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    Home » Recipes » oil-free dressings and sauces

    Cilantro Cashew Dressing

    Published: May 4, 2021 . Modified: Jul 11, 2025 by Allie

    This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    This cilantro cashew dressing is creamy, tangy, and dairy-free.  It’s an easy oil-free way to add loads of flavor to all sorts of dishes. 

    cilantro cashew dressing in a glass jar

    The cashews have a neutral flavor and when softened, they can be blended into a dairy-free, oil-free, plant-based dressing or sauce.  For more cashew-based sauces, try vegan honey mustard (oil-free), vegan chipotle sauce, cashew ranch dressing, or vegan dijon cashew dressing.

    The lime juice gives the cilantro lime cashew cream a little tang, while the crushed red pepper gives the dressing just a hint of heat.  The fresh herbs are the predominant flavor of the sauce and give it a beautiful green color. Give the sauce a try on my lentil walnut taco meat, vegan taco bowl, or vegan southwest sweet potato bowl with black beans, corn, and tomatoes.

    For more dairy-free salad dressing recipes, check out our post for vegan oil-free dressings.

    Jump to:
    • Options for soaking cashews
    • How to Make Cilantro Lime Crema
    • Tips and Adjustments
    • Storage
    • Serving suggestions
    • More vegan cashew dressings/sauces
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Options for soaking cashews

    Soak overnight: Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with water, stick the container in the refrigerator to soak overnight.  This method soaks the cashews more uniformly but takes the longest.

    Soaking in hot water: soak for about 15-30 minutes (or as long as possible) in hot water.  To do this boil enough water to cover the cashews.  Then turn off the heat once it reaches a boil, then pour the hot water over the cashews or add the cashews to the hot water. If the water from your faucet gets hot enough that can also be used.  The longer you soak the cashews, the softer they will be.  The hot water quickens the softening of the cashews, but the overnight method softens them more uniformly.

    I have heard of some people suggesting boiling the cashews for 10-15 minutes to soften them, but I’ve personally never done this. 

    If you forget to soak the nuts overnight, any amount of time is better than none.  The worst that will happen is the cashew cilantro dressing won’t be as smooth.  For the smoothest sauce, soak the nuts overnight and use a high-speed blender. 

    ingredients for cashew cilantro dressing

    How to Make Cilantro Lime Crema

    The first thing you have to do is soak the cashews.  Once the nuts have softened, add them and the rest of the ingredients to a blender.  Blend until you have a smooth creamy dressing.  You may have to stop the blender and scrape down the sides as needed.  It’s really that easy.  If you prefer a thinner consistency, add a couple more tablespoons of water.

    Tips and Adjustments

    • If you prefer no heat, leave out the crushed red pepper.
    • For a thinner consistency, add a tablespoon of water, then blend, and add more if needed.
    • If you prefer an even more cilantro flavor, add more cilantro.
    cashew cilantro dressing in blender

    Storage

    Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Cashew sauces thicken once chilled in the refrigerator, add a little bit of water to thin back out if needed.

    Serving suggestions

    • Walnut Lentil Tacos
    • Nachos
    • Burrito Bowl
    • Vegan Taco Bowl
    • Southwest sweet potato bowl
    • Red Lentil Chili topping
    • Rice and Bean bowls
    • Tofu burrito bowl
    • Grain bowls or Buddha bowls
    • As a dip

    More vegan cashew dressings/sauces

    • Vegan Chipotle Sauce
    • Vegan Oil-Free Ranch Dressing
    • Cashew lime crema in a jar with limes.
      Cashew Lime Crema
    • Vegan honey mustard in a glass jars.
      Vegan Honey Mustard (Oil-Free)
    • vegan mustard sauce in a glass jar
      Spicy Brown Mustard Dressing (Vegan)
    • Vegan dijon cashew salad dressing in a glass jar with a spoon.
      Creamy Dijon Cashew Salad Dressing (Vegan and Oil-Free)
    cilantro cashew dressing in a glass jar

    As always, I hope enjoy this recipe for an oil-free vegan lime cilantro dressing! If you like the recipe, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.

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    Recipe

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    Cilantro cashew dressing in a glass jar with limes in the background.

    Cilantro Cashew Dressing


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 1 review

    • Author: Allie
    • Total Time: 10 minutes
    • Yield: 1 cup 1x
    • Diet: Vegan
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    Description

    This cilantro cashew dressing is creamy, tangy, and dairy-free.  It’s an easy oil-free way to add loads of flavor to all sorts of dishes. 


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • ½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
    • ½ cup fresh cilantro (with stems)
    • ½ cup water
    • 3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
    • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon maple syrup
    • ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
    • ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper (optional)

    Instructions

    1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
    2. Stop and scrape down the sides as needed and add any additional water to reach your desired consistency.  Taste adjust seasonings.
    3. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days.  It will thicken once it's refrigerated, add a little bit of water to thin it back out.

    Notes

    The 3 tablespoons of lime juice can be 1-2 limes depending on their size and how juicy they are.

    The ½ cup of cilantro is packed, if you want an even more cilantro flavor add more.

    • Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus soaking the cashews overnight)
    • Category: dressing
    • Method: blender
    • Cuisine: American

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @threelittlechickpeasblog on Instagram and hashtag it #threelittlechickpeasblog

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    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    1. Kevin J

      February 22, 2022 at 6:03 pm

      This sauce is such a great topping! I love it on nachos! It kind of takes the place of sour cream for me, but it's definitely an upgrade, this sauce stands alone. It's just so good!

      Reply
      • Allie

        February 22, 2022 at 8:51 pm

        I'm glad you like the sauce, adding it to nachos sounds delicious!

        Reply

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    Cilantro cashew dressing in a glass jar with limes in the background.