Vegan Instant Pot Cashew Sour Cream
If you’re looking for vegan Instant Pot dishes this cashew cream is a crowd pleaser. The Instant Pot and an excellent addition to the vegan kitchen. This recipe is for a vegan Instant Pot sour cream but the same basic steps can be used to make any creamy sauce like a ranch, chipotle cream sauce or tangy lemon sauce.
A vegan Cashew cream is nothing new. Pintrest is littered with all kinds of cashew cheesy like creations. What is different about this recipe is using the Instant Pot.
One thing that all these recipes have in common is the need to soak the cashews is water for 6-8 hours before processing them into a “cream” sauce. Personally I rarely have that kind of foresight. So when I realized you could skip that soak step and pressure cook the cashew instead I was sold! What I also discovered is that pressure cooking makes it better. The result is tastier and creamier and just better.
So if you are dairy free looking for something to replace a silky sour cream then this recipe just might fill the void dairy has left in your life.
What is also nice about this recipe is the sauce can be used cold in place of a sour cream, or you can heat it and it will brown and become bubbly and resemble melted cheese. It’s very versatile. I often top my Black Bean Enchilada with it and bake them till beautiful and bubbly.
If you would like to learn more about using your Instant Pot for amazing every day dishes check out my Instant Pot Cooking Classes. Sign up for a free week of cooking classes and learn Instant Pot tips and tricks.
Instant Pot Vegan Cashew Sour Cream
Ingredients
- I cup of raw cashews
- Juice of Fresh lemon or lime
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 C avocado oil
- 1/4 bunch of cilantro
- Water as needed aprox 1/4 Cup.
Instructions
- Step 1: Put one cup of cashews into the main insert of the instant pot. Add 2 cups of water and a generous dash of salt. Also add one clove of peeled garlic. No need to chop it, just add it whole.
- Pressure cook it for 1 min in the Instant Pot
- Step 2: When it’s done immediately release the pressure and rinse the cashews through a strainer.
- Step 3: Add the nuts and clove of garlic to a VitaMix. Also add the juice of the lemon/lime, salt and cilantro.
- Add 1/4 cup of water to start and blend. Then start to add oil while blender is running. Add till you see the texture is creamy. It might take approximately 1/4 c of oil.
- At this point give the mixture a taste and adjust seasoning as needed. It might need more seasoning or lime to balance the flavor.
- This mixture can be used a substitute for sour cream, or as a base for a salad dressing. You can also add avocado to this mixture. This mixture also browns really nicely in the oven and sometimes I use it poured over enchiladas to create a bubbly cheese like topping.
- Note: The oil is a key ingredient. Without it the mixture has a grainy texture. The oil emulsifies the mixture and gives it a silky texture. You want the finished mixture to be thick like sour cream, but thin enough to run through the blender smoothly and not seize as the blade runs.
