This Vegan Mushroom Sauce is incredibly rich and creamy. You simply won’t believe it’s not made with heavy cream. Made with cashew cream, this dairy free sauce is fantastic with chicken, steak, rice and pasta. Everyone will love it!
Assuming we all like mushrooms, I promise you, you’ll really love this sauce.
To say it’s rich and creamy is an understatement. We’re talking over-the-top rich and creamy!
The flavor of this hearty mushroom sauce is deep, earthy and subtly sweet.
The magic ingredient is cashew cream.
What’s in this recipe?
- olive oil
- onion
- mushrooms
- thyme
- Cashew Cream
- salt, pepper
*Here’s How to Make Cashew Cream* (It's so easy!)
How to Make it
- Coat a sauté pan with olive oil and place it over low-medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft.
- Add a bit more olive oil and the mushrooms. Stirring often, cook until they begin to brown. Then add the thyme and stir.
- Add the sherry and mix. Then add the cashew cream and mix until warm. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)
It might seem strange to serve a vegan sauce with chicken, but it's just a delicious sauce -- whether or not you're vegan.
If you are vegan or vegetarian, go for it with pasta, rice, etc. Or, maybe you're serving dairy free eaters, who do eat meat. The possibilities are endless.
How to Use it
- It’s delicious over sautéed chicken (pictured above).
- It’s excellent with steak or burgers.
- Mix it into your pasta, rice and casseroles.
- You can replace cream of mushroom soup with it! Add vegetable broth to the desired consistency and heat!
Recipe Tips and Variations
- If you love garlic, add minced garlic with the onions — about a teaspoon.
- If you want to use fresh thyme instead of dry, use 1 tablespoon, finely chopped.
- Other herbs are delicious too — try oregano, rosemary or tarragon. Or any combination thereof.
- If the sauce is thicker than you’d like, add a bit of vegetable stock.
Can you make it ahead?
You can make Vegan Mushroom Sauce up to three days ahead. Keep it refrigerated in a tightly sealed container. To reheat it, add it to a sauté pan and warm it over low-medium heat. If it’s too thick, add a bit of vegetable stock to thin it. I would not recommend freezing this sauce.
I hope you love this sauce as much as we do!
More vegan sauces made with cashews:
Creamy Vegan Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
- olive oil for the pan
- ½ cup yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cups Crimini or Button mushrooms, washed and dried, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon cream sherry
- ¼ cup Cashew Cream
Instructions
- Prep the pan and cook the onions. Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil and place it over low-medium heat. Add the onions and stirring often, cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and thyme. Turn the heat up, add a bit more olive oil and the mushrooms. Stirring often, cook until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and stir. Cook for another 30 seconds or so.
- Deglaze the pan and add the cashew cream. Turn the heat down, add the sherry and mix. Turn the heat back up to cook it off and use a flat-edged spatula to scrape any bits of stuck ingredients off the bottom of the pan and back into the mix. Turn the heat to low, add the cashew cream and mix until warm. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Here’s How to Season to Taste.)
Notes
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Eha Carr
I love all kinds of mushroom sauces - here in Australia we are lucky as every supermarket keeps a number of Asian mushrooms as well as most of those the rest of the world has to enjoy . . . and many of them both look and taste delicious ! Eating as healthily as I know how naturally these days I do try to keep cream away from the house, usually reaching for yogurt at the end of a cook . . . this methinks would be a very tasty and welcoming variant !
valentina
Thanks so much, Eha. I do love yogurt, too. It can be such a treat. 🙂 ~Valentina
John / Kitchen Riffs
This looks great -- a healthier version of a classic mushroom/cream sauce. Tons of flavor in this, too, which of course is the important thing. Thanks!
valentina
Thanks so much, John. Yes, packed with flavor. 🙂 ~Valentina
Cathy
What a great recipe! I am always looking for ways to reduce the dairy in my life. Thank you!
valentina
Thanks, Cathy. I hope you love it! 🙂 ~Valentina
David @ Spiced
So I haven't played around with cashew cream yet, but this sauce looks incredible, Valentina! I could imagine this going over all sorts of things from chicken breasts to mashed potatoes. Talk about comfort food!!
valentina
Thanks, David. I love it with the chicken. Hope you do too. 🙂 ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
Again, this cashew cream is an amazing ingredient, especially when you can get such a beautiful mushroom sauce like this. I’m glad Trader Joe’s sells raw cashews. I just showed this to Mark and, even in his sleepy state, he said, “we should make this!“ you have no idea what a complement that is!
valentina
Awww, please thank Mark for me. And thank you! Hope it lives up. 🙂 ~Valentina
Kim Lange
Sounds so rich and creamy delish! LOVE!
valentina
Thanks, Kim. 🙂 ~Valentina