Let’s face it, biscuits need gravy. Many vegans get intimidated by the idea of trying to make a vegan gravy, mistakenly thinking that the rich and deep flavors are imparted somehow from the animal products they’re often made from. Nothing could be further from the truth, as our savory cashew gravy proves.

I love using cashews as a base for savory gravies. There are many different ways to season your gravy so this recipe is really more of a suggestion. If you don’t like the spices I’ve used then, by all means, switch them out and make this recipe your own.

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews (soaked overnight and drained*)
1/2 – 3/4 cup unsweetened, plain hempmilk
1 TBL nutritional yeast
1 medium garlic clove
1/4 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

* A NOTE ABOUT SOAKING: If you have a Vitamix, a Blendtec or other high efficiency blender, you do not need to soak your cashews overnight. You can simply put them in 2 cups of water and microwave them for 2 minutes and this will soften them. If you don’t have a microwave or simply prefer to not use one, that’s fine as well. With a high efficiency blender, you don’t need to soak your cashews.

Directions

1. Place the cashews, garlic nutritional yeast and all spices into the blender and pulse a few times to break them down into a crumbly paste.

2. Scrape down the sides with a plastic spatula, and add 1/2 cup of the hempmilk and blend everything on a medium to high speed. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of hempmilk (or more) to suit your desired thickness and blend until smooth.

3. Serve immediately or else refrigerate in a sealed container and it will keep for 3-4 days.

All of the ingredients, in the Vitamix, ready to be blended down and whipped up into a delicious savory cream.