cashew cream

PESTO CASHEW CREAM SAUCE | V /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

today’s prep sauce is a good one. a bit indulgent, insanely tasty, and like all our prep sauce sunday sauces, it’s easily used for multiple meals. it’s what i like to call a do-it-all sauce. this creamy pesto is put together by essentially making 2 separate sauces, and combining them to make one phenomenal sauce. we start by blending a simple savory cashew cream - raw cashews, water, vinegar, garlic, salt & pepper. it’s luscious and creamy, and lends the perfect velvety texture to this pesto. next, we blend up our pesto. you can use whatever combination of greens and herbs you like, but i went with a basil/arugula combo just because i love these 2 flavors together. then we add the usual suspects: toasted pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, s & p , and evoo. then, then best part, we stir in a good bit of cashew cream. we generally eat in pasta, but you could drizzle it over grilled poultry, fish, or vegetable kebabs. it could definitely be used for dipping - cut up veg, or even grilled (or toasted) bread would be a dream. and this creamy pesto could easily be thinned out a bit and used as dressing for salads, roasted vegetables, a leaf-less salad like this one, or even used for potato salad.

and before i sign off, i wanted to link to a recipe on my instagram feed that you won’t find here on the blog. it’s for yet another indulgent recipe for chocolate chip peanut butter blondies. they are chewy and dense, just like a good blondie is. plus, there’s peanut butter and chocolate - can’t really go wrong with either one!

lastly, i wanted to share the Always Pan, by Our Place. full disclosure, it was gifted to me. but it’s an 8-in-one ceramic skillet that i absolutely love cooking with. if you’re on the market for a new fry pan/steamer/saucier head over to my post here for a code for $10 off.

sunday hugs ❤️

pesto cashew cream sauce | v

| makes 1 heaping cup |

print the recipe!

notes: the cashew cream makes plenty extra for other uses. some of my favorite include: use leftover cashew sauce as sour cream, blend it with 1/2 chipotle pepper to make vegan chipotle crema, add it to tomato sauce to make an even more delicious creamy tomato sauce, add it to dressings for a creamier consistency, add to soups, or blend in some herbs and make a dip!

method

  1. in a container of a food processor fitted with a metal “s” blade, add the basil, arugula, pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, a few pinches salt, and a few grinds of pepper. with the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor and blend. taste and adjust, adding more salt, or lemon juice if need be.

  2. transfer the pesto to a mixing bowl. stir in 3 tablespoons of cashew cream until fully combined. add another tablespoon if you want it creamier. use right away, or store in a tightly fitted jar in your refrigerator for up to 1 week.

make cashew cream

  1. place the cashews in the container of high-speed upright blender. add the water, vinegar, garlic, salt, and a few cracks of pepper. blend everything on high for a couple of minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container, as needed. blend until the cashew sauce is silky smooth. store in a lidded container for up to 1 week.

ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves

  • 1 cup baby arugula

  • 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed

  • salt & cracked pepper, to taste

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 3 tablespoons - 1/4 cup cashew cream (recipe below)

cashew cream (makes extra)

  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight (or at least 4 hours), drained and rinsed

  • 1/2 cup filtered water

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

  • 1 clove garlic

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • cracked pepper, to taste

PREP SAUCE SUNDAY: CHIPOTLE CASHEW CREMA /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

happy sunday! we’re back after a little hiatus from prep sauce sunday. i’m super excited to be here with you once again 😊and if you’re new here, prep sauce sunday is intended to help you get through the week, one sauce at a time. most, if not all the sauces i share here are super versatile. meaning, you can use them as a sauce, dip, or dressing, that way you can use it multiple times, for multiple meals throughout the week.

this week we’re making a favorite that i’ve been making almost since this blog’s existence, a chipotle cashew creama. if you’re not familiar with crema, it’s a rich, thick cream used to top all sorts of dishes - enchiladas, tacos, burritos, etc. it sits somewhere between sour cream and creme fraiche. like all the other prep sauces in this collection, it’s a sauce/cream that comes together really quick. at its’ base are raw, soaked cashews - that’s what makes it super rich and creamy. we add a chipotle pepper which provides most of the flavor and a bit of heat too. next, we add lime juice and some vinegar to give it that tang that crema is known for. last, we throw a little garlic and nutritional yeast to round out the flavor and make it really robust.

so what can we use this crema for? just about anything is my answer. we love using it on a ground beef/cauliflower rice taco bowl situation. drizzled over fish tacos is another favorite. you can use it for dipping raw veg or tortillas for snacks, you could definitely add a tablespoon or 2 to a basic oil & vinegar salad dressing to your salad some major flavor. it can be used and repurposed for just about anything savory. i hope you get to make this one!

xo!

chipotle cashew crema | v/gf

| makes roughly 1.5 cups |

print the recipe

method

  1. in the container of an upright, high-speed blender, place the drained cashews, water, chipotle pepper, lime juice, nutritional yeast, vinegar, flax, garlic, and salt. blend on high, scraping down the sides the of the container as you go until silky smooth.

  2. taste and adjust seasoning if needed, adding more salt, lime juice, or vinegar.

  3. store crema in a lidded jar in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

ingredients

  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, drained and rinsed

  • 1/2 cup filtered water, plus more if needed

  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo

  • 1 clove garlic

  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

  • 3 tablespoons lime juice

  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon ground flax

  • salt, to taste

MAPLE-VANILLA CASHEW CREAM /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

we’re talking sauce this sunday, but one that’s creamy and sweet! weekday mornings have the tendency to be monotonous, and this cashew cream aims to jazz up those sometimes boring breakfasts into something that you look forward to. i can easily fall into the smoothie-every-morning routine, but i find that when i have this cream sitting in my fridge i’m more likely to prepare a breakfast that takes me out of the routine and starts my day in a fun, refreshing way. all we do here is soak the cashews for up to 5 hours (or overnight). then it’s a quick whiz in your blender with maple syrup, a couple teaspoons vanilla extract, fresh lemon juice, a splash of vinegar (i know, sounds weird, but a little bit goes a long way in giving this cream a little punch), a pinch of salt, and some water to get everything nice and smooth.

when i make this sweet cashew cream, i find that my weekend prep is a bit breakfast-heavy. sometimes i’ll prep a big batch of steel cut oats to heat up for breakfast, or i’ll either buy or make a big batch of waffles or pancakes to defrost throughout the week. i also find that i tend to purchase more berries and stone fruit both to top said oats and waffles, but also for dipping into this cream! i have a recipe on this site (which has always been a popular recipe here) for my favorite steel cut oats with sauteed peaches, and the addition of the maple-vanilla cashew cream takes that creamy note to the next level! a little bit of prep to make breakfasts more desirable goes a long way (in my opinion). i’ve always found that it’s the little things like making a cream/sauce like this that start your days off a little brighter. i hope that you find this as well!

happy sunday, friends! xo!

maple-vanilla cashew cream | v

| makes roughly 1 1/2 cups |

print the recipe

method

  1. place drained cashews, water, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, vinegar, and salt in the container of an upright high-speed blender. blend o n high, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender, until the cream is completely smooth. taste and add more maple syrup if you want it sweeter, then blend again.

  2. use right away, or transfer the cream to lidded jar and store in your fridge for up to 1 week. the cream will thicken as it’s refrigerated, whisk in a bit of water, a little at a time, until pourable.

ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight (or at least for 5 hours), drained and rinsed

  • 3/4 cup filtered water, plus more if needed

  • 2-3 tablespoons good maple syrup (preferably grade b)

  • 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

  • pinch of fine salt