How To Make Cashew Cream (The Ultimate Dairy-Free Vegan Substitute)
Cashew cream is an easy DIY vegan substitute for anything from sour cream to ricotta to Alfredo sauce to milk, and beyond! You can even freeze it! Learn how to make cashew cream at home with a few simple ingredients.
Cashew cream! This is one of those super recipes that have me wondering “wait – how have I never shared this?!”
I realize that I’ve been vegetarian/vegan for so long that I’m a bit out of touch with what’s well known and what isn’t. When I did a poll, 55% of you had never used/heard of cashew cream before. So I’m here to reveal the magic of it to you. This handy DIY vegan substitute is going to be one of your go-to recipes from now on!
What is Cashew Cream?
As the name implies, cashew cream is essentially a vegan “cream” made from cashews. I also have a nut-free version below in case you are vegan and need a dairy substitute, but can’t use nuts!
Cashew cream tastes absolutely nothing like cashews. It’s a creamy, silky smooth cream that can be used in numerous ways as a dairy-free alternative. I use it as everything from vegan sour cream, to ricotta, to Alfredo sauce to cashew milk. There are even more uses! (See suggestions below.)
Notes on Ingredients
You only need a few main ingredients to make cashew cream, though I am also sharing some additional things you can add for flavor variations below. Here is what you’ll need for the base recipe though:
- Raw cashews – Soaked overnight in water in a jar, then rinsed before you use them.
- Fresh water
- Sea salt
Can I Make a Vegan Substitute Without Using Nuts?
Yes! You can use an equal amount of shelled and soaked sunflower seeds instead!
How to Make Cashew Cream
Making cashew cream is so easy! Here’s how to do it:
- Soak your cashews anywhere from 2 hours to overnight. The soaking process softens the cashews enough to blend smoothly in pretty much any blender, although in a high speed blender it’ll be like a dream.
- Blend with the other ingredients. Once the cashews have been softened, rinse them in water then blend them with the other ingredients in a high powered blender.
- Use in your recipes! Now your cashew cream is ready to use.
Simple right?
Can I Skip the Overnight Soaking?
If you want your cream to be silky smooth it is important to soften the cashews before you blend them with the other ingredients. However, Ii you’re low on time you can boil water and then soak your cashews in the hot water for about 1 hour.
Need the soaking process to be even faster? In that case, you can boil the cashews in water for about 5-10 minutes first.
What Does Cashew Cream Taste Like?
Cashew cream tastes surprisingly unlike cashews.
The base recipe tastes like a mix of 10% nuttiness, 30% buttery, and 60% smooth creamy vanilla-y flavor, all while still being neutral enough to work in anything.
It’s hard to put a finger on the exact taste, especially since you can make it taste any way you want. With a touch of lemon juice, you can make it a tangy sauce similar to sour cream. With a bit of dates (or maple syrup), plus some vanilla extract, it’s suddenly this incredible dessert sauce.
The point is that even at the base flavor, it’s delicious. And 100% customizable. This is the reason why I love using it in place of coconut cream in many cases. I personally love the flavor of coconut, but if you hate it, play around and find the ratio that works best that you can substitute this in instead!
Flavor Variations
It’s incredible what cashews can do! Here are some ways you can add flavor and dimension to the basic cashew cream mixture. You can add only one, more than one, it’s up to you!
I recommend adding a bit of whatever you are mixing in at a time and tasting between additions. Make sure to take notes so that you can re-create whatever delicious flavor combo you end up creating.
Savory Options
- garlic
- lemon or lime juice
- dried onion
- dried garlic
- dried chives or dill
Sweet Options
- cinnamon
- maple syrup or agave nectar
- dates
- vanilla
What Can I Do With Cashew Cream?
There are so many ways to use this and these are a few of the ways that I have already:
- In vegan garlic Alfredo sauce
- In Vegan Ranch Dressing
- As a coffee creamer (cashews are incredible, aren’t they?)
- As cashew milk
- In vegan ricotta
- As a dessert dip (with dates, or maple syrup & vanilla blended in!)
- For a Caesar salad dressing
- In a cheesecake!
- For a creamy pesto!
How to Store It
Spoon your cashew cream into a mason jar that you can seal with a lid, or use another airtight container, then store your cream in the fridge. It will last at least 4 days in your fridge.
Can I Freeze This?
Yes! It may separate a little after it’s thawed but it’ll freeze perfectly. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to use it, defrost overnight in the fridge and then blend it up again to turn it back into a creamy vegan sauce.
Enjoy friends!
How To Make Cashew Cream (The Ultimate Dairy Free Substitute)
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight in water in a jar (this results in about 1 ¼ cups puffed cashews) and rinsed
- 1/2 cup fresh water
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Savoury Flavouring Options (Choose One or Many: Up to You)
- garlic
- lemon or lime juice
- dried onion
- dried garlic
- dried chives or dill
Sweet Flavouring Options (Choose One or Many: Up to You)
- cinnamon
- maple syrup or agave nectar
- dates
- vanilla
Instructions
- In a high speed blender, blend all the ingredients together until blended and completely creamy and incorporated. Scrape down the sides if needed, and blend until to combine. Be sure to add extra water if needed to reach the desired consistency that you’re looking for.
- At this point, add in any extra flavourings or seasonings that you have, and blend again or stir together to combine. This is also just a great base recipe to always have on hand! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Oh my! I have made cheese cake with the nuts, but never dreamed they were so versatile. I am wondering if it would make a good whipping cream substitute??? Pretty please…use this in some of your posted recipes so we can have a good excuse to make more!
Hey Randy we will definitely use these in more recipes so that you can be inspired. To answer your question it most definitely can be used as a whipped cream. The recipe for that is coming soon! Thanks so much for reading.
Hi: Have you ever tried to make cashew cream from cashew butter?
I have tried making the cream by socking the nuts overnight and blending in my Ninja blender but it still is gritty. I wondering if it would be smoother if I used cashew butter mixed with water or other ingredients?
Hi Charity,
I haven’t tried, actually, so I’m not sure!
Re the grittiness, it sounds like you need to blend it more when you’re making it. I mean, truly blend, like set a timer and just let it blend, for at least 5 minutes, using your best blender. Similar to making cashew butter, the heat it produces and the natural oils will help to make it smooth. Mine is always incredibly smooth and creamy! I hope that helps!
I can’t wait to try this in a cauliflower ‘Mac and cheese ‘ soon! Can I really let my vitamix run for five minutes?
Hi Tricia,
Yes! If you’re using a Vitamix it shouldn’t take that long tbh, I usually do mine for like 2-3 minutes non stop. If you’re feeling nervous you can do that – set a timer/look at the timer on it and set it for 2-3 minutes, stop it, scrape down, then check it again! That way you divide it up. I hope that helps!
Just a quick thanks for the suggestion to let the blender run and run to get that smooth consistency. I hadn’t been having luck with cashew cream – it’s always too grainy – but I let my blender run about 4 minutes (much to my cats’ displeasure 🙂 )and it’s smooth as smooth can be. I don’t have a Vitamix so I was happy to see it could be done without one. Planning on making vegan mac & cheese tonight!
We’re so happy that you enjoyed this how to Suzanne! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
Will this work with cashews that aren’t raw, they are really hard to find where I live? Any changes to recipe? What about if they are salted?
Hi Lara, it won’t sorry! Neither with salted – it would have to be raw, unsalted cashews else the texture would be off. I would recommend searching for a tofu cream!!
Lara Cashews are as far as I know never sold truly raw they are always shelled with heat because it’s easier to shell them like that and frankly if I remember correctly, also because there is something in them that is quite toxic to humans if not heated
So unsalted and Unroasted (as roasting can bring out more cashew flavor, which is not what one wants with this type of recipe if I understand correctly) is what you should go for 😊 read more here https://www.treehugger.com/cashews-in-raw-not-what-youd-expect-4868790 😉
Regards
Bischa
I can’t wait to use this on everything! I just recently started experimenting with cashew “cheese” sauce and love the idea of making this base and just adding flavoring for each use. What ratio of cream to water would you use for cashew milk if I want to create it as I need it?
Hello! Can this be used in a frosting? I’ve been trying to make a vegan frosting and branch out of using coconut cream. Maybe using cashew cream instead is a possibility?
Hi Anna,
Yes you can, but it might not be a 1:1 sub! I would def test it out and see how it works for you!
thanks for the info. i have issues with dairy but occasionally dream of cream soups and desserts . will deffinitely try this
I hope you enjoy so much Lois!
Macadamias work well also. They make a wonderful sweet cream and a terrific aioli.
Thanks for the suggestion Sharon!
Can I use the cacheu cream for making ice-cream.
Thank you.
Hi Trisha Thanks so much! I have seen some cashew cream ice-cream recipes online so definitely.
Wow! That’s amazing! 2 minutes in my Sage Fresh and Furious blender in the highest speed setting, and boom! So creamy and delicious.
Aww I’m so happy to hear this Laura! Thank you so much!!