AVW Roasted Garlic Cashew Cream Sauce

This sauce is a great way to start playing with nuts, specifically cashews here, as a way to create satisfying cream sauces when you don’t have any cream on hand or are cooking for folks who are lactose intolerant.

If you have not tried it yet think of it as foundation technique that you can then deploy in other recipes (e.g. I’ve had a killer cashew cream alfredo in the past that was my first introduction to using cashews instead of cream).

Roasted garlic adds sweetness and depth of flavor, white miso some umami and saltiness, and unroasted cashews deliver the creamy feel.

The sauce can be used to add a touch of cream to many dishes (think a dollop in soup, a drizzle on roasted vegetables, as a spread in sandwiches, a dipping sauce for crudités etc.). It also plays very well with other sauces—in particular, for dipping or on vegetables, I like to splash on just a few drops of high-quality soy sauce with this sauce. Not only does it taste great but the contrast of the cashew white with the soy black drizzle is very striking and makes for a nice presentation if you are serving it in a bowl as a dipping sauce.

This recipe features our Chardonnay Wine Vinegar, opens in a new tab and our California Extra Virgin Olive Oil, opens in a new tab.

Which vinegar to use, and why

A cashew cream is rich and mild and will taste heavy without acid. White wine vinegar lightens it without flavoring it. We use Better Than Champagne Chardonnay Wine Vinegar here. It is slow-fermented and aged in oak at our mill in Worcester, Massachusetts, which is why it seasons the dish rather than just souring it.

Make it ahead and keep it

It keeps covered in the fridge and the flavor settles overnight, which usually improves it.

What to cook next

Try Tzatziki, or browse all our vinegar recipes. If you have not cooked with craft vinegar before, a mini bottle sampler set lets you taste across the range before committing to a full-size bottle. Orders over $85 ship free within the contiguous US.