Around my freshman year of high school, my mom’s allergies really started to flare up. She could barely make it through the day without Kleenex, despite taking medicine round the clock. The blossoming flowers and pollen caused even more issues, creeping their way into her sinuses, so she decided to have allergy testing done.
After pricking her with needles corresponding to 144 different common allergens, the doctor presented Mom with her results: not chocolate (thank goodness!!) but lots of other foods and just about every single plant out there.
Mom started receiving allergy shots a couple of times each week to help decrease her reactivity towards her biggest triggers and modified her diet as well. She eliminated peas (she literally jumped for joy about those—she’s hated them since she was a tiny girl!), raw tomatoes and bell peppers, cantaloupe, walnuts, peanuts, and countless other foods.
But because our family loves peanut butter, especially on toast in the mornings, Mom started to search for alternatives. Although she bought quite a few jars of nutella for her English muffins, she also picked up almond butter from Trader Joe’s, way back before it became popular.
I tagged along on one of her trips to TJ’s, and as we walked around the aisles tossing produce and snacks into the cart, we stopped at the nut butter shelf to refill Mom’s almond butter stash at home. While she grabbed a jar, I scanned the other options and noticed something I’d never heard of before: cashew butter.
Since cashews are her favorite nut, I nearly mentioned it to Mom… And then saw the price sticker. That much for a tiny jar of nut butter?? Oh my! So I kept my mouth shut and walked to the register with her to check out instead.
Because I’ve been nut-butter-obsessed lately, eating both my almond butter and peanut butter out of the jars with a spoon (does anyone else do that?), I wanted to add a new variety to my stash: this Easy Blender Cashew Butter! That might have been a bad idea though… After sampling it again and again and maybe even again, this new jar won’t last long at all!
Since this recipe only includes two ingredients—cashews and salt—let’s talk about the equipment you’ll need.
In other words… The blender. I highly recommend a high-speed blender that can handle staying on and crushing nuts for at least 10 minutes. (My parents’ 30-year-old blender would probably fizzle out after just a few minutes!) Ninja, Vitamix, and Blendtec are the best options. I currently own and love this blender. If you don’t have one of these high-speed blenders, then use a food processor instead. (I have this one.)
Now add the cashews, turn on the blender, and wait. And wait. And wait. It’ll take about 10 minutes for the blades to turn those nuts into thick, creamy butter, and you may need to occasionally scrape down the sides with a spatula. But all of that patience will pay off!
As soon as the blades stop, the cashew butter will be very warm and slightly liquidly from the heat of the blender’s motor. Transfer it to a jar, and place that in the refrigerator to help it thicken to a peanut-butter-like consistency. It takes a few hours, if not overnight, but when you dip in your knife spoon…
Cashew perfection!
| Easy Blender Cashew Butter | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) roasted lightly salted cashews
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste
- Add the cashews to a high-speed blender, and blend on low for 8-10 minutes or until creamy, scraping down the sides with a spatula as necessary. Add the salt, and blend for 20-30 seconds. Transfer to a jar or airtight container, and store in the refrigerator.
It must be so hard to live with allergies, I am so grateful I have none. Gasp, tomatoes?! I practically live off raw tomatoes! I love cashew butter but it is so expensive that I started to make my own like you have. This recipe is perfect for people diving into the nut-butter world, pinned!x
I agree, allergies are hard! My mom can eat vegetables cooked but not raw, like tomatoes. She wouldn’t give up pizza! 😉 Thanks Eve!
I Love peanut butter and grew up on it but with the info of the bacteria that gets on peanuts when being stored I started making cashew and almond butter myself , going to make this chocolate nutbutter. Thank you for sharing these yummy recipes with All of us that are looking for clean eating treats with out sugar and dairy. Hugs and Blessings ☮️ SiSter ?
It’s my pleasure Melissa! I’m excited to hear what you think of this recipe! 🙂
Why do you say to not use raw cashews? Raw cashew butter is delicious!
I find the flavor of cashew butter is much better when the cashews are toasted. 🙂
How long will this keep in the fridge?
That information is already included in the recipe box, just below the title! 🙂
This looks good enough to eat off the spoon!
Thanks Marsha!
Totally skoop peanut butter out the jar too! I swear it tastes better. This recipe for making it yourself is so much cheaper then buying it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
That’s true for me too — PB spoons taste much better! 🙂
The TJ’s cashew butter IS crazy expensive, and not all that tasty either. Homemade is the way to go!
SO glad to hear from a super reliable source that we weren’t missing anything by skipping TJ’s cashew butter! 😉
TJ used to sell real cashew butter (without that added sunflower oil crap) for less than almond butter. I don’t know what happened but I really miss that stuff. Nowadays, I can’t find anyone local that sells unadulterated cashew butter, finally got desperate enough that I’m gonna have to try out this recipe.
TJ’s has such amazing products! That’s a bummer your local store no longer sells cashew butter at that low price. I hope this satisfies your cravings Sean! I can’t wait to hear what you think of it! 🙂
Why not use raw cashews?
Thanks!
Roastings brings out more of the cashews’ flavors and makes the nut butter taste better. It also helps slightly with the texture. I hope you enjoy the cashew butter Tracy!
I’m looking forward to making your cashew butter since the pumpkin spice coffee creamer recipe I used turned out — let’s just say I’ve been drinking so much more coffee these days ;-)! You have become my “go-to” site for creative, clean and delicious recipes!! Thanks
You’re so sweet — thanks for your kind words Chris! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the coffee creamer (it’s impossible to have too much coffee, especially during the colder months!), and I hope you like this cashew butter just as much!
Thanks for your post. Do you think I could use the nutri bullet?
I’ve never worked with a NutriBullet before, so although I can’t personally say whether that will work, I think it just might. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this cashew butter Ericilda!
Thank you for this post! I have a Ninja but for some reason didn’t think it could handle this endeavor. It worked like a charm! I added a little honey and some carob powder and it is delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cashew butter Nicole! Honey and carob powder sound like lovely additions.
Your Cashew Butter is DELISH!!! I omit the salt and I actually used my electric coffee grinder to grind the cashew into butter. It took a lot less time but could only be done in small batches.
Thanks Amy!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cashew butter Sammi! I had no idea that a coffee grinder would work — that’s so neat!
Can I ask, why can’t raw cashews be used? I was under the assumption those were a more “healthy” option for the body. Not a dietician, don’t claim to know much, just what I had been told once. Can you explain your viewpoint between the two and why raw shouldn’t be used? It may she’s some light on things for me.
Thank you! My first time on your site, I’m certainly going to browse!!! Came here searching how to make cashew butter in order to make bread without all the flours, gluten & starches. I’m going to see if you have something like that posted here.
Roasting brings out the flavor of nuts, so I prefer to use toasted nuts in all of my homemade nut butters because I think they taste better and have more flavor. I’ve never heard that roasted cashews weren’t as healthy as raw ones, so I’d be interested in reading any scientific articles that you may have come across that explain why this may be! (I was a chemist before a baking blogger, so I still love science! 🙂 ) I hope you enjoy the cashew butter Monique!
I read that a lot of nuts that you buy roasted aren’t actually roasted but fried. The oil that is used to fry the nuts is isn’t healthy. I would suggest roasting your own nuts and using a little olive oil to coat them before roasting.
I’ve never heard that Kami! Do you have a link to articles that suggest that? I’d be very interested to read more about it! 🙂