Here is my how-to guide to soaking nuts and seeds for easy, delicious, raw, vegan dip/spread recipes.
Get Creative with Healthy Nuts. After reading this post you'll be able to make hundreds of creative, customized soaked nut recipes. These cravable recipes can be used as dips, spreads, party appetizers, sandwich fillings, faux creamy cheese spreads, nut-hummus and more! Here are a few examples:
* Tu-Nut Sandwich Filling (faux tuna)
* Chive "Ricotta" Cashew-Nut Cheese
* Almond Spreads: 3 Ways
Plus, nuts and seeds are healthy and satisfying. You'll forget that you are eating 100% raw, vegan food packed with healthy nut nutrients, fiber and protein. Get my guide as well as a bonus recipe for my Peppy Pepita Avo-Almond Dip...
My Base Recipe. Below is my base recipe for creating nut/seed dips and spreads - with a full explanation of ingredients to follow...
Simple Soaked Nut/Seed Base Recipe
vegan and raw, makes 6 cups
16 ounces raw nuts/seeds of choice , soaked overnight (see below)
about 1 ½ cups soaking liquid (salt water that the nuts/seeds soaked in)
1-4 tablespoon oil of choice
1-4 tablespoon sweetener of choice
salt to taste (at least ¾ tsp)
pepper to taste (at least 1 tsp)
1-4 tablespoon astringent liquid of choice
recommended: 1-5 tablespoon powder/concentrated seasonings (garlic powder, harissa, onion powder ect)
optional: whole herbs/fruit/veggies for flavor (olives, jalapeno, onions, parsley, dill, beans, sweet potato, spinach, mushroom... etc)
Directions:
1. Soak nuts/seeds overnight.
2. Drain liquid, toss. Use fresh water as liquid.
3. Place all ingredients into food processor (add water a little at a time so that you don't over-liquefy)
4. Process until desired texture is reached.
5. Store in fridge to chill or serve as is.
6. Serve as a dip, sandwich spread, faux creamy cheese in recipes, and more...!
How to Soak Nuts: Simply place your nuts or seeds in a large bowl. Add enough water to cover them. Add in a pinch of salt and swirl around. Cover and place in a cool dry place to soak overnight. If you can't use your soaked nuts quickly the next day place them in the fridge for about another day until you are ready. I personally always like to use my soaked nuts within 1-2 days of soaking.
Soaked and Drained Cashew Nuts:
Get the basic idea? Great! Lets get creative...
Soaking Nuts 101. Learning to make a basic soaked nut recipe base is like learning to make a basic plain muffin mix, vanilla ice cream base or soup base. Once you create a base recipe canvas - you can color your recipe with hundreds of ingredient and flavor combinations. The delicious possibilities stretch far and wide.
You can shift the basic elements of spicy, sweet, salty, sour, bitter. You can turn up the creamy smoothness or jazz it up with a more rugged chunky, flaky texture. Add in lots of accessory flavors and spices - or keep it pure and simple with just nuts, water, salt and pepper.
Important Tip: Taste as you go! You'll want to taste your recipe after processing - then modify the ingredients to suit your taste buds. You'll have the base recipe to guide you, but I think you'll really enjoy adding your own spin on each batch of nut spread/dip you create!
Not only can you modify the flavor ingredients, but the base nut/seed ingredients as well. Check out the wide variety of base ingredients to choose from:
List of Nuts and Seeds - Ingredient Options:
almonds
pepitas, pumpkin seeds
sunflower seeds
caraway seeds
sesame seeds
brazilnuts
hazelnuts
cashew nuts
walnuts
pistachio nuts
pecans
hemp seeds
poppy seeds
macadamia nuts
cashews
peanuts
-> get healthy nut nutrition facts here
Oils:
grapeseed oil
olive oil
macadamia nut oil
walnut oil
almond oil
sunflower oil
coconut oil
and more...
Acid/Astringent Liquids:
lemon juice
lime juice
apple cider vinegar
red wine vinegar
balsamic vinegar
Sweeteners:
agave syrup
maple syrup
fruit juice
dried fruit
Salts:
pink salt
grey salt
white sea salt
seasoned salt
herb-infused salt
smoked salt
*salt is important in these nut recipes - since you are using raw unsalted nuts you'll want to add your own salt in to sharpen and tone the flavors and texture in the recipe.
Beans and Purees:
Some folks like to add beans and purees to their recipes. Try garbanzo beans or sweet potato puree/mash to get started with this type of experimentation. If you like what you taste, you can get more creative with adding beans and mashes.
My Tools: Food Processor
Now onto a sample recipe that I created last weekend. It is spicy and sweet with a hint of garlic and creamy avocado. I actually used the avocado instead of adding oil to my recipe. Delicious! Great with chips, salsa or for a raw taco filling.
Recipe: Peppy Pepita Avo-Almond Dip
vegan, makes 3 cups (I halved the base recipe from above)
8 ounces raw almonds, soaked overnight
½ avocado
½ cup raw pepitas, soaked overnight
1 small jalapeno (seeds optional - seeds will make this extra spicy)
2 tablespoon agave syrup
2-3 tablespoon lime juice (about 1 small lime)
splash of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt*
about 1 cup reserved 'nut soaking water'
optional: 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
optional: ¼ cup orange juice in place of the soaking water liquid.
*note: salt to taste
Directions:
1. Soak nuts/seeds overnight.
2. Drain liquid, toss. Rinse seeds / nuts well with fresh water.
3. Place all ingredients into food processor (add fresh water + a bit of salt - a little at a time so that you don't over-liquefy)
4. Process until desired texture is reached. If you want a creamier dip - add another half of avocado.
5. Store in fridge to chill or serve as is. Add more lime and/or lemon juice or a layer of citrus slices to top layer when storing to prevent browning.
