All-purpose Cashew Cream Recipe {Vegan & Dairy-Free}

All-purpose cashew cream recipe is just that, a “basic” vegan cream that can be used for many purposes! What I love about cashew cream is there is no right or wrong on what follows when making it. You can change the viscosity or flavor simply by making it sweet, savory, tangy, cheesy, umami, spicy or nutty with any of these additional ingredients added.

• Sweet: dates, maple syrup, vanilla, fruit puree

• Savory: garlic cloves, herbs (dill, basil, …), greens (spinach, arugula …), olive oil

• Tangy: lemon, dijon, capers, apple cider vinegar

• Umami: tamari, sea salt, nutritional yeast

• Spicy: hot sauce, hot peppers, horseradish

• Nutty: sunflower seeds, pine nuts, hemp, almonds

Trust me …this is just a few suggestions. There is no stopping your creativity with all-purpose cashew cream! Just be conscious of the consistency you desire. You can always add in more liquid ingredients (water) to thin it out or more cashew/nuts to make it thicker.

How do I store cashew cream?

When I’m making all-purpose cashew cream, I usually like to split the batch into 2 recipes. I will make one part sweet and one part savory to complement the rest of my weeks recipes. You will be surprised how often you can incorporate the cashew cream as a topping or simply extra flavoring to be stirred into a soup, sauté or sauce.

Here are a few recipes that are great with cashew cream:

• Vegan Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpea Croutons
• Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Red Lentil Soup
• Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa & Apricots
• Vegan Strawberry Galette

Cashew cream stores up to 5 days, covered and refrigerated! Some say you can store it in the freezer for 1 – 3 months (although I haven’t personally done so myself). When you are ready to use it again, defrost it in the refrigerator and whip it up again in a blender.

Soaking the cashews longer tends to make a creamier cashew cream. I recommend an hour as the minimum, but an overnight soak is the best for really creamy cashew cream. You will know the cashews are properly soaked when they break apart easily pressed between 2 fingers. But when in a pinch for time, a high speed blender will save you and still produce creamy cashew cream.

Check this out – a video on how to make cashew cream!

Please share … I would love to see some creations in the comments below!

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