Raw Vegan Cashew Cream

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Jump straight to the Cashew Cream recipe

Sometimes, you just want to finish off dinner with something sweet and decadent.

But all those off-the-shelf desserts are packed with things that you know aren’t good for you.

Right?

Well this recipe for raw vegan cashew cream can be made in less than five minutes, and has only five ingredients (including ice and water).

So you can be enjoying a sweet yet healthy treat in no time at all.

And I’ve been making this raw vegan cashew cream recipe for years, so I’d know.

In fact, I’d have to say that it was one of the very first raw vegan recipes I ever made.

I’ve made it so many times since, with various little tweaks here and there each time, but the essential recipe has survived the test of time.

Which very few recipes do around here, because our diet is constantly evolving, along with our bodies and our taste buds.

So it’s an impressive feat for such a simple recipe.

You could almost say that this raw vegan cashew cream helped me get started on this amazing journey, and has helped keep me on it.

I’ve used this cream to finish off so many bowls of decadent desserts, that I’ve lost count.

For instance, here it is on top a bowl of fresh raspberries, along with some of my raw caramel sauce.

Mmm-mmmmmm!

It also goes really nicely with my raw walnut and macadamia cake.

And any time I feel inspired to make a sweet dressing, this is the one that wins the vote most often.

And why wouldn’t it?

With just three wholefood ingredients and some water, almost no preparation time and an unbelievably goooooood taste, this raw vegan cashew cream is likely to become one of your kitchen staples too.

Not surprisingly, this is another one of my “chuck it all in the blender” recipes, so you really can have it ready to go in less than 5 minutes.

What’s not to love?!

Time to make some raw vegan cashew cream of your own?

Cashew Cream recipe

Make sure to read the tips below the recipe to get the most out of this amazing vegan cashew cream recipe.

Raw Vegan Cashew Cream

With three wholefood ingredients, a 5 minute prep time and a sweet, creamy taste, this raw vegan cashew cream makes anything and everything into dessert.

5 from 1 vote

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Category: Dessert, Sauce

Cuisine: Paleo, Raw, Vegan, Wholefoods

Tags: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, oil-free, salt-free, soy-free, sugar-free

Cook time: 5 minutes minutes

Total time: 5 minutes minutes

Makes: 360 ml (10 serves)

Calories per serve: 88.9kcal

Author: Nikki, Eating Vibrantly

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashews (140g)
• 2 med medjool dates (35g)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla bean powder
• 1/2 cup ice (100g)
• 1/3 cup water (80g)

Method

• Put everything into in a blender and process until smooth.
• Store in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Preparation

• Before: -
• During: 5 min
• After: -
• Need: Blender

Nutrition Information

Serving: 36g; Calories: 88.9kcal; Carbohydrates: 7.3g; Protein: 2.6g; Fat: 6.1g; Saturated Fat: 1.1g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 3.3g; Sodium: 2.5mg; Potassium: 118mg; Fiber: 0.7g; Sugar: 3.2g; Calcium: 10mg; Iron: 0.9mg

Tips

• I don’t pre-soak my cashews for two reasons: 1) I’m lazy and 2) I have a high-speed blender. If you don’t have a high speed blender, you’ll probably want to pre-soak your cashews for two hours in fresh water, and then drain them and use them. If you do this, reduce the amount of water that you add by about half (you might have to play with the quantities until you get the right consistency).
• Pre-soaking your cashews will also help to increase the nutritional content of this cream. Just add less water (see previous tip) if you decide to pre-soak.
• I use medjool dates in this recipe because they are a whole food sweetener. Medjool dates are big, sweet, soft and sticky dates that you usually find in the fresh produce section, or at your local health food store.  They’re softer than regular dates, and have more of a caramelly taste and add a rich sweetness to recipes. If you’re using regular dates, you’ll need to soak them in water for a couple of hours first.
• If you don’t have access to dates, you can replace them with a couple of tablespoons of liquid sweetener, such as agave nectar, maple syrup or coconut nectar, or you could even use coconut sugar. If you use a liquid sweetener, you’ll want to reduce the water by about a tablespoon.
• Vanilla bean powder is just fresh vanilla beans air-dried and ground into a powder using a spice blender or coffee grinder. You can make your own or you can buy it from your local health food shop. If you can’t get your hands on any of this, you can just scrape out a fresh vanilla bean or two into the mix, or add 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract.
• I use a combination of water and ice to keep the cashew cream cool while it blends. You need to be able to blend it for long enough so that the cashews are completely broken up, so using ice helps you to do this. If you use all water, it will probably overheat before it gets smooth and if you use all ice, it will freeze up and won’t blend properly. Either way, you need a total of 180g of water for this recipe (and about half that if you pre-soak your cashews). If you don’t want to use ice, just refrigerate all of your ingredients beforehand for several hours.
• This cream will thicken up in the refrigerator. If you use it straight away, it’s like a double-thick cream, and the next morning, it will almost be like a creme fraiche consistency. If you plan to make this the day before you want to use it, you might want to add an extra 1/6 cup (40g) water before blending.
• This is a pretty forgiving recipe, so feel free to play with the quantities, to see if you like the flavour or consistency a little better. Whatever you end up making, there’s a good chance it will be extremely edible.
• This recipe is not low-fat by any measure, thanks to the cashew base. It does contain some high-quality protein as well as a good amount of fiber. And of course, it tastes brilliant!

My inspiration

This recipe is based on the “Vanilla Cream Sauce” recipe in Jennifer Cornbleet’s “Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People” cookbook.

I just adapted it to use all whole foods, and to suit my “instant gratification” cooking style.

“Raw Food Made Easy” was the first raw food cookbook I ever purchased, and it’s the main reason I fell in love with raw food.

Her recipes are simple, with straightforward ingredients and there’s no need for special kitchen equipment – just a blender and a food processor.

If you’re just starting out with raw food, or looking for a book to recommend to someone interested in trying raw food, I highly recommend her book.

Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People

Getting 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day has never been so delicious and easy

• Get it at Amazon.com
• Get it at BookDepository.com

Resources

If you want to learn more about the health benefits of cashews, check out this article:

• All About Cashews @ The World’s Healthiest Foods

And if you want to learn more about the wonderful natural sweetener that is medjool dates:

• Medjool Dates: The Healthiest Natural Sweetener? @ Dr Axe

For more information on the pros and cons of pre-soaking your nuts, you might find this helpful:

• The Importance of Soaking Nuts & Seeds @  Wellness Mama
• Phytic Acid – Friend or Foe? @ The Bread Beckers

Have an awesome day!

Nikki H Stokes, Eating Vibrantly

I studied Biochemistry and Genetics at Monash University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science, with Honours. I've always had a passion for natural health, having grown up with asthma, eczema and numerous food allergies, and I wanted to help my kids avoid the same issues. I love blending science and alternative approaches to find the best of both worlds, and I'm always looking for ways to create more amazing health and happiness in my life.
Learn more about me