Easy Cashew Mayonnaise (2024)

Published: Feb 10, 2021 · Modified: Apr 11, 2022 by Juliette

An easy to make vegan cashew mayo that's rich, tangy, creamy and delicious. Made with 4 ingredients.

Once you’ve made this vegan cashew mayo recipe, I kid you not, there will be no need to buy regular mayo from the store again because it’s so easy to make your own!

This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and made with whole food plant based ingredients.

The base is created by soaking and blending nuts.

Ingredients and substitutions

Cashew nuts or macadamia nuts - using nuts replaces the need for using eggs, which means this is an egg-free mayonnaise recipe. 🙂

Did you know that cashews are not actually raw? They are roasted and steamed before being shelled. Nevertheless, cashew nuts are widely used by many people in the raw foods community for dressings, dips, sauces, desserts and cheese.

For a truly raw vegan alternative try using soaked macadamia nuts instead.

Using raw macadamias will give you a similarly rich, creamy texture to cashew mayo when blended.

I use cashews here because they’re more easily available and less expensive than macadamia nuts tend to be. Plus this is what I had at the time.

Lemon juice - if you prefer you could swap this for raw apple cider vinegar. This will give a stronger tasting mayonnaise.

Dijon mustard - tangy, spicy and hot.

Sea salt - I use Cornish sea salt. Feel free to use the pink Himalayan kind if you prefer.

What can you do with cashew mayo?

This recipe makes the most delicious alternative to traditional store-bought mayonnaise and is made with the freshest of ingredients.

You can use this vegan cashew mayo as a delicious salad dressing, a spread or a dip for sliced vegetables by adding finely sliced fresh herbs, spices or garlic.

It’s worth noting that when refrigerated this will actually thicken slightly. To thin it out, add a little water to it, one teaspoon at a time until you get the consistency you prefer.

How to soak nuts for this recipe

Place the nuts into a small bowl or jar and cover with water. Leave them overnight with a lid or a piece of paper towel over the top to keep them clean. Be sure to drain and rinse before using.

If you’re short on time it’s possible to soak the nuts in hot water for 3-4 hours instead. Please note though, this doesn’t always produce the smoothest, creamiest consistency.

An exception might be if you're using a top of the range high-speed blender as they're famed for producing the creamiest raw dressings, smoothies and sauces.

Raw dips and dressings you may like.

Lemon herb vinaigrette

Peanut salad dressing

Lemon turmeric sprouted hummus

Pea and avocado smash

Are cashew nuts good for you?

I prefer this cashew mayonnaise recipe to some of the others you can make at home which might use blended tofu or aquafaba. The reason is that nuts are jam-packed full of nutrients. Notice too that there’s no oil.

Cashew nuts are a good source of protein, fibre and healthy fats. They're also a source of essential minerals such as calcium, iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, potassium as well as some vitamins.

📖 Recipe

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I’m off for some tea.

Love raw food.

XOXO

Juliette