Fake things have a pretty bad reputation.
Fake boobs, fake friends, fake purses.
I’m going to add one more thing to the list of less-than-stellar imposters: fake cheese.
Now, I’ve never tried soy cheese so I’m not including all fake cheeses here, but I’m saying that this cashew cheese is nothing like cheese.
What it is, however, is a delicious cashew nut dip and had it been billed as such, I probably would have liked it better.
Having made it for a vegan friend’s bachelorette party, I was expecting great things and while it certainly delivered great taste, it wasn’t cheese.
I really like cheese.
If you don’t eat dairy at all, you might feel differently about cashew “cheese” as a viable substitution for the real thing.
I also know there are various other imitations for cheese that work well, especially when disguised by other flavors in a recipe.
This creamy, nutty spread?
Delicious on a cracker or a baguette, but sadly, not a substitution for the real deal.
I think this would make a great sandwich spread, possibly topped with some fresh vegetables, avocado or – if you’re not eating fake cheese because you abstain from all animal products – bacon, lettuce and tomato.
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine (optional; substitute water if preferred)
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or good vinegar
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Makes about 1½ cups.
- Place the nuts in a salad bowl, cover with fresh water, and let stand for 2 hours.
- Drain the nuts and place them in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add ¼ cup water and the rest of the ingredients, and mix until thoroughly puréed, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl every once in a while. Add a little more water if necessary and blend again to adjust the consistency; the cheese will get a little more solid as it sets.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover, and let stand somewhere cool for 24 hours before placing in the fridge, where it will keep for another five days.
49 Comments
Nina
February 6, 2014 at 3:30 amI’m grateful you called it Cashew “Cheese” Dip as I was looking for a cheese substitute. Plus, it is quite clear what you mean by “Cheese” anyway. Again, thank you for thinking of this clever title. I’m going to try this “cheese” dip really soon! Hmm.. Excited!
Rachel W.
May 23, 2011 at 8:22 pmIt was pretty good. And after a few glasses of wine, I thought everything I ate was cheese.
Steph @Lick My Spoon
May 22, 2011 at 10:14 pmI’m so intrigued! Will have to give this a shot — this may be my savior if I go through with this vegan cleanse this summer…
Shannon
May 20, 2011 at 6:07 pmi’m with you– call it what it is 🙂 it’s delicious!!
Heidi Renée
May 19, 2011 at 11:13 pmI’m going to make this and try adding some nutritional yeast like Kelly suggested. This sort of thing is right up my alley, so I’m sure I’ll love it either way.
Feast on the Cheap
May 19, 2011 at 2:54 pmSo cool! I really wanna try this.
MegSmith @ Cooking.In.College
May 19, 2011 at 2:39 amThis sounds and looks absolutely delightful. I like the idea of it as cashew dip…cashew cheese weirds me out a little too 🙂
Amy
May 18, 2011 at 9:47 pmThis looks delicious! I love a good cashew cheese, and this is one “fake” thing where I might prefer the fake ;)! I appriciate the addition of the white wine to this cheese, it must give it that something extra!
Kate@Diethood.com
May 18, 2011 at 7:59 pmOh my yumminess! I think I could definitely eat this up with a spoon… no crackers needed!
McKayla @ Green Groats
May 18, 2011 at 12:04 pmOoohhhh. I like the sound of this! Great ingredients. I’ve got to give this a try! Thanks for posting 🙂
Sawsan@ chef in disguises
May 18, 2011 at 6:40 amThis sounds really good. I agree with you, it shouldn’t be called cheese..maybe a dip or spread but it really sounds yummy
Chris
May 18, 2011 at 2:32 amI am so excited about this! I just learned about cashew cream this weekend, and now this….I am in cashew heaven!
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
May 18, 2011 at 1:43 amOh cool! So it’s sort of like a hummusy type of spread to some extent? I went dairy free back in March so I am all about the dairy free replacements. I will have to try this as I already have raw cashews in my cupboad – which I used in a ‘creamy’ tomato basil pasta sauce i made this week.
Maria @ Scandifoodie
May 17, 2011 at 8:02 pmAfter making cashew cream cheese a while a go I’m convinced how yummy it is! Love how this recipe has the vinegary note to it.
Nelly Rodriguez
May 17, 2011 at 9:46 pmI’m definitely trying this soon!
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
May 17, 2011 at 9:22 pmI have a son who is crazy for cashews. I know he’d love this!
Pudding Pie Lane
May 17, 2011 at 1:21 pmThe worst fake thing are those ‘banana chewy sweets’.. eurgh! I like this though, as I love cashew nuts and cashew nut butter, but this is a healthier version! 🙂
Tasha
May 17, 2011 at 12:30 pmI’ve been wanting to try cashew cheese out of curiosity’s sake. The posts accompanying the recipes I’ve come across all made the very same point- that it is a tasty spread in its own right, but definitely nothing like cheese. But since I’m not looking for a substitute to cheese, that’s okay with me!
Blond Duck
May 17, 2011 at 10:51 amI’m with you. Cheese is cheese. Though this would be delicious on a grilled cheese sandwich!
Barbara
May 17, 2011 at 10:46 amVery interesting, Maris. Does it taste like cashews when you’re through? It may look like cheese on the cracker (really a super photo, btw) but I’d hardly call it cheese. I’d love to try this…copied it already.
blackbookkitchendiaries
May 17, 2011 at 6:16 amthis sounds just divine! thank you for sharing this with us:) and have a great day.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
May 17, 2011 at 3:59 amThis sounds really interesting! I tried making an ice cream out of ground cashews but I don’t think I ground it finely enough. This looks lovely and smooth though! 🙂
J3nn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog)
May 17, 2011 at 3:16 amI’ve never had nut cheese but have been wanting to try some. I LOVE cheese, but I’m not sure if my tummy does any longer. 🙁 so I’m feeling out options, just in case. Hopefully I don’t have to ice up dairy, I basically live off of it, lol.
marla
May 17, 2011 at 2:51 amAlthough certainly not cheese I would love this spread – we LOVE nuts over here 🙂
Kate (What Kate is Cooking)
May 17, 2011 at 2:44 amI’ve heard so much about cashews in ‘cheese’ dips. I have to try this!
Nicole@HeatOvenTo350
May 17, 2011 at 2:26 amIt looks delicious. I can see why you’d object to calling it cheese, though. Not even close.
Courtney
May 17, 2011 at 2:06 amIt really looks good, but I really love my real cheese lol
leslie
May 17, 2011 at 1:37 amCheese is cheese..PERIOD…I don’t think I could ever give it up 🙂
Roz
May 16, 2011 at 8:14 pmI had macadamia cheese at a party once, and LOVED it!!! The cashew version would be JUST as yummy!!! (I’d have a hard time portion controlling! 🙂 )
Dishes of Mrs. Fish
May 16, 2011 at 11:51 pmIt looks so creamy, I’d never know that there wasn’t any cheese!
Nami @ Just One Cookbook
May 16, 2011 at 11:24 pmI love cheese too, but I’ve never heard or tried the combination of cashew and cheese. Now I’m very curious and aware of this combo!
yummychunklet
May 16, 2011 at 9:52 pmI like soy cheese, so I’ll give this a whirl. Other than that, I’m not a huge fan of fake foods either! =D
Tracy
May 16, 2011 at 9:38 pmSounds delicious! My dad loves cashews, and I bet he would love this!
Ruth
May 16, 2011 at 4:31 pmCashew ‘cheese’ is fantastic – but I agree it shouldn’t be called ‘cheese’!!
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen
May 16, 2011 at 8:03 pmThis reminds me of when I made almmond “butter” using soaked, raw almonds…and it was NOTHING like creamy, delicious almond butter. It was fine it its own right, but definitely no substitute for roasted almonds.
I agree with you that sometimes we should just call an apple and apple and not try to call it a “fake orange.”
Gen
May 16, 2011 at 7:36 pmsounds good!! i had actually been wanting to try this out for a while…too bad its not so cheesy….i read somewhere that adding nutritional yeast was supposed to help with the cheesy flavor, but I really have no idea whether or not that’s true.
Allison @ Running With Mascara
May 16, 2011 at 7:20 pmIt looks tasty! But it can be annoying when you don’t make what you think you’re making!
Juliana
May 16, 2011 at 7:04 pmI actually was looking for cheese in the recipes :-)…the spread look good, and would love to try by keeping in mind that would not taste like cheese 😉 Have a great week Maris…
Caroline
May 16, 2011 at 6:35 pmLove the presentation!
Beth @ DiningAndDishing
May 16, 2011 at 6:12 pmyes, i wish foods would just be called what they really are! often foods are great when you know what to expect. but as a substitution for something else – it’s never the same!
brandi@BranAppetit
May 16, 2011 at 6:02 pmI still haven’t tried making this even though I’ve seen tons of recipes for it. It looks so good!
PS: Love the new picture!
Kelly
May 16, 2011 at 5:49 pmThat said, I’m wondering if it might have been cheesier tasting if you used nutritional yeast. I see that commonly called for in vegan cheese applications and it does add a cheesy, almost parmesan like taste. Def. still not the real thing, but a little closer.
Adele
September 3, 2012 at 5:12 pmInteresting that you should pick up on that Kelly. The original recipe that this was adapted from, included 2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar. The yeast definitely gives it a little more of a “cheesy” taste, although it still tastes like a nut butter. I love this spread, and it’s so easy to make.
Kelly
May 16, 2011 at 5:45 pmI’ve tried a lot of vegan cheese substitutes (homemade and not) and I agree with you that they are very different from the real deal. I actually sampled some nut-based cheeses that were billed as more artisan cheeses and I REALLY wanted to like them, but in the end I couldn’t bring myself to write a review on my blog. I felt like posting it would have been a no win situation because I couldn’t, in good faith, recommend it to my readers without some heavy caveating and I hate bashing something when I’m probably not the target audience anyway. I have to say the best versions I’ve tasted are nacho cheese (homemade & not) probably because it is heavily flavored with other things.
That said, I think the cheese substitutes taste best when they are in something or comprised of a larger dish, vs. on their own.
alyssa - fashion fitness foodie
May 16, 2011 at 5:42 pmI think it looks awesome butttt nothing like cheese!!
Three-Cookies
May 16, 2011 at 5:17 pmCashew spread is a more appealing and accurate name.
Erica
May 16, 2011 at 4:39 pmIt is AMAZING how much you can do with raw cashews! I love cashew cream, so I bet I’d love this dipness!
Tanvi@SinfullySpicy
May 16, 2011 at 4:08 pmI m all in for cashews so doesnt matter much if its fake 🙂 How I wish I could have this beautiful spread for breakfast.Love it!
Daryl
May 16, 2011 at 4:07 pmI think it looks really good and I would love to try this.