This Vegan Italian Dressing is rich and creamy, yet oil-free! With cashews and just a handful of pantry ingredients, you can whip up this versatile plant-based dressing in minutes. Perfect for topping salads or roasted potatoes, or thicken it up for a decadent veggie dip.
Add the cashews to a small pot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the cashews.
Add the cashews, ¾ cup of water, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic cloves to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth.
Add the other ingredients to the blender. Blend for a few seconds until combined.
Taste the dressing and adjust seasonings if necessary. Check the consistency. Depending on your thickness preference, you might need to add a little more water.
Serve right away or store in a glass, airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.
This recipe makes about 1 cup of dressing, but you can easily double the recipe if you're serving a lot of people or want to use throughout the week.
I used a mix of Italian herbs that includes oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme, sage, and rosemary. If you have an Italian herb mix already, just use that. If not, use ½ tablespoon of each herb (or a mix of what you have at home).
For a more dip-like consistency, reduce water to ½ and adjust if necessary.
You can substitute granulated garlic for the garlic cloves, but the flavor will be less intense.
Keyword creamy Italian dressing, oil-free Italian dressing, vegan Italian Dressing