If you’ve cooked any of my recipes over the years, you already know this 2-Ingredient Homemade Cashew Cream is one of the most used staples in my kitchen! It’s my secret weapon for the most velvety, restaurant-quality soups, pasta sauces, curries, and beyond. I carefully dialed in these ratios to guarantee an ultra-smooth and silky texture that blends seamlessly into dishes to add richness without the dairy. Requires just 5 minutes of active prep.
This homemade cashew cream shines in recipes like my Vegan Baked Potato Soup, Vegan Vodka Sauce, Vegan Chicken Pot Pie, Marry Me Butter Beans, or Vegan Alfredo Sauce. Or add a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt and use it as a refreshing crema to drizzle over dishes like my Homemade Tofu Sofritas or Ultimate Vegan Chili.
Homemade Cashew Cream Overview
- 📝 Recipe Name: Easy Homemade Cashew Cream
- 🕒 Ready In: 20 minutes total
- 🍽️ Servings: 8 (2 tablespoons per serving)
- 🌱 Main Ingredients: Raw cashews and water.
- 📖 Dietary Info: 100% vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, oil-free
- 😍 Why You’ll Love It: Silky-smooth, foolproof, and ultra-versatile.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
After years of using cashew cream in my kitchen nearly every week (and featuring it in dozens of recipes on the blog), I’ve dialed in the precise ratios for a foolproof dairy-free cream every time. A few key elements make this recipe special:
- Behaves like dairy cream: When I first started cooking dairy-free over a decade ago, most of the popular cashew cream recipes were extremely thick! I couldn’t use them as 1:1 substitutions for heavy cream in some of my favorite comfort food recipes. I dialed in my ratios to ensure this recipe works well across many contexts without over-thickening the sauce.
- Two ratios for different use cases: I found myself varying the amount of cashews in the cream depending on the dish. This master recipe offers a lighter Cashew Milk ratio that behaves similarly to whole milk (perfect for adding subtle body to soups), and a richer Cashew Cream that mimics heavy cream (for when you need richness and thickening power).
- The perfect emulsion: Blending the soaked cashews with hot or nearly-boiling water melts the natural fats and activates the starches, yielding a supremely smooth and glossy cream without any grittiness.
Key Ingredients
- Raw cashews: I usually grab these from the bulk bin at my local Sprouts.
- Water: Some for soaking, and another cup of fresh water for blending.
Substitutions and Additions
- Need a nut-free option? Raw sunflower seeds actually make a great 1:1 substitute for cashews. They blend up super creamy and the resulting sunflower seed cream performs almost identically in sauces and soups. Note that it will have a mildly earthy flavor and a slight grayish tint, though neither is super noticeable when used in recipes.
How to Make Homemade Cashew Cream
Step 1 — Soak the cashews. Cover with room-temperature water and soak at least 4 hours or overnight. Alternatively, cover them with boiling water and soak for 15 to 20 minutes instead.
Step 2 — Drain and blend. Drain the cashews and add them to a blender with hot water. Blend for 60-90 seconds, scrape down the sides, then blend for another 60 seconds until completely smooth.
Step 3 — Strain (optional). If you’re using a standard blender, pour the cream through a fine-mesh sieve to catch any grit.
Step 4 — Use or store. Use it right away, or refrigerate it in an airtight jar for 5 to 7 days. It separates as it sits, so give it a shake before pouring.
Sarah’s Tips for a Silky Smooth Result
- The hotter the water, the better. If your blender pitcher is heat-safe, using near boiling water for the blending stage will yield the absolute most glossy, silky cashew cream ever. The hot water liquefies the fats in the cashews which allows a more stable emulsion to form. It also gelatinizes the starches in the cashews, resulting in that extra glossiness.
- Freeze it in cubes for easy use. If you use cashew cream often, it’s nice to have it ready-to-go when you need it. It keeps well in the fridge for up to a week and also freezes well. Freeze it in a silicone ice cube tray and you can just toss a few frozen cubes directly into your sauce, soup, etc. There’s no need to defrost it ahead of time.
- Stir cashew cream in at the end. To keep your cashew cream ultra-velvety, I recommend stirring it into your soups, curries, and sauces during the last few minutes of cooking, and try to keep it from boiling. While there’s no risk of curdling as with dairy, it can thicken more than is desired if you boil it aggressively.
Homemade Cashew Cream FAQs & Troubleshooting
Anywhere you’d use heavy cream or milk in savory cooking! Stir it into soups and chowders, pasta sauces, hearty dishes like my Butter Tofu or Marry Me Tofu or bake it into casseroles like my Vegan Scalloped Potatoes and Vegan Green Bean Casserole.
No. This cashew cream is formulated specifically for things like sauces, soups, gravies, and baked dishes (like casseroles, for example). It doesn’t have the same saturated fat content as dairy heavy cream so it won’t whip into stiff peaks for dessert toppings. (If that’s what you need, try a can of chilled full-fat coconut cream, or a store-bought nondairy heavy whipping cream like the ones from Silk or Country Crock.)
The soaking water contains surface starches and residual phytic acid which can sometimes impart some bitterness. Draining the cashews and blending them with fresh water will yield the cleanest flavor profile.
I wouldn’t recommend this. Nuts like almonds, walnuts, and pecans have a stronger flavor profile, so they don’t work as a neutral cream base. They also are lower in fat and have skins on them, which makes the resulting cream a little gritty and less velvety.
Yes! A standard blender (or an immersion blender) can be used with a few tweaks. Soak the cashews overnight or simmer them in a small saucepan over medium-low for about 10 minutes. They should be extremely plump and soft. Blend the cashews for several minutes to get the cream as smooth as possible, and then pass the blended mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any leftover grittiness from the cashews.
Yep — it actually freezes really well! Just freeze in a freezer-safe jar or silicone container (like a 1-cup Souper Cube). Make sure to leave at least 1/2″ headspace at the top, as it will expand. Defrost in the fridge overnight prior to use.
You can also freeze individual pucks of cashew cream in a silicone ice cube tray. Once frozen, you can pop them out and store in a freezer-safe bag. Then you can skip the defrosting step and just toss a few cubes at a time directly into your soup or sauce.
This can happen if the cashews weren’t soaked long enough. Make sure they are super plump and soft before blending. If you’re using a standard blender rather than a high-speed one, you’ll need to blend them for longer (up to a few minutes) for the smoothest texture. Run the finished cream through a fine-mesh sieve if needed.
Yes. I recommend using the lighter ratio. You can also feel free to sweeten it and/or add some vanilla extract. A splash of maple syrup is nice if using for drinks.
Not exactly on its own. It has a mild nutty flavor. But once it’s stirred into dishes, it adds the same richness and body, and most people can’t tell the difference.
It’s lower in calories and saturated fat, and it has no cholesterol. A tablespoon of this cashew cream has about 22 calories, compared to about 50 in a tablespoon of heavy cream.
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Easy Homemade Cashew Cream
Equipment
- high-speed blender
- Small saucepan or electric kettle for boiling water to quick-soak cashews
- Fine mesh sieve or nut milk bag if you don't have a high-speed blender
Ingredients
Cashew Milk Base (Whole Milk Substitute)
- 1/4 cup (35 g) raw cashews
- water for soaking
- 1 cup (240 ml) hot water for blending
Cashew Cream Base (Heavy Cream Substitute)
- 1/2 cup (70 g) raw cashews
- water for soaking
- 1 cup (240 ml) hot water for blending
Instructions
- Soak the cashews: Place raw cashews in a bowl and cover with room temperature water. Allow to soak for at least 4 hours or overnight.Quick soak: Place raw cashews in a heat-safe bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to soak for 15-20 minutes.
- Blend: Drain the soaked cashews and add them to a blender with 1 cup hot water. Blend on high for 60-90 seconds until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the blender pitcher and blend again for another 60 seconds to ensure it's completely smooth and grit-free.
- Strain (optional): If you are using a standard, lower-powered blender, you may wish to pass the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any remaining grittiness from the cashews.
- Use: Use the Cashew Milk formula anywhere a recipe calls for dairy whole milk, or any time you want to add just a little bit of body to a soup or sauce without much thickening. Use Cashew Cream formula as a 1:1 swap for heavy cream in soups, sauces, and more.
- Store: Cashew cream can be used immediately or stored for later. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. It will separate as it sits; just give it a quick shake when you're ready to pour.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided on Sarah’s Vegan Kitchen is an estimate and is offered for general informational purposes only. Values will vary depending on the specific brands and amounts used.
This is one of our most-used recipes EVER! We use it in other recipes constantly and it’s about time it got its own full post. Enjoy!