By Marisa Sweeney, MS, RDN
This is really a recipe for the best vegan, GF, and oil-free “cheese” sauce in the whole world 😋 Feel free to put this on everything.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup cashews, soaked (see directions)
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled
- 3/4 cup chopped carrots
- 5 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Cashew milk – to thin out
- 1lbs GF pasta – I love Banza
- 1 head of broccoli
DIRECTIONS
- You can soak the cashews overnight in a bowl covered by a few inches of water or do the quick soak method… this is what I always do:
- To quick soak, bring a small pot of water to a boil then remove from the heat and add the cashews.
- Allow to soak for 30 minutes then strain and rinse before using in the recipe.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add the diced potatoes and carrots. Boil for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are fork tender. Strain the excess water and allow to cool.
- Add the cooked vegetables, soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and 3 tablespoons of water to the blender. Blend on high, scraping down the sides as needed or adding more water to help blend.
- Start by just adding just 1-2 tablespoons of cashew milk in between blending until the desired consistency is reached. It should be pourable but still thick and creamy. Taste test to see if you prefer more sour (vinegar/lemon juice) or more salt. Add more as desired and blend until smooth.
- Cook pasta according to package. Banza is my favorite GF pasta… so so good.
- As the pasta is cooking, chop broccoli into small florets. 1 minute before pasta is done, add broccoli to boiling water.
- When pasta is done, strain and mix in cheese sauce.
This makes about 6 cups of cheese sauce. 1-2 cups is the perfect amount for this creamy cheese pasta dish. Add more if you’d like!
