like cashew cream regularly, investing in a strong blender is well worth it. Whether or whether you soak any nuts ahead of time, you’ll be able to make plant-based milk and sauces on the fly, and they’ll be creamier than they would be with another blender. I use a Vitamix, but high-speed Blendtec and KitchenAid blenders have also been recommended.

Recipes for Cashew Sour Cream

The amount of cashew cream I make depends on how I intend to utilize it. The basic recipe below uses a 2:1 cashew-to-water ratio to produce a mouthfeel comparable to sour cream or Greek yogurt.

This rich cashew cream is drizzled over bowls, salads, vegan pizza, and other dishes. If I’m going to use it as a sour cream substitute, I add white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and onion powder, as you can see below. Use it in any of the following recipes:

Variations in Cashew Cream

I also like to use cashew cream instead of heavy cream because it is dairy-free. Then I reduce the cashew-to-water ratio, resulting in a runnier cream sauce.

Although it is not as thick as sour cream, it is richer and creamier than cashew milk. It complements Herb and Garlic Mushroom Pasta, Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells, and other pasta dishes perfectly.

I occasionally make a creamy sauce with a wholly distinct flavor profile using my basic recipe. For Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Broccoli, I combine cashew cream with baked sweet potato and rosemary to form a wonderful, aromatic sauce.

Feel free to experiment with the foundation recipe below to create your sauce! To achieve the appropriate consistency, adjust the cashew: water ratio.

Then, for a cheese flavor, consider adding nutritional yeast, lime juice instead of lemon, fresh herbs, spinach, or a pinch of your favorite spice.

Cashew Cream

This simple vegan cashew cream is a fantastic dairy-free sour cream alternative! If you want a thicker thickness, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you achieve your desired consistency.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews
• ½ cup water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Cashew Sour Cream

• Replace 1 tablespoon of lemon juice with 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
• Add ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Add ¼ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

1. In a high-powered blender, combine the cashews, water, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and process until fully smooth and creamy.
2. To make Cashew Sour Cream, replace 1 tablespoon of lemon juice with 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar in the cashew cream recipe and add the mustard and onion powder for more tang.

Notes

The ideal way to make cashew cream is in a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix. You may need to blend for longer if you have a less powerful blender (up to 1 minute).

To soften the cashews and make them simpler to mix, soak them for 4 hours or overnight.