MAKES: ABOUT 1½ CUPS
TIME: LESS THAN 10 MINUTES, NOT INCLUDING SOAKING THE CASHEWS
Hands down, my top easy, all-around-delicious creamy salad dressing. It’s ridiculously simple to transform this versatile dressing with endless herbs, spices, and condiments to garnish any salad you can imagine. Best of all, you’ll never open up a jar of mayonnaise (vegan or otherwise) again, when this luscious cashew-based dressing can be made to order in minutes.
You should only make a batch when you need it, and eat within 2 days for the freshest flavor and best consistency. For everyday salads you can skip the small addition of olive oil (though it adds lovely lushness and flavor), but the addition of both garlic powder and fresh garlic adds a complexity that neither can pull off alone!
½ cup unroasted cashews
¾ cup hot water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons white (shiro) miso
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as dill, basil, or tarragon
Leave out the fresh herbs when preparing any of these variations. Often I’ll make the dressing plain by default, dividing the batch in half to make two different dressings. The below additions are suggestions for full batches of dressing.
CHIPOTLE: Add 1 tablespoon minced chipotles in adobo sauce.
CURRY LIME: Add 2 teaspoons curry powder and replace the lemon juice with lime juice.
MANGO CHUTNEY: Add ¼ cup mango chutney.
RED CURRY: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste.
CREAMY SRIRACHA: Add 3 tablespoons Sriracha sauce.
MAPLE “BACON”: Add 1 tablespoon maple syrup and ¼ cup of your favorite vegan bacon bits or ½ cup Coconut Bacony Bits (page 48). This dressing is best eaten as soon as it’s made!
PESTO RANCH: Add 3 tablespoons prepared basil pesto.
1 Soak the cashews in the hot water for 30 minutes. Then pour into a blender (including the soaking water) and blend until very smooth. Alternatively, if you have a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix or Blendtec), no soaking is required: just pulse the cashews into a fine powder, add the hot water, and pulse again until very smooth.
2 Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth. Chill the dressing in a tightly covered container until ready to use, or at least 20 minutes for the flavors to blend. Store chilled and use within 2 days.
There’s no substitute for unroasted cashews in this recipe; unroasted nuts have a slightly sweet, dairy-like flavor. Roasted (and salted) nuts don’t work as well; while tasty, they’ll add a very pronounced nutty flavor and tan color that’s too overpowering for this delicate, creamy ranch dressing. Whole or in pieces, look for unroasted (usually unsalted too) cashews in natural food stores, at Trader Joe’s, or in large (and reasonably priced!) bags in Indian or Southeast Asian markets.