Step 1

Place cashews, water, garlic, dijon, and juice of lemon in a blender and blend until creamy, about 45 seconds. Taste for flavor adding a little more of desired ingredients to taste.

Step 2

Serve at room temperature.

Step 3

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Step 4

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Step 5

Adjust the garlic to your taste. For a mild garlic flavor, 2 will do. If you love your garlic, use more.

Step 6

To make this completely raw, use 3/4 – 1 teaspoon mustard powder in place of dijon.

Step 7

For thinner aioli, add extra water, 1 – 2 tablespoons, at a time until desired consistency.

Step 8

If you don’t care for dijon mustard, omit it all together. You can also start with 1 teaspoon, adding a little extra to taste.

Step 9

For this task, I used a NutriBullet which does a great job blending cashews into pure creaminess. Plus, you can keep your aioli in the cup it was blended in, easily storing leftovers in the refrigerator.

Step 10

If you prefer to soak your cashews, 2 hours before preparing the aioli, place cashews in a cup/bowl filled with water, covering cashews about 1 inch. Let set for 2 hours. For a quick soak, place cashews in a bowl of warm water for 1 hour, or in near boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse well before blending. Use 2/3 cup of water instead of 3/4 cup, as the cashews will have plumped up and you may not need as much. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to thin.

Step 11

There are benefits to soaking your cashews, although I am sometimes lazy about it. It does help remove certain enzymes that may inhibit vitamin and mineral absorption, and also may help with digestion.