This smooth cashew butter is an incredible addition to so many no-bake desserts, as well as being the perfect topping for pancakes or oatmeal.
I'm going to show you how to make the creamiest cashew butter EVER without adding oil or much effort!
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🍯 What Makes The Best Cashew Butter?
Many recipes for homemade cashew nut butter will tell you to add coconut oil or olive oil. The main reason for this is, that cashews can blend up pretty thick and the oil helps to loosen the nut butter and give your blender a boost, making a runnier nut butter.
However, I find this to be an unnecessary addition. You can get 100% cashew butter that's still smooth and creamy with a drizzly consistency by using a good-quality high-powered blender or food processor. I use a Magimix food processor here, but I also love using my Vitamix.
Rather than adding flavors, this recipe enhances the natural flavor and sweetness of real cashews by gently toasting them to help release their natural oils.
This step is vital to getting the best flavor and consistency for your nut butter—raw cashews do not blend well as is! I've tried it before, but raw cashew butter is just not my vibe.
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🧾 Ingredients Needed
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
You just need a batch of raw unsalted cashews to make delicious nut butter at home:
🥣 Instructions
Making your own homemade nut butter is quick and easy, here are the step-by-step photos to help walk you through each step. Please refer to the printable recipe card at the end of this page for the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions:
Preheat your oven to 175°C (347°F). Toss the raw cashews on a baking sheet (no need to line it so long as it's clean) and spread them out into an even layer using your fingers.
Roast the nuts for 10 minutes until they turn light golden brown. Don't let them get too dark unless you want a more deep-roasted cashew butter.
Blitz the nuts until they first break down into a crumb consistency. At this stage, you'll need to go in and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue the process for up to 10-15 minutes, until you have the desired consistency.
Scrape as much as you can from the jug and transfer it into sterilized mason glass jars or any jar that you can seal. Don't wash the jug - check out my zero-waste hack in the recipe tips box below.
🍓 Optional Variations
- Crunchy Cashew Butter: Follow the recipe as instructed and then stir in more chopped roasted cashew pieces at the end. That way, you still have a wonderful creamy texture for the base with flavorful crunchy nuts throughout.
- Salted: Simply add a teaspoon of flaky sea salt to mix before blending. This gives a wonderful contrast to the natural sweetness of the cashews.
- Strawberry: Similarly to my strawberry peanut butter recipe, this can be achieved by blending 10g freeze-dried strawberries or strawberry powder, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a pinch of salt with the cashew butter.
- Chocolate: To make a hazelnut-free version of Nutella, simply blend 100g melted vegan chocolate, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt into the blended nut butter.
- Cookie Dough: Simply stir in 100g vegan chocolate chips and a dash of salt.
- Spices: Try adding spices for some fall-inspired nut butter. Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, gingerbread spice, or pumpkin spice mix.
- Vanilla: Add a scraped-out vanilla pod or some vanilla bean paste for a delicious speckled spread.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
You can use this the same as you would store-bought cashew butter, whether on its own or incorporated into recipes.
Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:
- Spread on sandwiches, bagels, or toast.
- Drizzle on pancakes, waffles, crepes, smoothie bowls, or oatmeal.
- In Desserts: Use it to make cashew butter fudge, cookie dough bars, or edible cookie dough.
- Cookies: Swap out the peanut butter to make no-bake cashew butter cookies.
- Chocolate Bars: Add a hint of nutty flavor to homemade vegan white chocolate.
- Drinks: A delicious way to add a boost of protein and healthy fats to your favorite smoothie or non-dairy milk.
- Savory: Add a tablespoon to soups, curries, and stir-fries for richness. This cashew butter soba noodle stir fry by Flora & Vino looks amazing.
- It also makes the perfect filling for stuffed dates or homemade Reese's without peanut butter.
💭 Recipe Tips
Don't use store-bought roast cashews. The trick is to roast them yourself - make the most of those freshly released natural oils and bring out the natural flavor of the cashews. Plus the warmth helps to speed up the blending process!
Keep an eye on your nuts. Seriously, they can go from being perfectly sunkissed and golden to overdone and burnt pretty fast. The last thing you want is to waste them as nuts are pretty expensive these days. Keep a close eye on them and if they brown quicker, take them out of the oven.
Add the nuts straight to the blender. The toasted cashew nuts are added to the food processor/blender while still warm, which aids the blending process. No need to cool them first!
Don't wash your blender jug! After blending and scraping out your delicious creamy cashew butter, you'll have residue inside the jug. Don't chuck it out or wash it! You can make this into quick 1-minute cashew milk by blitzing it up with 2-3 cups of filtered water.
💬 FAQs
It will keep at room temperature in an airtight container or sealed jar for up to 5 days. Just make sure it's in a cool dark place such as a kitchen cupboard. In warmer climates, you may want to keep it refrigerated.
Yes! Especially since this is 100% natural cashew butter without any stabilizers, additives, or preservatives. Cashews just like other nuts can turn rancid due to their high fat content.
To avoid this, make sure you keep it in a sterilized container that's airtight, and store it in the fridge for up to 2 months, or in a dark place in your kitchen for no longer than 5 days.
Yes, although I don't recommend using less than three cups of cashews. If you use too few cashews they will stick to the sides of the food processor making it more difficult to get a smooth spread.
🥜 More Nut Butter Recipes
📖 Recipe
Creamy Homemade Cashew Butter (1 Ingredient!)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 600 g (4 ⅔ cups) raw unsalted cashews
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat your oven to 175°C (347°F). Toss the raw cashews on a baking sheet (no need to line it so long as it's clean) and spread them out into an even layer using your fingers.
- Roast the nuts: Roast the nuts for 10 minutes until they start to turn light golden brown. Don't let them get too dark unless you want a more deep-roasted cashew butter. Keep an eye on the oven and pull them out as soon as they're golden. Carefully transfer the warm nuts to your food processor jug.
- Blend: Blitz the nuts for a couple of minutes. First, they will break down into a crumb consistency. At this stage, go in with a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides of the jug. Continue the process for up to 10 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed until you have a runny cashew butter consistency.
- Storage: Scrape as much as you can from the jug and transfer it into sterilized mason jars or any jar that you can seal.Don't wash the jug - check out my zero-waste hack in the recipe notes below.It will keep at room temperature in a sealed jar for up to 5 days. Just make sure it's in a cool dark place such as a kitchen cupboard. In warmer climates, you may want to keep it refrigerated. Store it in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Don't use store-bought roast cashews. The trick is to roast them yourself and make the most of those freshly released natural oils. Plus the warmth helps to speed up the blending process!
- Keep an eye on your nuts. They can turn from golden to overdone and burn pretty fast. Keep a close eye on them and if they brown quicker, take them out of the oven.
- Carefully add the nuts straight to the food processor while still warm, this aids the blending process. no need to cool them first!
- Don't wash your blender jug! After blending and scraping out your delicious creamy cashew butter, you'll have residue inside the jug. Don't chuck it out or wash it! You can make this into quick 1-minute cashew milk by blitzing it up with 2-3 cups of filtered water.
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