Nut Substitutions

Navigating around allergies can be challenging with vegan food, and one of the most common nut allergies that poses challenges is a cashew allergy. Cashews are central to most nut cheeses, but they are far from essential. Cashews are often chosen because their fat content makes them soft and easy to blend; however, sunflower seeds can almost always be substituted for cashews and almonds. Sunflower seed butter is an excellent replacement for almond butter or peanut butter, and sunflower seeds can be soaked and made into cheeses and cheese sauces as well. Substituting sunflower seeds for cashews by weight is a good go-to trick. You will also find rice-based cheese recipes in this book, which offer another strong and versatile nut-free vegan cheese option, and an affordable one as well.