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Have you experienced cashew butter? It is sublime and somehow much more delicious than a handful of toasted cashews. A spoonful of homemade cashew butter tastes like a treat. It’s nearly as enticing as cookie dough, as far as I’m concerned—sometimes, I add a few chocolate chips to achieve the full cookie dough effect.

This homemade cashew butter recipe is easy to make in a food processor. The trick is to lightly toast your cashews before blending for the best flavor and texture. Even then, cashew butter has a more neutral flavor than most other nut butter. It’s quite versatile.

Homemade cashew butter contains no additives like sunflower oil; it’s made simply with cashews and a dash of salt to enhance the flavor. Since it is so fresh, it offers better flavor than store-bought options.

Store-bought cashew butter can be quite expensive—I often balk at the nearly twenty-dollar jars at Whole Foods. Making it at home can cost half as much. We could get into a philosophical debate about time versus money, or make cashew butter in the same length of time. Let’s make some already.

Cashew Butter Tips

You’ll find the full recipe below, but here are some notes and tips before you get started.

Toast your nuts before blending. Warm nuts blend more readily than room-temperature nuts. When I tried making cashew butter with plain raw cashews in my Vitamix, I had trouble blending them and resorted to adding olive oil to make it work. Furthermore, cashew butter made with freshly toasted nuts tastes extra special.

You’re in charge of how “toasty” your cashew butter tastes. My recipe suggests baking them for 10 minutes, which brings out the cashews’ best flavor without tasting overtly roasted. If you would like a greater depth of flavor, you could leave your nuts in for a few extra minutes. Stir them at the 10-minute mark, then keep a close eye one them to ensure that the nuts around the edges don’t burn.

Use a food processor rather than a blender. I love my fancy Vitamix, but I’m on Team Food Processor for nut butter (here’s mine). The food processor takes a few minutes longer but doesn’t require my involvement.

Watch How to Make Cashew Butter

How to Serve Cashew Butter

I love a spoonful of cashew butter from time to time. Here are some more ways to enjoy it:

• Spread cashew butter over toast and add berries (fresh berries, defrosted frozen, or chia berry jam). You could make a lovely appetizer with crostini, plus fresh raspberries and a light drizzle of honey.
• Add a dab to quick breads, like banana bread or muffins.
• Try cashew butter on pancakes. Possibly better than maple syrup.
• For extra protein, blend cashew butter into smoothies, overnight oats, oatmeal, or yogurt.
• For a treat, spread it across a graham cracker and add a few chocolate chips!

More Nut Butters to Try

Please let me know how your cashew butter turns out in the comments. I love hearing from you.

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