Organic Cashew Cream

Homemade organic Cashew Cream is a healthy, real-food way to jazz up endless recipes. It's slightly sweet and nutty, with enough healthy fat to provide a satisfying mouthfeel. Use it in place of un-whipped whipping cream, yogurt, mayonnaise, and just as its own marvelous self as a garnish or in sauces and soups.

See my recipes for Cashew-Cream Slaw Sauce and Cinnamon Cashew Cream recipes for ideas. I've even used it in place of milk in chocolate pudding. The nutritional and cost comparison below the recipe shows why this is a good idea, but the proof is in the taste.

Organic Cashew Cream

Active time: 2 minutes. Total time: 1 hour. Makes 1 cup. Cost: $2.33 per cup.

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic raw cashews
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

Method

1. Put cashews and water into a food processor fitted with a steel blade or into a blender. Process for about 30 seconds. Let rest while cashews soften, about one hour. (Make-ahead tip: soak cashews for several hours or overnight and skip the initial whir and wait.)
2. Process cashews for about a minute on high until smooth, scraping down the sides if needed. Keeps refrigerated for about four days or frozen for a year.

Notes

Organic cashew cream costs slightly less than organic heavy whipping cream, but is much healthier. It doesn't whip into soft peaks or get quite as smooth, but that's a trade I'm willing to make.

	organic cashew cream	organic heavy whipping cream
calories	600	821
fat (grams)	48	88
saturated fat (grams)	8	55
cholesterol (mg)	0	326
protein (grams)	20	5
fiber (grams)	4	0
cost	$2.33	$2.45