Fried squash blossoms with cashew cheese are a vegan appetizer that’s sure to impress! Zucchini flowers are stuffed with cashew cheese, dredged in flour and spices, and shallow fried.
You’ll be thinking about this appetizer all year long, until squash blossom season comes around again.
For years I’d hear friends talk about getting stuffed squash blossoms at restaurants. They sounded so intriguing and fancy.
They aren’t on a lot of restaurant menus, though. And they’re rarely vegan.
So while I loved the idea of a crisp blossom, filled with something creamy, breaded and fried, it was only in my dreams.
That is until I started seeing zucchini flowers at the farmers market about 8 years ago. They aren’t terribly expensive. So I decided to take the plunge and make fried zucchini flowers at home.
And I’ve been making them every year ever since.
David and I look forward to them so much that almost as soon as the market opens in May, we start wondering when the bright yellow & orange blossoms will pop up at our favorite stall.
So now that squash blossom season is here again, I don’t want you to miss out on the opportunity to make them too.
You have to move fast! Those blossoms aren’t around long.
How do squash blossoms taste?
Squash blossoms have a slight zucchini flavor. They are very mild.
What really stands out about the stuffed squash blossom experience is the crispiness that forms around the blossom, and the cashew cheese inside. So rich & decadent.
The cashew cheese is loaded with miso for umami, nutritional yeast flakes for cheesiness, and fresh basil. These blossoms are pure summer joy.
These stuffed squash blossoms are fried envelopes of warm cashew cheese. What’s not to love?
Where to find squash blossoms
Obviously, if you are growing zucchini or delicata squash, you can snip off a few blossoms for yourself.
Or look for them at your local farmers market. If a farmer usually sells zucchini or squash, that’s a good place to start.
In my area, squash blossoms sell for around $2 a bunch. You want fresh looking squash blossoms that aren’t wilted or withered.
For best results, use them quickly
Once you buy them, don’t wait too long to use them. They don’t hold up well. After a couple of days they will start to shrivel and stick to each other.
Until you are ready to use them, put the flower stems in water to keep them hydrated & fresh.
Once you are ready to use them, carefully rinse them. Then inspect them for any bugs inside. If you find any bugs, relocate them back to the outdoors.
I like to carefully remove the pistils or stamen from inside of the flower.
(If you tear the flower a little when removing the pistils or stamen, don’t worry about it. You can easily mask it while breading it.)
How to make them
Make the cashew cheese
There’s not a lot of liquid in this cashew cheese. So you’ll definitely want to soak the cashews in water for several hours first. I recommend soaking them in water overnight.
After soaking, drain the cashews. Then blend them in a food processor with miso paste, nutritional yeast flakes, and extra virgin olive oil. Add fresh chopped basil and combine.
One note: You might be tempted to omit the miso from the cheese, because organic miso can be pricey. Get the miso. It’s completely worth it for the hit of round notes and umami it brings to the blossoms.
Fill the zucchini blossoms
To fill the squash blossoms, use a cake decorating funnel bag or a plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off. Squeeze the bag until each blossom is generously filled.
Now it’s time to bread them. Fill a small bowl with plain non-dairy milk and cornstarch.
On a separate plate, combine flour, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Dip each filled blossom into the milk mixture, shake to remove any excess. Then roll each blossom in the flour mixture.
Fry the stuffed blossoms
Cover the bottom of a skillet with oil about ¼ inch deep. Bring to a medium high heat and fry the flowers, turning occasionally as each side browns. They will fry fully in about five minutes.
Move the fried squash blossoms to a paper towel or kitchen towel-lined plate to drain excess oil. Then serve.
What to serve with them
Fried squash blossoms are delicious on their own as an appetizer.
Serve them with a summery salad – like an avocado caprese salad, Israeli couscous salad, or spinach salad with strawberries.
Have them as a starter before roasted gnocchi with vegan almond pesto.
Fried cashew cheese stuffed squash blossoms
Ingredients
For the cashew cheese
- ¾ cup raw cashews soaked in water overnight
- 1 Tablespoon white miso paste
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil
For the squash blossoms and breading
- 8 squash blossoms
- 1 cup plain non-dairy milk* I use cashew milk
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch*
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Pinch dried oregano
- Pinch dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Canola oil for frying
Instructions
To make the cheese
- Drain the cashews and process them with miso paste, nutritional yeast flakes, and extra-virgin olive oil in a high speed blender until completely blended. Add the chopped fresh basil and continue to blend until fully combined. The cheese will be very thick and paste like. That is a good thing, because it will help the blossom to seal shut, and it won't ooze out during the cooking process.
To make the squash blossoms and breading
- Gently open each blossom and remove the pistils or stamen. Tear a single seam down each blossom to give clearance for the cashew cheese. Check for any bugs inside of the flowers and relocate them, if needed. Gently rinse the blossoms and lightly blot with a towel.
- Fill a cake decorating funnel bag with the cashew cheese (or cut a corner off of a plastic freezer bag and use that to squeeze the cheese into the blossoms). Generously fill each blossom, making sure that each one gets enough cheese before pressing the blossoms closed with the sticky cashew cheese keeping them shut. Ideally you should use all of the cashew cheese mixture. (The flouring will also help encase the blossom, and so don't be afraid to be generous with the filling.)
- Fill a small bowl with non-dairy milk and cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch dissolves.
- On a separate plate, combine the flour, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Before breading the flowers, cover the bottom of a pan with oil, about ¼ inch deep. Set it to a medium high heat and let it warm.
- Dip each flower into the milk mixture, shake to remove excess, and roll in the flour. (Actually rolling the flowers through the flour will help set the cheese inside.) Set aside on a plate while you finish the rest of the flowers.
- Put a pinch of flour in the pan, and if bubbles immediately form around it, the oil is hot and ready. Add the blossoms to the oil. Let them brown before turning, until each side is crisp and done. They will cook in about five minutes.
- When the blossoms are done, move them to a paper towel or kitchen towel-lined plate to drain excess oil and then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally posted August 2011. Content updated June 2019.
David Busch
Without a doubt, the best thing I’ve eaten in 2011!!
Amanda
I had fried squash blossoms in a restaurant a few years ago, prior to going vegan, and they were wonderfully decadent. But this glorious vegan version, well, frankly, I think they could make me fall in love with you. 🙂
cadryskitchen
My goodness! This is all so sudden! 😉
&rea
This recipe looks amazing!! Dunno where I’d find squash blossoms around me though. =/
Anonymous
Wow I can’t wait to try this. Looks amazing. Go Cadry!
Sarah S.
Magnificent, Cadry!! I just need to find some blossoms and these will be mine, with the emphasis on NEED in that sentence.. WOW!
Heather
These were delicious!!!! The recipe was very easy. I subbed vegan yogurt for the cashew cream, and added in a little vegan cheese shreds to add some heft to it. We ate the leftover filling like nacho cheese dip!!! Yum! I found squash blossoms in late July in a Seattle farmer’s market. I have also found them in Latin American markets in the summer and fall. My husband’s birthday is in August, so I plan to make these again as a birthday treat. A new favorite for us!
Cadry Nelson
I’m so glad you & your husband enjoyed them, Heather! Thanks for the great feedback!
chow vegan
That is so me – I see those squash blossoms every week at the farmers market. But pass them by, not knowing what the heck would I do with them at home. Thanks for the recipe – they look super yummy! 🙂
foodventuresandotherstories
I love stuffed zucchini flowers! This recipe sounds incredible and I will have to try it for sure!
Mandee
I just found your blog & I think it’s fantastic! I am definitely going to try this recipe 🙂
thedomesticvegan@gmail.com
OH MY GOD. Yum!!!
cadryskitchen
Too bad squash blossom season is still four months away! You’ll love them! 🙂
veganappetite
I have no idea how I missed this post last year… but I’m so glad to have seen it now. Those are gorgeous!!!
Cadry
Thank you for the original recipe! They are so amazing! 🙂
Katrina Fleming
I thought of you yesterday when I saw squash blossoms in the farmer’s market. I bought them and am going to make this recipe tonight! I haven’t soaked my cashews yet, but I’ll soak them for a couple hours, and will try to make it work with the Vitamix. May work, may not. 🙂 I’m excited, though!
Katrina Fleming
I made. I tried. I wept. Oh. My. God.
Cadry
This is my favorite comment ever. Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a winner. 😀
Rob
These squash blossoms sound fantastic! I love fried squash blossoms, and that cashew cheese innovation sounds brilliant. Why doesn’t our farmers market have them??? Maybe this week.
Cadry
Good luck finding them, Rob! They’re one of my favorite treats of summer. It can also be worth talking to any zucchini vendors at your farmers market and asking if they have plans to bring in any blossoms.
Rochelle darby
Is there something you can substitute for the yeast flakes?
Cadry
Nutritional yeast flakes give a particular cheesy quality, but you could simply omit it. They won’t have the same cheesiness, but I imagine they would still be good.
Becky Striepe
You are so right – I DO need to make these! YUM!
Cadry
You know I wouldn’t lead you astray, Becky! I look forward to making these every summer in the same way that some people look forward to cookies at Christmas. When they show up at the farmers market again, you NEED to get some!
Mae Tipple
This cashew cheese is AMAZING. The miso and basil make it SO good! I made it tonight as a filling for homemade raviolis. You know Cadry, a few years ago I saw something on your website about a ravioli maker. It might have been an ad, or maybe even like kitchen essentials post or something. As soon as I saw that and realized I could make my own ravioli, I immediately thought of everything I’ve ever made pureed and stuffed inside ravioli! I bought a ravioli maker and found a new hobby. So you double inspired me on tonight’s dinner, with cashew cheese and homemade ravioli 🙂 Thank you!
Cadry
How wonderful! That’s a great idea to use this cheese in ravioli. That sounds incredible!
Ductight
Hey, just wanted to share with everyone that there are both male and female blossoms on squash plants. The female blossoms turn into a squash and you don’t want to pick those. But the male are only useful if you want viable seeds. They blossoms look different, the mail don’t have a tiny baby squash attached 🙂
Cadry
Good tips. Thanks!
Tammy
Thank you so much for this. We look for the minute when squash blossoms are available and then it’s gone. Previously, I have used goat cheese but this cashew miso umami will now be our go to!! Thank you.
Cadry
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Tammy!
Lynne
I have never written a recipe review, but I’ve also never made a recipe twice in two weeks! I served this alongside zucchini noodles and a simple cherry tomato sauce. I was getting ready to pull my squash plants from the garden but I’ll wait and hope for just a few more blossoms. Thank you!
Cadry
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Lynne! Your dinner with zucchini noodles & a cherry tomato sauce sounds like the perfect way to use every part of the squash. Best of luck on more blossoms popping up! Thanks for the great feedback!
Shawn
I made these last night after I found blossoms at the farmers market. They were so delicious! I wish I’d bought more blossoms! I’ll be making these every summer now!
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear that, Shawn! They’re a yearly, coveted favorite around here too. I’m delighted to be part of a new tradition for you!
Lauren
My first recipe review ever: I tried these last night and they were so good! I made a few small adjustments (subbing all-purpose flour for the cornstarch, using a bit of a miso soup cube rather than miso paste, and using frozen basil) but it still turned out perfectly! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them, Lauren! Thank you for letting me know!