Cashew cheese has been on my obscenely long list of vegan goodies to try to make at home. But that was just out of sheer unknowing curiosity. That is, until last week, when I bought a tub of cashew cheese at the farmer’s market. Now I knew I had to make some.
I’m not stuck on the name “cheese” for this – it’s just a creamy wonderful spread or dip that goes well with everything. I ate my farmer’s market tub smeared on bagels, as a dip for carrot sticks, and as a sandwich condiment. I didn’t have enough left to try a great recommendation from the girl at the market stand – use it as a pasta sauce! Yum.
So I quickly made my own.
My first trial was a huge success! So happy.
This is surprisingly easy to make, and really filling and creamy and decadent. What’s not to like about it?
As I was planning this recipe, about ninety-seven flavors flew through my head and I just couldn’t pick. I procrastinated making this while waiting for the perfect flavor to strike me. I scoured my fridge expecting something to pop out at me, but that just expanded my list of ideas and my confusion.
So I’ve settled on simple and versatile. Black Pepper. Goes with everything.
Plus that makes my ingredients list only 4 things (and one of them is water). Wow.
But you can mix anything into this “cheese” to make a great spread. A few of my favorite ideas? Rosemary + olive (this will be my next trial – and I might bake it!), roasted garlic (always comes to mind), smoked sea salt, chipotle, cheddar flavor (I’m thinking loads of nutritional yeast would do the trick), cilantro, pesto, sundried tomato . . . the list goes on.
Happy experimenting!
serves 4
1 C raw cashews
3 C water
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t kosher salt
Soak cashews in water overnight. I actually did this during a workday so I went home to thoroughly soaked cashews. I read a few recipes before trying my own, and some said to salt the water first and some didn’t. So I went the low-sodium route.
Drain cashews and blend in a food processor to desired consistency. I wanted mine dip-able and spreadable. You can add some water to reach the consistency you want if you need to. I didn’t. Add black pepper.
Gosh, that was hard. Good thing I have all this yummy cheese for snacking to help me regain my energy after that ordeal. 🙂
Nutrition facts per serving: Calories: 198; Calories from Fat: 143; Total Fat: 15.9g; Saturated Fat: 3.1g; Sodium: 158mg; Total Carbohydrates: 11.5g; Dietary Fiber: 1.2g; Sugars: 1.7g; Protein: 5.3g
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