Cashew butter ‘cheese’ sauce

The process of making imitation “cheese” sauces like cashew queso typically involves soaking the whole nuts for at least 45 minutes before blending them with spices and nutritional yeast (for the cheesy flavor). Reaching for nut butter, though, means you can skip the soak and go straight for the sauce. This one’s ready to get dippin’ in 5 minutes or less.

Cashew Butter ‘Cheese’ Sauce

Yield: 2 ½ cups

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup cashew butter
• 1 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white miso paste
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (optional)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Procedure:

1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender with 1 ½ cups hot water and blend until smooth, adding more water to thin out if necessary. It should be creamy and pourable. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
2. To warm, transfer to a small saucepan over medium-low heat, adding more water if necessary. 
3. Once warmed through, serve on your favorite veggies, toss with cooked pasta, or enjoy like a queso with tortilla chips. 

Notes and Substitutions:

• You can swap the chipotle in adobo for a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce or 2 tablespoons of salsa. If you’re heat averse, just omit it.
• Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week in a covered container, or up to a month in the freezer. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan.
• Sunflower butter is technically a seed butter but would make a great sub for cashew butter here since it has a mild flavor that wouldn’t overpower the sauce.