Updated: Dec 31, 2019
Plant-based, Vegan, Gluten Free
Call this whatever you like, a vegan cream cheese, a dip, a spread, or whatever.
All I know is that it’s yummy and it carries me through those days when my Avocados are just not soft yet (I hate those days) or when they are just not in season (I’m based in Israel and we have food seasons “Gasp”🤯). A girl’s gotta have something to spread on her sourdough bread in the morning, you know what I mean.
It is also just plain good so, there!
All the recipes I have found in the past require me to soak my cashews before but that requires me to plan. And I just ain’t good at that.
So, I decided, hey what if I just put the cashews in my blender as is and see what happens. And voilà, success. A SMOOTH, Tangy, creamy, spreadable, dippable spread/dip.
Just to be clear, I do NOT have a Vitamix. I would love one, it’s just not in my budget at the moment. I have a regular, not that great blender, and this worked with that. So it will for sure work with whatever you have too!
This recipe has nutritional yeast in it, but seriously, not necessary. It’s an acquired taste plus some people just don’t have it lying around. It’s just something that gives a cheesy flavor, but it won’t be lacking without.
This is not just for vegans and Plant-based, I think it’s great for everyone to try different flavours and explore new foods.
Also, this is an amazing whole-foods, dairy alternative as a base for creamy dressings, soups, shakes (leave out the salt, garlic, and nutritional yeast) and sauces.
Photo taken with Focos 
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of raw cashews
- 1 garlic clove
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- 1 tsp of nutritional yeast (optional)
- pinch of salt
Method:
- Dump the cashews and garlic in your blender
- Now blend like your life depended on it. You know the tricks. Push down the sides. Shake the blender. This is not a Vitamix. (if you have a Vitamix ignore all my excitement). Seriously, try to blend down to crumbs before you add any liquid.
- Add lemon juice and blend some more. Same tricks, shake blender, push down the sides (when the blender is off obviously)
- Now when you see that this mixture is craving liquid add 1/4 of a cup at a time. Add the first batch of water and blend. We are trying to get to a really smooth almost thick techina like consistency. It will thicken in the fridge. Now is also the time to add the nutritional yeast if you like. Completely optional. Keep adding the 1/4 cup of water as need (don’t exceed 1 1/2 cups if possible, can be less)
- Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed. This will taste super lemony right now but will neutralize after the hour in the fridge. There should be no lumps in this spread. It should be very smooth. Keep blending if it’s still lumpy.
- Let sit in the fridge for an hour to thicken up or use now if you don’t give a cheesy cracker. 😉
Now spread, dip, garnish on anything that needs a cheesy, creamy pick me up!
