Vegan Cheesy Alfredo Sauce

This recipe was inspired by the Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo recipe I found on Vegan Yumminess. I don’t know the last time I had Alfredo sauce, and now I can’t get enough of this. No really, I had to stop keeping the ingredients in my house because I started eating it for every meal and when I ran out of pasta I just started eating it with rice. Perhaps I’m just starved for things that taste cheesy. Or maybe it’s just that good…

I do know that even my non-vegan Alfredo loving girlfriend is hooked on this recipe, so I’m pretty sure you are going to love it too.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 head garlic

1 can coconut milk (14 oz)

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp lime juice (or lemon)

1 tbsp olive oil

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

1 tbsp fresh basil

4 tbsp all purpose gf flour

 

 

Mince the cashews and garlic in a blender of food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour sauce into a frying pan on low heat and stir constantly while sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the sauce is thick and no longer tastes raw (from the flour), serve over gluten free pasta. If this sauce starts to get cold it will harden up and become like a jello texture. Don’t worry, just reheat and re-experience the cheesy goodness of vegan Alfredo sauce.

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Sour Cream Substitute

Ingredients:

cashew butter

water

lemon juice, preferably fresh squezzed

Combine until you get a thick sauce.  If it tastes too much like any one ingredient, add more of the other ingredients until it tastes kind of like sour cream, or just like a really tasty sauce.  Serve on everything!

Mushroom Gravy

I love this simple gravy recipe, and it has totally addicted me to gravy (something I could easily go without with normally). I recently got permission from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau from Compassionate Cooks to publish her recipe here. This comes from her Thanksgiving for the Birds IV recipe pack.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive or sesame oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 pound thinly sliced Cremini/brown/baby Portabella mushrooms (about 20 muhsrooms)
2 cups water or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons flour or other thickener (use all-purpose gf flour)
2-3 tablespoons celtic sea salt, or soy sauce substitute
1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion and mushrooms over high heat, stirring frequently, until
they are browned, about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, in a separate bowl, whisk the flour into the water/broth along with the tamari, black pepper, and thyme. Add to the onion mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened.

For smooth gravy, puree it in a blender or food processor. You may want to play a little with the flavor and add more salt or pepper to taste. Reheat the mixture if necessary on low heat in a saucepan.

Pesto

I’ve started making pesto from scratch on the fly, using whatever is around the house.  It is so easy to make and goes great on bread, pasta, pizza, etc.! Below is a rough outline, but feel free to play with the amounts to make it your own.  Mix with Follow Your Heart soy-free mayonaise for a great dipping sauce.

Ingredients:

1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

4 cups fresh basil

2 cups fresh parsley

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2-3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly cracked pepper

Place all ingredients in a food processor, and process until well blended.

Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 – 1 can of tomato paste
thyme
rosemary
basil
oregano
salt
pepper

In a pot sauté onion and garlic with oil until onions are soft, but not yet fully translucent; add tomatoes. Let simmer for 20-40 minutes. While simmering add tomato paste. Season to taste with spices.

optionally: add some red wine and let tomatoes boil down further.

recipe from: Jack Kling and Anne Griffin