Rich, creamy, and surprisingly cheesy without traditional cheese, this cashew-based Paleo cheese sauce is an easy way to add flavor to vegetables, meats, grain-free pasta, and more.

Ingredients

• 165 g raw cashews, measured before soaking
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

1. Place the raw cashews in a bowl and cover generously with cool water. Soak for approximately 3 hours.
2. Drain the soaking water and rinse the cashews thoroughly.
3. Add the soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, water, and lemon juice to a high-powered blender.
4. Blend for 5 minutes.
5. Stop the blender and scrape down the sides and bottom as needed.
6. Blend for another 5 minutes, or until exceptionally smooth and creamy.
7. Taste and adjust the salt or lemon juice if desired.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Did You Know?

“Raw” cashews aren't quite as raw as you might think, and soaking them for hours may not remove antinutrients as dramatically as commonly claimed.

For this recipe, we soak the cashews for about 3 hours to soften them and create an exceptionally smooth sauce.

→ Learn more: Why We Soak Cashews — Raw Cashews, Antinutrients & the Surprising Truth