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Creamy Garlic Cashew Dressing/Dip

Back in March, I posted a recipe for Citrus Tahini Dressing that is really tasty. After making several batches and consuming it for the last few weeks on my salads, I decided that it was time to branch out and look for other dressing recipes. I don't miss store-bought dressings but I do miss the variety available. The other day at the grocery store, I struck up a conversation with another shopper about vegan dressings and sauces (which seems really random, but it was actually pertinent to the situation at the time). She told me about a tzatziki sauce that she had made recently using soaked, raw cashews and how good it turned out to be so I thought I would give the idea a try. Using this recipe as my main base recipe, here is what I came up with:


3/4 Cups of raw cashews
1/2 Cup of unsweetened coconut milk (or almond, soy, etc)
Juice of 1 large lemon, or of 2 Meyer lemons
1 Tablespoon of chia seeds
1 garlic clove
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon of seasoning of choice (I used Weber's beer can chicken seasoning)


Soak the raw cashews in water overnight.



Once they are soft from soaking, drain the water. Place the drained cashews in a blender or food processor and add coconut milk, lemon juice, garlic, chia seeds, salt, pepper, and seasoning of choice.


Blend and blend and blend until super-smooth.



My end result was startlingly garlic-y at first but once I added it to my salad, it was just the right level of flavor to enhance the raw veggies. I was a little concerned that this dressing would set up overnight and become too thick due to the chia seeds because I have made my fair share of Berry Chia Pudding (which is amazing, by the way). To be on the safe side, I put it in a wide-mouth jar but I had no problem with it the next morning when preparing my salad for lunch.

I think this recipe will prove to be quite versatile. The original recipe that inspired me included some fresh herbs but if you don't have those on hand, you can use just about any other dried herbs and spices that sound good. For my next batch, I think I will try less garlic and more herbs...fresh ones if I can plan ahead. I think this could also make a really good avocado dip or dressing. If you decide to try this for yourself and get creative with what herbs, spices and other ingredients you use, let me know what you think!

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