Cashew Cheese for Pizza and Grilled Cheese

If there's one thing I love about my training and nutrition routine, it's my cheat meal.

Once a week, I let myself go beyond my usual calorie target for a meal and enjoy something extra.

That might be something I don't usually eat during the week: a decadent cake, chocolate, or, in this case, pizza with cashew cheese.

Making cashew cheese might sound complicated, but I promise it's a piece of cake.

Nervous? Don't be. I'll walk you through it, step by step.

I love using cashews to make spreads that look—and even taste—like cheese or cream.

You can turn them into all kinds of things: cashew cream, soft cheeses, firm cheeses, and cheeses that are perfect for pizza, grilled cheese, or a fresh vegetable salad, Italian-style.

Why cashews? 

Their high fat content makes them relatively easy to blend without professional equipment. Even a basic immersion blender can turn them into a smooth, lump-free spread.

If you want to make cheese with other nuts, such as almonds, you'll need a more powerful blender. But that's a post for another day.

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So, How Do You Eat It?

Pairing 3 balls of cashew cheese with a serving of carbohydrates, such as a slice of pizza, can make a nourishing lunch.

The fat content is relatively high, though, so I'd go a little lighter on any other oil in that meal.

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Nutrition information by Noam Becher (an Israeli clinical dietitian and fitness trainer).

Each ball of cashew cheese, from a batch of 10, contains:

70 calories

5 g carbohydrates

3 g protein

5 g fat (including 0.3 g saturated fat)

Need a great pizza dough recipe? Head right here. 

Cashew Cheese

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Yield 10 balls

Ingredients

• 150 g (5.3 oz) cashews about 1 cup
• 1 tablespoon Dutch mustard
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes available at health food stores
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. The night before, cover the cashews with water and soak overnight (at least 5 hours).
2. Drain the cashews and discard the soaking water.
3. Blend the cashews with the remaining cheese ingredients in a food processor for a few minutes, until you have a smooth, thick mixture.
4. Transfer the mixture to a small nonstick saucepan.
   
5. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly.
6. After a few minutes, the mixture should pull away from the sides of the pan and come together into one sticky mass. That means your cheese is ready.
7. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
8. Use a spoon to scoop out 10 balls of cheese, transferring each one immediately to the ice water to firm up.
   
9. Wait 10 minutes, then use the cheese on pizza, in a grilled cheese sandwich, or over a fresh vegetable salad.
   
10. Ta-daaa!