This lime-ginger cashew sauce can be used for just about anything but it really gives a wonderful boost of richness to spaghetti squash. The sauce is so yummy that it’s a great way to introduce kids or picky eaters (my husband) to spaghetti squash or other foods that may be unfamiliar. The sauce is sweet, a little bit spicy and fresh with the addition of lime juice and coconut milk. My husband actually ate the whole bowl and gave his grunt of approval without his usual look of suspicion.
Cashew Sauce Ingredients
Fresh Ginger takes an extra minute to prepare but is so much better than the powdered stuff. Here is a quick tutorial on how to grate fresh ginger.
Cashew Butter – I have used cashew butter because of the naturally sweet flavor it gives to this sauce but it can be quite expensive and not okay for those with nut allergies. Sunflower butter and peanut butter are good substitutes. I do recommend using unsweetened ones so that you can better control the sweet level.
Light Coconut Milk – Use the canned stuff and light is better than full fat coconut milk. The cashew butter needs to be thinned out to be a pourable sauce and the light works much better for this.
Sauce Variations:
- Kid Friendly – Add a little extra sweetener and less chili flakes to make it more kid-friendly. Adding a small pinch of chili flakes will not make it spicy for sensitive taste buds. It acts as a flavor enhancer to wake up all the other flavors in the sauce.
- Heat Lovers – Add extra chili flakes and use chili oil in place of the sesame oil.
- Nut Allergies – Use sunflower butter for those with nut allergies.
- Budget Friendly – Cashew butter is so yummy in this sauce but can be very expensive. If you’re on a budget, peanut butter is a good alternative to the cashew butter.
- Complete Meal – Use this sauce to make a one-bowl meal. Layer noodles or spaghetti squash, lime-ginger cashew sauce, chicken, tofu, edamame or garbanzo beans and top with chopped cilantro.
Lime-Ginger Cashew Sauce
This lime-ginger cashew sauce is rich and fresh at the same time. It is perfect as a dipping sauce for chicken kebabs or as a sauce for spaghetti squash, fish and tofu.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cashew butter (other nut or seed butters can be used)
- ⅓ c light coconut milk
- ⅓ c warm water
- ¼ c lime juice
- 4 tsp low sodium gluten-free soy sauce or tamari
- 2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated on a microplane
- 3 Tbsp coconut palm sugar or sweetener of your choice
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
- ¼ tsp. red chili flakes (more or less according to you preference for heat)
Instructions
- Grate the ginger. The best way to handle fresh ginger is to peel it with the edge of a spoon. The spoon can get into the folds of the ginger more easily. Then grate it with a microplane and store the unused portion in the freezer in a zip top bag. Even when frozen, it is easily grated. See below for my tutorial video on how to work with fresh ginger.
- Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir with a wire whisk over low heat. It will be watery when the cashew butter first melts but will thicken as it heats up. As soon as it thickens remove from the heat.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon or 2 of water to thin it to sauce consistency.
- Taste. Adjust the flavors to your preference. Too sweet? Add a tsp of vinegar. Too mild? Add more chili flakes. Bland? Add a tsp of soy sauce/tamari.
Notes
Be sure to use light coconut milk. Full fat coconut milk will give it a different consistency.
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