
Creamy Cashew Dream
This creamy all-purpose sauce is perfect for enriching grain bowls, salads, pasta dishes, or as a sandwich spread. This versatile recipe offers a classic base, plus four delicious flavor variations to elevate any meal.
Instructions
- 1
Drain the [cashews] and rinse with fresh water.
- 2
Add the [cashews] to a high-powered blender or food processor along with the [water], garlic (2 cloves), sea salt (0.5 tsp), [black pepper], nutritional yeast (2 tbsp), lemon juice (2 tbsp), and onion powder (0.5 tsp). Blend on high speed until smooth, thick and creamy, scraping down the sides with a [silicone spatula] as you go. This will take about mins (2) in a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, or about mins (4) in a food processor.
- 3
Taste and adjust for seasonings, adding more [sea salt] for saltiness, more [nutritional yeast] for cheesy/umami flavors, or more [lemon juice] for acidity.
- 4
For Ginger-Sriracha: Drain the [cashews] and rinse with fresh water. Blend [cashews], [water], garlic (2 cloves), peeled and grated fresh ginger (1 tbsp), sea salt (0.5 tsp), [black pepper], nutritional yeast (2 tbsp), lime juice (2 tbsp), sriracha (1 tbsp), and agave nectar (1 tsp) until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasonings with more [sriracha], [nutritional yeast], or [lime juice].
- 5
For Rosemary-Miso: Heat extra virgin olive oil (2 tbsp) in a skillet with [4-5 large fresh rosemary sprigs] for [2-3 mins] until fragrant. Discard herbs, reserve oil. Drain and rinse [cashews]. Blend [cashews], rosemary-infused [olive oil], garlic (2 cloves), sea salt (0.5 tsp), [black pepper], nutritional yeast (2 tbsp), lemon juice (2 tbsp), white miso paste (1 tbsp), and dijon mustard (1 tsp) until smooth. Adjust seasonings with more [miso paste], [lemon juice], or [dijon mustard].
- 6
For Cilantro-Lime: Drain and rinse [cashews]. Blend [cashews], water (0.5 cup), garlic (2 cloves), sea salt (0.5 tsp), [black pepper], nutritional yeast (2 tbsp), [0.75-1 cup fresh cilantro leaves], [2-3 tbsp lime juice], [1-2 jalapeno peppers], smoked paprika (0.25 tsp), and ground cumin (0.5 tsp) until smooth. Adjust seasonings with more [jalapeno pepper], [sea salt], [nutritional yeast], or [lime juice].
- 7
For Cinnamon-Vanilla: Drain and rinse [cashews]. Blend [cashews], creamy plant-based milk (0.5 cup), a [pinch of sea salt], lemon juice (1 tbsp), [2.5-3 tbsp pure maple syrup], ground cinnamon (1 tsp), and bean (1 vanilla) (or 1-1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract) until smooth. Adjust seasonings with more [pure maple syrup], [lemon juice], [ground cinnamon] and/or [vanilla bean] as desired.
Nutrition Facts
Per portion