Once you’ve made homemade cashew butter, there’s no looking back! I have a hard time not licking it off the spoon. Use roasted or raw cashews to make a drippy, silky smooth, lightly sweet nut butter (no sugar added!), to use in place of peanut butter. This easy cashew butter is great in sandwiches and cookies, or as a drizzle on your favorite breakfast bowl.
Love the idea of making your own homemade nut butters? Also try my Toasted Pecan Almond Butter, or this fun (healthy) alternative to Nutella, a Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter.
Contents
3 Ingredients to the BEST Nut Butter!
If you’ve never made nut butters at home, this is a great recipe to start with. Cashew butter is versatile, perfect for adding healthy fats and a creamy texture to baked goods, sauces, and even soups!
The mild flavor of cashews lends perfectly to a wide variety of recipes.
The best part of making it at home is turning it into your perfect nut butter creation.
Love a super mild flavor? Raw cashew butter is for you.
Prefer something with a more nutty, toasty flavor? Pre roast your cashews.
You can even make a deliciously crunchy cashew butter by toasting some nuts, chopping them, and stirring them in at the end!
What You’ll Need
- Organic Cashews (cashews are on the list of highest pesticide load for nuts and seeds!)
- Sea Salt (I love Redmond’s real salt because of it’s high mineral content)
- Coconut Oil (or avocado oil, optional)
How to Make Cashew Butter
Step 1: Add cashews to a baking sheet, and roast at 325º F for 10 minutes (for lightly roasted) or 15 minutes (for a more nutty roasted). If you are making raw cashew butter, skip this step.
Step 2: Add cashews, sea salt, and coconut oil (or avocado oil) to a food processor or a high speed blender. Process on high for 5-10 minutes, depending on the powder of your machine. Stop and scape the sides of your blender or food processor as needed.
Step 3: Keep processing until you reach your desired consistency. It will seem “done” when it comes together into a cashew paste, and if you like a thicker spread, it’s okay to stop at this point.
If you’re going for a “silky and drippy” texture, don’t lose hope! Keep processing a couple of extra minutes, and it will break down more as it heats up.
Is Cashew Butter Healthy?
Cashews are a healthy, whole food, and cashew butter is made almost entirely out of the nuts. They are low in carbs, high in fat, and have moderate protein, so are a satiating snack.
One thing to note is that cashews are high in magnesium, a mineral many adults are deficient in. Magnesium is important for Vitamin D absorption, muscle repair after exercise, and quality sleep, as well as many other biochemical reactions in your body.
- Calories: 157
- Protein: 5 grams
- Fat: 12 grams
- Carbs: 9 grams
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Copper: 67% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Magnesium: 20% of the DV
- Manganese: 20% of the DV
- Zinc: 15% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 13% of the DV
- Iron: 11% of the DV
- Selenium: 10% of the DV
- Thiamine: 10% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 8% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 7% of the DV
- [nutrition facts source]
What if my Nut Butter is too thick, and isn’t becoming a thin, drippy texture?
There are several reasons your cashew butter might turn out too thick, and not have a drippy texture.
- Your food processor / blender isn’t powerful enough. This recipe requires a high speed blender, like a Vitamix, or a powerful food processor. I love my Breville Food Processor and it works even with raw nuts.
- You didn’t allow the nuts to cool enough before adding them to the processor. The oils in nut butter will seize when processed with water, so if your nuts steam inside the processor, your nut butter will not become thin and drippy. It’s okay to add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of oil to try to thin it out, but once it seizes it will never have a perfect texture – but it will still taste great, and work well in baked goods, sauces, or smoothies!
- Raw nuts take longer to release oils, so if you are using raw cashews or very lightly toasted cashews, your nut butter will not thin out as much.
Variations
Raw Cashew Butter
Skip steps 1 and 2 in this recipe, and use raw cashews in place of toasted cashews. Roasting nuts help release the oils, so raw cashew butter will take longer to process than roasted (warmed) nuts. If your cashew butter is too thick, it’s okay to add an extra tablespoon of oil, and continue processing, so help release more of the nuts’ natural oils.
Chunky Cashew Butter
Use 3 1/2 cups of cashews, and toast the cashews for 15 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of toasted cashews, and chop them coarsely. After making your cashew butter, stir in the chopped cashew pieces.
Sweetened Cashew Butter
The oils in nut butters seize when mixed with liquids, like water or liquid sweeteners. For this reason, I tend to avoid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup.
Dry sweeteners, like powdered coconut sugar, or powdered monk fruit sweetener, are both great options! Add 2-3 tablespoons (or more to taste) to the nut butter after it’s done, and then pulse to combine.
If you want to use maple syrup or honey, then coat the cashews in maple syrup or honey prior to roasting. Roast for 10-15 minutes, which will evaporate most of the water in the sweetener. Then, place the sweetened cashews into the food process or blender, along with the oil and salt, and process until the desired texture is achieved.
Vanilla Cashew Butter
This is my favorite cashew butter variation! When your cashew butter is fully processed, scrape 1 vanilla bean into your cashew butter, and pulse to combine. The vanilla flavor sweetens the nut butter, and tastes more intense after it’s sat for 1 day.
Cinnamon Cashew Butter
Add 1 teaspoon of a high quality cinnamon into your food processor, along with the salt and coconut oil.
Cashew Almond Butter
Use 1 1/2 cups almonds and 1 1/2 cups cashews as the nuts in this recipe. The instructions are the same, and this combo can be made with any of the other recommended variations!
How to Use Cashew Butter
- Spread: In place of peanut butter or other nut butters. Make a cashew butter and raspberry chia jam sandwich, or use on crackers or rice cakes!
- In Baking: If you love to use nut butters in baking, cashew butter is a great addition! It has a milder flavor than other nut butters so is less detectable than things like peanut or sunflower seed butter. I use cashew butter in these Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies and in these Gluten Free Snickerdoodles.
- In Dressings: Cashew butter is perfect for making mayo-free creamy salad dressings! I use cashew butter in my Vegan Caesar Dressing and for my Mexican Caesar Salad.
- Creamy Sauces: Cashews have a creamy texture, and make a great replacement for dairy in sauces and soups! Try it in my Whole30 Zuppa Toscana or Zoodles Primavera!
How to Store Nut Butter
After the nut butter has cooled, add it to glass jars. Store it at room temperature for up to 2 months, or refrigerated up to 6 months. The oils in nut butter go rancid if stored at warmed temperatures for too long.
Other Nut Butter Recipes
I’d love to connect with you on social media! Find me on Facebook or Instagram where I post daily healthy eating and lifestyle inspiration!
Cashew Butter
Equipment
- food processor or high speed blender (like a Vitamix)
Ingredients
- 3 cups cashews raw, organic recommended
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil or avocado oil
- pinch sea salt optional
Instructions
- *If making RAW cashew butter, omit steps 1 and 2. Preheat oven to 325º F.
- Add cashews to a baking pan, and spread them out into an even layer. Roast cashews for 10 minutes for a lightly toasted nut, or 15 minutes for a nuttier cashew butter. Allow cashew to cool (slightly warm cashews are good, but hot cashews will steam and prevent the nut butter from becoming drippy).
- Add warm (or fully cooled) cashews to a food processor or high speed blender, along with coconut oil and salt.
- Process the cashews for about 10 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. The cashews will first form a flour, then the flour will start to come together into a paste. Continue processing until you reach the desired texture. To make a silky, drippy butter, just keep processing, and know that it will take an extra 5-10 minutes, depending on the power of your machine. *See notes.
- Store cashew butter in jars at room temperature for up to 2 months, or in the fridge for up to 6 months. Allow the cashew butter to fully cool before putting a lid on the jar.
Video
Notes
What if my Cashew Butter is too thick, and isn’t becoming a thin, drippy texture?
There are several reasons your cashew butter might turn out too thick, and not have a drippy texture.
- Your food processor / blender isn’t powerful enough. This recipe requires a high speed blender, like a Vitamix, or a powerful food processor. I love my Breville Food Processor and it works even with raw nuts.
- You didn’t allow the nuts to cool enough before adding them to the processor. The oils in nut butter will seize when processed with water, so if your nuts steam inside the processor, your nut butter will not become thin and drippy. It’s okay to add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of oil to try to thin it out, but once it seizes it will never have a perfect texture – but it will still taste great, and work well in baked goods, sauces, or smoothies!
- Raw nuts take longer to release oils, so if you are using raw cashews or very lightly toasted cashews, your nut butter will not thin out as much.
Leave a Reply