Cashew Vegan Mayo — Base Recipe & Chipotle Variation

By Sonakshi  ·  @sonakshiwellness  ·  Plant-based  ·  Gut-friendly  ·  PCOS-safe

Prep: 10 minutes  ·  Soak: 8 hours  ·  Makes: approx 420g  ·  Difficulty: easy  ·  Vegan  ·  GF  ·  Raw

The story behind this one

I stopped buying store-bought mayo the day I read the ingredient label properly. Refined oils I would never cook with, stabilisers I could not pronounce, and a nutritional profile that did absolutely nothing for me. The only reason I was buying it was habit and convenience — not because it was actually good.

This cashew mayo changed that. The first time I made it I was genuinely surprised by how close it came to the real thing. Thick, creamy, slightly tangy, with that richness that makes a sandwich feel complete. And then I looked at what was actually in it — cashews, coconut cream, lemon, nutritional yeast, mustard — and it felt like a completely different category of food.

The nutritional yeast is the detail that most cashew mayo recipes miss. It adds a subtle savoury depth — almost cheesy, almost eggy — that bridges the gap between a cashew cream and something that actually reads as mayo to your brain. Do not skip it.

"I wanted a mayo that tasted like the real thing and did something real for my body at the same time. This is that mayo."

The base recipe is neutral and versatile — it works on everything from sandwiches to grain bowls to burgers. The chipotle variation is for when you want something that makes people stop and ask what that sauce is. Both come together in under ten minutes once your cashews are soaked.

Make a batch on Sunday. It keeps for five days. It will change how you feel about condiments.

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A note on soaking

Eight hours is the minimum and it genuinely matters. Raw cashews contain phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors that make them harder to digest and harder to blend completely smooth. Soaking dissolves both. After eight hours your cashews should be visibly swollen and soft enough to crush easily between your fingers with no hard centre. If there is any hardness give them two more hours.

After soaking drain completely and rinse under cold water. Then do something most recipes skip — spread them on a clean kitchen towel and pat dry. Surface water on the cashews dilutes the mayo and prevents you from reaching Hellmann's thickness. Dry cashews, thick mayo. Wet cashews, loose cream. It is that direct a relationship.

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Base recipe ingredients

The mayo

•       250g raw cashews — soaked 8 hours, drained, and patted dry

•       100g full-fat coconut cream — use only the thick solid part from the top of a refrigerated tin

•       25ml fresh lemon juice — approximately one large lemon

•       15ml liquid sweetener of your choice — maple syrup, agave, or date syrup all work

•       15g nutritional yeast — this is non-negotiable for depth and umami

•       10g Dijon mustard — acts as an emulsifier and adds sharpness

•       6g fine sea salt

•       3g garlic powder

•       1.5g white pepper — use white not black so the colour stays clean and pale

Note on coconut cream: refrigerate your coconut milk tin overnight before using. The thick cream separates to the top and the liquid sinks to the bottom. Scoop only the thick part — the watery liquid will make the mayo too thin. If your tin has not separated well, place it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Note on the sweetener: the tablespoon of sweetener is not making this sweet — it is balancing the acidity of the lemon and the bitterness of the nutritional yeast. You will not taste it as sweetness in the finished mayo. Do not skip it.

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Base recipe method

Add the drained and dried cashews to a high-powered blender. Blend alone on high speed for thirty seconds to break them down before adding the liquids — this prevents the motor from struggling and ensures a completely smooth result.

Add the coconut cream, lemon juice, sweetener, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper. Blend on the highest speed for ninety seconds to two minutes, stopping once to scrape down the sides. The mayo should look completely smooth, thick, pale cream in colour, and glossy. Run a spatula through it — it should hold its shape briefly before settling, exactly like Hellmann's.

Taste and adjust. More lemon for brightness. More salt to lift everything. More nutritional yeast for deeper umami. More mustard for sharpness. The balance point is where it tastes rich, slightly tangy, slightly savoury, and creamy all at once.

If it is too thick add cold water one teaspoon at a time and blend for fifteen seconds between additions. If too thin your coconut cream had too much liquid — add 20g more soaked drained cashews and blend for another minute.

Transfer to a clean airtight jar. Refrigerate for at least thirty minutes before using — the mayo thickens further as it chills and the flavours meld. It is noticeably better after thirty minutes than immediately out of the blender.

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Chipotle variation

Everything in the base recipe stays identical. After blending the base smooth add the following and blend for thirty seconds more:

•       8g chipotle powder OR 15g chipotle in adobo sauce drained — chipotle powder gives a cleaner heat, adobo gives a deeper smokier complexity

•       3g smoked paprika — amplifies the smoke without adding more heat

•       5ml apple cider vinegar — adds a second acid note that cuts through the smokiness

The chipotle mayo should be a deep terracotta orange-red with visible flecks. It should taste smoky first, then the heat arrives slowly. The sweetener in the base balances the heat beautifully — do not reduce it in this variation.

If using chipotle in adobo: drain off the sauce, use only the pepper flesh, and reduce the salt in the base recipe from 6g to 4g as adobo sauce already contains salt.

This variation is extraordinary on the beetroot kidney bean burger patty, as a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries, drizzled over grain bowls, or spread on your khapli atta toast with sliced avocado and a pinch of flaky salt.

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Tips and swaps

•       No high-powered blender: use a regular blender jar but blend for at least three to four minutes total, stopping to scrape down frequently. The result will be very slightly less smooth but still excellent. Do not use a food processor — it cannot achieve the same smoothness.

•       No Dijon mustard: use half a teaspoon of yellow mustard powder. Not the same but it does the emulsification job adequately.

•       Want it completely nut-free: replace cashews with 250g soaked and drained sunflower seeds. Soak for four hours. The flavour is slightly more earthy but the texture is very similar. Add an extra 5ml of lemon juice to brighten it.

•       For a richer deeper flavour: toast the cashews lightly in a dry pan for three to four minutes until they smell nutty before soaking. This adds a roasted quality that works particularly well in the chipotle version.

•       Scaling up: this recipe doubles and triples cleanly. For commercial batch making blend in two rounds rather than overloading the blender — it blends more smoothly in smaller quantities.

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Storage

The base mayo keeps in an airtight jar in the fridge for five days. The chipotle variation keeps for four days as the acid from the adobo slightly shortens the shelf life. Both can be frozen in small portions for up to six weeks — thaw overnight in the fridge and whisk briefly before using as they can separate slightly on freezing.

Do not leave either version at room temperature for more than two hours. Cashew cream is perishable — treat it like dairy in terms of temperature care.

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Approximate nutrition

Per 15g serving of the base mayo:

•       Calories: approximately 60 kcal

•       Fat: 5g — predominantly healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from cashews

•       Protein: 1.5g

•       Carbohydrates: 2.5g

•       Fibre: 0.3g

These are estimates based on ingredient calculations. For certified nutritional labelling on commercial products, laboratory analysis is required.

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Why this is good for your gut and your hormones

Cashews are one of the most nutrient-dense nuts available — rich in magnesium, zinc, copper, and selenium. Magnesium is particularly significant for women with PCOS: it plays a direct role in insulin sensitivity, reduces cortisol-driven inflammation, and supports the nervous system regulation that underpins sleep quality and stress response. Most women are chronically low in magnesium without knowing it.

Soaking cashews overnight does something important beyond texture. It activates enzymes that break down phytic acid — the compound in raw nuts and seeds that binds to minerals like zinc and iron and prevents their absorption. Soaked cashews deliver their mineral content to your body in a form it can actually use. This is the difference between eating something nutritious and actually absorbing the nutrition.

Nutritional yeast is a complete protein — it contains all nine essential amino acids — and is one of the best plant sources of B vitamins including B12 which is frequently low in people eating fully plant-based. It also contains beta-glucans, which are soluble fibres that feed beneficial gut bacteria directly and have been shown to support immune regulation.

Coconut cream provides medium chain triglycerides — a form of saturated fat that is metabolised differently from long chain saturated fats. MCTs go directly to the liver for energy rather than being stored, and they support the production of ketones which the brain uses as a clean fuel source. For women managing energy crashes and brain fog related to blood sugar dysregulation, MCT-containing foods are genuinely useful.

Lemon juice supports bile production in the liver — bile is how your body emulsifies and absorbs fats and fat-soluble vitamins. It also supports the liver's phase one and phase two detoxification pathways which are responsible for clearing excess oestrogen from the body. A functioning liver is one of the most overlooked factors in hormonal balance.

"This is not just a condiment. Every ingredient is earning its place. That is what eating for your body actually looks like in the everyday, not just the meals you plan."

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One last thing

The chipotle version on a burger is the thing that converts people. I have served it to people who said they did not like vegan food and watched them go back for more without asking what was in it. That is the test.

Make the base first. Once you have the base dialled in the chipotle variation is thirty seconds of extra blending. From there the entire category of store-bought mayo stops making sense. You will wonder why you ever bought a jar.

Healthy food is not your problem. Boring food is.

— Sona

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About Sonakshi

Sonakshi is a certified holistic nutritionist, registered yoga teacher, and women's health coach based in Faridabad, India. She creates plant-based recipes designed to support gut health, hormonal balance, and a genuinely good relationship with food — through her content series Sona Eats, her coaching programme Heal Her, and JUNO, her line of gut-friendly clean treats. Find her at @sonakshiwellness on Instagram.