super simple cashew cream sauce

In the past year or two, cashew cream sauce has become one of my go-to condiments. I put it on pasta at least one night a week, and also love using it in place of cheese in dishes like enchiladas or lasagna. It’s great as a vegetable dip or salad dressing, too. The recipe below includes nutritional yeast, which gives it a cheesy flavor, but you could omit that and add fresh herbs instead. Or any other flavorings you desire! Smoked paprika might be good…

Cashew Cream Sauce

2 cups of cashews (raw or roasted both work fine)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

one / Soak cashews in water. It’s best to soak them for a couple hours, but 20 minutes in boiling water will do in a pinch.

two / Drain about half of the water out, and place the cashews with water in an immersion blender, upright blender, or food processor.

three / Add olive oil, garlic, salt and nutritional yeast to the blender.

four / Process until smooth. At this point, add more water to make the sauce whatever texture you’d like. It will thicken up over time too, so no worries if it’s a bit liquid-y.

five / Enjoy immediately, store in the fridge up to a week, or freeze for later use!