Cashews: an essential to the vegan pantry

Cashews are such convenient food when you're vegan or interested in veganism. You will see below, they are very versatile and can be the basis of several delicious vegan recipes!

First, before exploring the recipes and their uses, let's look at the type of cashews you should use.

Types of Cashews to Use
It is better to take those that are raw, rather than roasted. This allows them to have a more neutral taste. On the other hand, if you can't find any raw ones, you can still use roasted but unsalted cashews. It’s not ideal, but it is possible and still tasty.

What to cook with cashews
You will see below that there are several possibilities.

For these recipes, please note that it is best to soften the nuts beforehand. How to do?

You have two choices. The first is to soak them for 24 hours in hot water. The second, a quicker solution is to boil them for ten minutes.

• Vegan milk

Making cashew milk is so easy, quick, and really good.

All you have to do is put your nuts in a blender, fill the container with water and mix to the smoothest consistency possible. With some mixers, it is possible to have no more pieces of nuts while with others, it is better to filter the liquid afterward.

You can also add maple syrup, vanilla extract, cocoa powder or other flavors of your choice.

• Vegan cream

This cream is perfect to add to soups, tomato sauce to make a rosé sauce or to
replace yogurt in some recipes such as a dip.

Again, it takes a few minutes. In fact, you only have to do the same steps as for vegan milk, but put less water and more cashews. The goal is really to get a thicker, creamier consistency.

For this recipe, it is really necessary to have softened the cashews. This will be much easier for your blender and will improve the texture of the cream.

• As a base for vegan cheeses

Making your own vegan cheese from cashews is much simpler than you think. There are many recipes available online that are perfect for you if this is your first time.

Generally, the steps consist of blending your nuts, nutritional yeast (learn more about nutritional yeast by reading this article), spices and sometimes, ingredients for texture. For example, agar-agar, an ingredient that often replaces gelatin, can be added to solidify your cheese. Other ingredients, such as tapioca starch, can help give your vegan cheese a more elastic texture. Then, it only remains to heat it if it is a more tender cheese or to let it cool if more solid cheese is desired.

• As a base for vegan cheesecakes

Finally, the cashews make a perfect base for vegan cheesecakes. They provide a creamy texture and a delicate taste that really reminds this delicious dessert.

Try our great coffee cheesecake recipe.

This is the perfect recipe for experimenting with cashews and spoiling yourself with a decadent, yet healthy dessert.