How to Make Cashew Cream and Vegan Alfredo Sauce

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How hard is it to make delicious, creamy cashew cream? It couldn’t be much easier: Soak and puree. That’s it!

And what can you do with it? So many things you now do with non-dairy milk, and things you may once have done with dairy cream.

For example, if you love Alfredo sauce you may have been disappointed with the results when you tried to veganize it. Non-dairy milks tend not to have enough fat in them to make a rich, flavorful sauce, so you start by making a roux, cooking flour in margarine and whisking in a liquid. This gives you a fairly limp sauce that needs a lot of doctoring to gain flavor. It will do, but it isn’t very satisfying.

Cashew cream, on the other hand, thickens very nicely when heated and doesn’t require the addition of a starchy powder. It has a subtle, pleasing taste that blends well with other flavors. And best of all, it’s super easy to make at home.

Following are simple instructions for making cashew cream, followed by an equally simple recipe for cashew cream Alfredo sauce. Ingredient quantities are pretty loose, because both are very forgiving and can be adjusted to your own taste. Manga!

How to Make Cashew Cream

Rinse raw cashews well under running water and place in a heat-proof bowl. Glass is best, because a metal bowl can give the cashews a pinkish cast.

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Slow method: Cover cashews with water and soak overnight. Fast method: Cover cashews with boiling water and soak for one hour. The fast method makes a smoother cream.

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Drain cashews, rinse under running water, and add to food processor or blender.

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Cover with water and puree until very smooth. Don’t worry too much about the consistency; remember the cream will thicken when heated, and it can be thinned with water at any time.

For a very silky cream, strain through cheesecloth.

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Store any unused cream in the refrigerator in a plastic or glass container.

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Cashew Cream Alfredo Sauce

Melt a couple of tablespoons of margarine over medium heat in a small pan and gently sauté at least two cloves of minced or pressed garlic. Be careful not to overcook or raise the heat too high, which will make the margarine watery and the garlic bitter.

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Add about a cup of cashew cream and stir until completely blended. Adjust by adding cream or water until it is the consistency you desire. Cook just until heated through.

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Season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg and nutritional yeast.

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Add to whatever pasta you like (or happen to have on hand, in this case). Top with nutmeg, nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan.

Speaking of vegan parmesan, cashew parmesan is also very easy to make and lacks the bitter aftertaste you can get with walnut parmesan. We’ll try to get that recipe posted soon.