12 vegan recipes using cheesy cashew cream

A few months ago, I discovered this cashew cream.  Ever since I have made it quite often and used it for lots of cheesy recipes.  It has been such a success I want to share it.  But before the recipe links, here are 12 reasons why I love it:

1. It is not exactly like cheese but fills the gap where cheese used to be. It has enough texture and flavour except if you want cold slices of cheese.
2. It is mild enough to substitute for a creamy sauce but cheesy enough to substitute for a cheesy sauce.
3. It has lots of nutrition which is not something you can say about all vegan cheese substitutes.  
4. I prefer it to a lot of commercial cheeses I have tasted.It works as a dip or in a salad sandwich.
5. It is very versatile and adapts to different recipes so you can have a one recipe fits all approach.
6. It is crispy around the edges and creamy in the middle like a good cheesy topping should be.
7. It can be adapted with different flavours such as truffle oil, spices or pumpkin puree.
8. It is quick to make.
9. It keeps in the fridge a week or two.
10. It makes me happy to eat meals without cheese.
11. It makes it easier to give up or eat less cheese.  It means never again having reason to say "I could never go vegan because I can't give up cheese".
12. It saves me having to go hunting out vegan cheese/cheese sauce recipes again.  I have tried so many cheese sauces I used to get confused about what to use before this recipe crossed my path.

In Lasagne - the cashew cream cheese works well in this lasagne, which also has tomato sauce and spinach "ricotta" both as a layer and on top instead of a bechemal cheese sauce.

In Soup.  I added cashew cream to this Lettuce, broccoli and pea soup at the end instead of cream for creamy texture and some added protein.  I also did the little decorations on top with it.

On a Pasta bake.  I really loved how easy this past bake was and that it was every bit as good as one with grated cheese or bechamel cheese sauce on top.

In a Nut roast - when I made this Layered festive nut roast I made the layers by mixing cashew cream with herbs in the green layer and tomato paste in the red layer.

In a Tofu scramble - this Tofu scramble with cashew cream was really good.  The cream cheese makes it soft with little crispy bits where it catches (I have never eaten scrambled egg so not sure how close it is to that!).

On Pizza - it works well on a margherita pizza with cashew cream replacing the grated cheese, but I need to experiment more with toppings. I think a bianco pizza would be fun.

On a Vegetable Tart - this Vegie Ribbon Tart uses cream cheese instead of an egg and cheese mixture on puff pastry as a base for vegie roses of ribbons. 

As a Sauce - such as in this Tex Mex vegan bowl of tomato flavoured beans, vegies and rice.

In a Risotto - try this Creamy spring risotto soup where I have added some cashew cream instead of parmesan at the end.

As topping on cheese muffins - I used it here on top of our favourite "cheese" and parsley muffins to give a crunchy topping that you might get with grated cheese on muffins.

Would it work in a Frosting?  I tried mixing (failed and soft) chocolate fudge and cashew cream to make a chocolate cream cheese style frosting.  Not a total success with 9 year old but I liked it. Would like to experiment more.

Finally who can resist Cheese on toast. It is not really a recipe but I am a big fan of slathering a thick piece of sourdough bread (and fruit bread works too) with cashew cream and grilling it until it is golden brown and crisp on top and creamy underneath.

This is not the end of my experiments.  I would be curious to try nachos, tacos, cauliflower cheese, macaroni cheese, welsh rarebit, pot pies and all sorts of other creamy comfort foods.  Stay tuned!