This Homemade Cashew Butter recipe is made with just cashews and salt (no oil). It’s creamy, luxurious, and a delicious alternative to peanut butter or almond butter. Made quickly in a Vitamix, this nut butter recipe will instantly become a staple in your pantry.
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We love nut butter. From smooth peanut butter layered between bananas to creamy almond butter on our Oat Flour Pancakes or oatmeal, to Homemade Nutella on toast or dolloped on Mini Banana Muffins, it’s safe to say that we’re nuts about nut butter. A slightly sweet, super creamy, and much milder alternative to peanut butter and almond butter, our cashew butter is a pantry staple we always have on hand. It's so buttery we eat it by the spoonful, mainly because our recipe gets blended quickly in a Vitamix – no soaking required.
But why homemade vs store-bought? For starters, making homemade cashew butter allows you to control what goes into it, meaning no unpronounceable additives or unnecessary ingredients. Made with just two ingredients, cashew nuts and salt, our homemade nut butter is made simply without oil or sugar, and because you control the ingredients, it’s much cheaper to make too.
This creamy cashew butter is a nutty addition to smoothies, granola, or baked goods and also makes a delicious alternative to peanut butter in our Easy Broccoli Salad with Peanut Butter Sauce or as a Whole30-compliant ingredient in our Kale & Sweet Potato Stew with Cashew Coconut Cream.
Ingredient List
- Cashews: Use raw cashews, organic if possible.
- Salt: Sea salt or kosher salt is our preference.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Other Nut Butter: You can utilize this same recipe with almost any other nuts to make nut butter, such as almonds for almond butter, peanuts for peanut butter, or a mix of nuts like walnuts, pecans, pistacchio, or macadamia nuts for mixed nut butter.
- Flavored Cashew Butter: We like to add cinnamon along with the salt in step 4 or even chili powder for spicy nut butter.
- Chocolate Cashew Butter: Finely chop dark chocolate and add to the blender along with the toasted cashews for a simple chocolate nut butter.
Recipe Steps: How to Make Homemade Cashew Butter
1. Preparation.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (325°F convection/fan). Arrange the cashews on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
2. Roast the cashews.
Stir or toss the cashews and return to the oven for 3 minutes. If the cashews still need additional roasting, stir and return to the oven for another 2-3 minutes, repeating this process until golden brown and fragrant.
3. From Cashews to Cashew Butter (in a Vitamix).
Cool the nuts for 3-5 minutes, until cool enough to handle. Transfer to your Vitamix and blend using a nut butter setting, if available, otherwise, start on low and gradually increase to full speed.
3a. Cashew powder.
After about 30-45 seconds of blending, you will have a cashew powder. Stop the blender and scrape down the sides with a spatula and continue blending.
3b. Cashew paste.
Another 30-45 seconds of blending will get your cashews to a paste consistency. Stop the Vitamix, scrape down the sides of the container, and blend some more.
3c. Crunchy cashew butter.
A total of 90-120 seconds of blending in a Vitamix and you should have crunchy cashew butter. If not blend a little more until you do.
4. Season and make it creamy.
Remove the lid of your blender and season the crunchy cashew butter with salt. Blend once more until the nut butter is the consistency you are looking for. For us, we go for ultra-smooth and creamy.
5. Transfer and store the cashew butter.
Transfer your cashew butter to a glass container or jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store at room temperature for a soft and creamy texture, or in the fridge for a firm, spreadable consistency.
Chef's Tips
Top Tip: If you are finding the consistency of the nut butter too dry, blend in a teaspoon of coconut oil or neutral-flavored oil for a creamier texture.
Use the leftovers for Homemade Cashew Nut Milk: Before washing the blender container, add 2 cups of water, ½ teaspoon of vanilla, and 2 teaspoons of maple syrup and blend for 1 minute until you get cashew milk. Transfer to a mason jar and refrigerate for up to 7 days to use as a milk replacement.
Equipment: This recipe is based on using a Vitamix Ascent Series A3500 (affiliate link) but you can use another high-powered blender or food processor. It may take a little longer and you may need to add oil to get a creamy consistency.
Recipe FAQs
We find we get the best results with raw cashews, which contain the most moisture. You can use pre-roasted cashews to save time but you may need to process longer and/or add a little oil to help it along.
No, you can blend raw cashews for raw cashew butter, which will have a delicate flavor and be almost white. Roasting the cashews gives more depth and sweetness, almost caramel flavor.
Shelf life of nut butters depends on the temperature, light and moisture of the space it is stored. We keep nut butters at room temperature for 2-3 weeks or in the fridge for 6-8 weeks.
Other Pantry Staple Recipes to Consider
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Recipe Card
Homemade Cashew Butter Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw cashews
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F convection/fan). Arrange the cashews on a baking sheet and roast for 12 minutes.
- Stir or toss the cashews and return to the oven for 3 minutes. If the cashews still need additional roasting, stir and return to the oven for another 2-3 minutes, repeating this process until golden brown and fragrant.
- Once cool enough to handle, 3-5 minutes, transfer the roasted cashews to your Vitamix and blend using a nut butter setting, if available, otherwise, start on low and gradually increase to full speed.
- Blend for 2-3 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides every 30 seconds until you have reached cashew butter. (See above step by step instructions to see the process)
- Season with salt and blend once more for 20-30 seconds until creamy and smooth. Transfer to a glass jar with tight fitting lid and store at room temperature for soft and creamy texture or refrigerate for more spreadable consistency.
jaimey says
I never imagined that making your own nut butter would be so easy. I enjoyed the cashew butter very much. Creamy.