Creamy Cashew Salad Dressing

You won't believe how easy it is to make this Creamy Cashew Salad Dressing in the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender or any high speed blender! It's full of flavor and delicious!

I enjoy making my own salad dressings and experiment a lot by just throwing ingredients in the blender and hoping for the best. That is exactly what I did with this recipe and the results are so perfect, I had to share it with you!

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I'm a huge fan of cashews and love the way they flavor this dressing, but if you aren't a fan you can use peanuts instead. In fact, you might enjoy my peanut sauce recipe!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Fish Sauce?

I use fish sauce in several of my recipes to add flavor, but I realize many people don't have it on hand.

It is easy to find in most grocery stores and I really recommend picking up a bottle if you enjoy Asian cooking.

Fish sauce is made from fermenting fish and salt over a period of years and pressing the liquid out which is then bottled. Of course this is a simplification of the process, but you get the idea.

It's a super concentrated flavor, BUT it does NOT make food taste fishy. I promise! The first time I saw a recipe call for it, I was like... nope! I really do not like fish and the LAST thing I want in my soup is a fishy taste.

So, I proceeded to make it without the fish sauce and it was just so-so. Next time I was in the store, I bought some fish sauce and made the soup again. WOWZA! It made all the difference in the world! I'm now a huge fan of fish sauce, but still not a fan of fish.

PS: Don't smell the sauce, it stinks. Hold your nose and measure it!

What Can I Substitute for Lemongrass Paste?

Lemongrass paste can be hard to find; at least, where I live it is! If your grocery store carries the Gourmet Garden Lemongrass paste, pick it up... it's so good in so many recipes!

I have tried ordering some from Amazon and I have not been pleased at all, so I don't advise that.

If you can't find lemongrass paste, just skip it or zest in some lemon. Lemon zest IS NOT going to replace the flavor of lemongrass, they are two completely different things, but the lemon zest does brighten up dishes and so does lemongrass.

I really hope you can find lemongrass paste though, I think you will get a lot of use out of it.

Is This Recipe Low Carb or Keto?

That is really going to depend on what you consider low carb or keto. For me, I consider this dressing low carb because it has about 4 gm of carbs per serving and those carbs come mostly from the cashews. I'm okay with that, but, if you are following a strict keto diet, you might not be okay with 4 g of carbs in your salad dressing.

Cashews definitely have more carbs than peanuts, so you might want to switch out the cashews for peanuts and here is what the nutritional values look like when using peanuts.

So, you can see that switching from cashews to peanuts, cuts the carbs from 4 g per serving to 2 g per serving. Although I have not made this dressing with peanuts, I see no reason why it wouldn't be equally delicious!

What Can I Serve This Cashew Dressing On?

My favorite use for it is as a dressing for an Asian Coleslaw that I make. It works perfectly!

I have also used it as a salad dressing of mixed greens, sweet peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and onions. It is so full of flavor that it jazzes up the most basic salad!

It is also great as a dipping sauce or a wing sauce! I made some wings to try it out and YES... use it as a wing sauce! So good!

How to Make the Asian Coleslaw

In my YouTube video for this recipe, I poured it over an Asian Coleslaw and it is so good that way, that I definitely wanted to go over the ingredients I used.

You can also use a prepared coleslaw mix and just add in the extra cashews and toasted sesame seeds!

I top my Asian Coleslaw with an Asian Shredded Chicken to add some extra protein and it's perfect! I'll be sharing that recipe soon!

You can also make these delicious steamed buns and some Asian Pulled Pork and make a delicious sandwich topped with the Asian Coleslaw!

Ingredients in Asian Coleslaw

• 1 batch of Creamy Cashew Salad Dressing
• 3 cups thinly sliced or shredded cabbage
• ½ thinly sliced red onion
• 1 carrot shredded
• 1 Tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
• ¼ cup roasted cashews

Directions for Making Asian Coleslaw

• Combine the cabbage, onion, and carrots in a medium size mixing bowl.
• Pour the dressing over the mixture and toss to combine.
• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Add in the cashews (broken up some) and the sesame seeds.
• Toss and serve!

How to Make Creamy Cashew Salad Dressing in the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender

Simply add all of the ingredients to the blender and select the Extract function. That's it. Serve & Enjoy!