How To Make Cashew Cream

How to make cashew cream – cashew cream is super easy to make with just a few basic ingredients! It’s an ideal vegan replacement for dairy cream in all kinds of recipes and can be made sweet or savoury as you like.

Cashew cream is an incredibly versatile dairy cream replacement that is super easy to make yourself at home with just a couple of basic ingredients.

It is so handy for all sorts of vegan/plant-based recipes, both sweet and savoury, and it only takes a few minutes to whip up (bar the soaking time).

You can easily alter the consistency so that it can be used as a thick sour cream replacement, or as a thin pouring cream, and everything in between!

What Do I Need To Make Cashew Cream?:

Raw cashews: You must use raw cashews to make cashew cream, NOT roasted/toasted/salted ones. Raw cashews provide the neutral, creamy flavour that makes cashew cream so versatile.

Water: Not the soaking water. Once the cashews have soaked, drain them and add fresh water to blend. The amount of water you add will vary depending on how thick you want the cream. Simply start with the amount given in the recipe below then gradually add more as needed.

Salt and lemon juice: These are optional but do help to round out the flavour.

Basic cashew cream only requires two ingredients – cashews and water. I like to add a pinch of salt and a dash of lemon juice to round out the flavour, but they are not strictly necessary.

How To Make Cashew Cream:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

First soak your cashews. Ideally overnight in cold water but I’m never that organised so I tend to soak mine for 1 hour in boiling water. Make sure that they are well covered with plenty of water.

Once the cashews have soaked, drain them and place them in a high powered blender along with 120ml (1/2 cup) of fresh cold water and some optional salt and lemon juice.

Blend until the cream is completely smooth with no hint of graininess. You will need to stop and scrape down the sides several times.

If your blender is struggling, add a drop more water to help it along.

Add any additional flavourings (see below for ideas) and blend until smooth.

Gradually add more water until the cream reaches your desired consistency. The amount in the recipe makes for a thick, sour cream style cream; an extra 60ml (1/4 cup) of water will make more of a pouring/drizzling cream consistency. I added an extra tablespoon to achieve the consistency in the photos.

Store the cashew cream in a sealed container in the fridge for up to five days.

Optional Additions For Savoury Cashew Cream:

Take your pick of a few of the below options to add to your cashew cream depending on what flavour profile you want it to have; use your imagination!:

• lemon or lime juice or cider vinegar to taste
• extra salt
• 1 clove garlic or 1/4 tsp garlic granules
• 1/4 tsp onion granules
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (or more to taste)
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• sriracha hot sauce, chilli flakes or chopped fresh chillies
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
• black pepper
• 1 Tbsp miso paste
• use vegetable stock instead of water to blend the cream
• fresh herbs – parsley/mint/coriander/basil/thyme/rosemary etc

Optional Additions For Sweet Cashew Cream:

• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup or two medjool dates
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• swap the blending water for a plant-based milk of your choice for an extra creamy cream

How To Use Cashew Cream:

• Use it as the base for a creamy pasta sauce.
• Swirl into soups and stews.
• Add lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, garlic and salt and use as a sour cream replacement on top of chilli or baked potatoes.
• Use it to make a creamy caramel sauce. It makes an amazing sauce for my vegan sticky toffee pudding!
• Add maple syrup and vanilla and serve with fruit or desserts.
• Use it to make a creamy salad dressing.
• Stir into risotto or mashed potatoes.
• Add it to porridge for an extra creamy, indulgent breakfast.
• Use it in place of dairy cream in a gratin.

And so many more!

Top Tips:

Use a high powered blender. Regular blenders and food processors will struggle to get the cream completely smooth and will take a lot longer to blend it. A high powdered one such as a Froothie, Vitamix, Blendtec etc will result in a completely smooth cream with no hint of graininess in a couple of minutes max. They are an investment, but are so incredibly useful, especially for vegan cooking and baking.

Soak your cashews! You will get a smoother cream if you soak the cashews beforehand – overnight if using cold water (or 4 hours absolute minimum), or at least 1 hour if using boiling water.

Don’t try and reduce the recipe, the blender will most likely struggle to make a smaller quantity.

Scrape down the sides of the blender a couple of times – little pieces of cashew will get stuck to the sides otherwise meaning that you won’t get a completely smooth cream.

The basic recipe makes a bland cream that is a blank canvas for however you want to flavour it – see above for ideas of what to add.

The cashew cream will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about five days.

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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