Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing Made with Tofu and Cashews, Oil-Free
Servings: 8
Calories: 99kcal
Creamy and cheesy with just the right blue cheese tang, this vegan blue cheese dressing is made with tofu and cashews, and other ingredients to give it a unique taste that goes perfect on a salad, as a dip for veggies or cauliflower wings, or as a dressing for burgers or other sandwiches.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- high-speed blender
Ingredients
- 16 ounces firm tofu
- ½ cup raw cashews
- water for soaking cashews discard
- ½ cup water for blending
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons capers don't rinse
- 1 Tablespoon white miso
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons brine from the jar of capers
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon chives chopped, see notes
Instructions
- Press the tofu and soak the cashews in hot water for 30 minutes. While pressing and soaking you can assemble the other ingredients.
- Drain the pressed tofu and pat dry. Cut one-third of the tofu from the rectangle and crumble. Set aside into a medium-sized bowl. Break the rest of the tofu into chunks and place in the high-speed blender.
- Drain the soaked cashews and discard the water. Place in the blender with the 2/3 block of tofu.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except for the parsley. Add the water, lemon juice, capers, white miso paste, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, brine, yellow mustard, salt and pepper. Bend until nice and smooth - about 3 minutes. You will still see little bits of the capers. That's okay
- Add the chives (or parsley) and blend for another 30 seconds.
- Pour the blended mixture over the crumbled tofu. Stir well.
- Allow to rest in the refrigerator for about an hour for the flavors to better develop.
- The flavor will only improve over time. This blue cheese dressing can keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to five days (as long as the tofu is within expiration).
Notes
You must MUST disclose to anyone you serve this vegan blue cheese dressing to that it contains cashews and soy. Both are serious allergins, particularly the tree nuts. One would not typically expect to find tree nuts in salad dressing such as this.
Make sure you use the entire teaspoon of mustard. Don't leave any behind in the spoon.
Serving size is one-fourth cup. Adjust the nutritional information if your serving size differs.
Use raw and unsalted cashews. If you use roasted salted cashews then you will need to soak them overnight and triple rinse to remove the salt. If your cashews are older then they might require either more soaking time or blending time.
I go back and forth with the chives vs the parsley. I think chives add a unique "chivey" flavor, but not everyone (ie my husband!) wants that sharp onion taste in their blue cheese dressing. So sometimes I use parsley which has a more mild flavor. Your choice!
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 99kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 439mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 1mg