How to Make Your Own Cashew Cream at Home?

If you enjoy cooking, you should know how to make an excellent cashew cream. For those who aren’t familiar, cashew cream is a delicious substitute for heavy cream. While coconut milk is often chosen by people as a dairy-free alternative, not everyone enjoys coconut milk, and some are allergic. Cashew cream is all-natural and flavorful, and it’s a great pick for anyone who is lactose intolerant, vegan, or giving up dairy temporarily for a cleanse. 

In order to keep things simple, I usually make a batch of cashew cream a day before starting a cleanse so that it’s easily accessible and on hand when I’m ready to prepare a delicious, healthy, cleanse-friendly soup like cauliflower parsnips. Because I use this recipe when I’m on a cleanse, I use filtered water and minimal soup. This particular recipe is not thick. If you prefer a thicker cream, you can adjust it by changing the ratio of cashews to water. For example, the recipe below calls for two parts water to one part cashews. You can easily reverse this to 2:1 cashew to water for a nice, thick cream. Finally, I like to add garlic and nutritional yeast to the recipe to add volume and up the nutritional value.

What is Nutritional Yeast? 

Nutritional yeast is incredibly popular in vegan and clean cooking. It is a powdered, deactivated yeast that isn’t used for baking but that provides tons of valuable vitamins and nutrients, antioxidants, and even protein. Nutritional yeast has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and boost heart health. The antioxidants present help to protect against cell damage and certain diseases.

Should I Soak the Cashews? 

I choose to soak cashews when making cashew cream for a couple of reasons. First, soaking makes it a lot easier to blend and process the cashews to the right texture for cream. Secondly, cashews (like many other nuts) contain phytic acid, which can actually impair the absorption of certain nutrients. Soaking the cashews reduces the amount of phytic acid, making it easier for your body to soak up all of the important vitamins and nutrients it needs for optimal health.

How Do I Properly Blend the Cashews?

In order to ensure your cashew cream reaches the right consistency, you’ll need to make use of a strong, reliable blender. Don’t overload the blender with too many cashews to avoid damaging the blender. 

Should I Use Lemon Juice or Lime Juice?

My recipe allows for the option of choosing between lemon and lime juice. Both will offer an extra “zip” of tangy flavor to the cashew cream and will enhance the health benefits, so it will come down to your own personal preferences. Lime tends to be more on the bitter side, while lemons are slightly sweeter. You can experiment with each to determine which one you like best. 

How Can I Enjoy Cashew Cream?

It can be enjoyed in any recipe that calls for heavy cream or coconut milk. The wonderful thing about cashews is that they have a very subtle flavor. This means you don’t get an overwhelming taste in your mouth from your dairy alternative. Instead, you get a rich, milky, delightful substitute that will enhance soups, homemade salad dressings, dips, sauces, smoothies, and more!

How Long Does Cashew Cream Keep?

When stored properly in a sealed container, homemade cashew cream can last 5-6 days in the refrigerator. If you’d like, you can also freeze cashew cream. When you’re ready to use it, allow it to thaw completely before re-blending or whisking.