Cashew Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cups boiling water (best to use starchy pasta-cooking water)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1-3 garlic cloves, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Place raw cashews (not roasted!) in a food processor and pulse until nuts are very fine. Carefully add in the boiling water; process until smooth.
2. Add the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and nutritional yeast; process again until smooth.
3. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
It's in the blending process that the sauce thickens, which is why using starchy water is your best bet, so it takes a while. If it isn't thickening enough for you, heat it in a saucepan over a low temperature for a few minutes, and that should do the trick.
Serve over cooked pasta. I like some steamed broccoli and red bell peppers added to mine.'
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I made this last night, without reading any reviews/comments. Based on the recipe as listed, it does come out somewhat watery. I added a few more cashews and an extra tbsp of nutritional yeast, then spiced it up with paprika, white pepper, onion powder, extra garlic (both cloves and powder), mustard powder, and dried chives. Once i had it blended thoroughly, I put the sauce back in my sauce pan and 'eyeballed' around 1-2tbsp of arrowroot starch to thicken it up a bit. Otherwise a great base! I wanted to make it as listed since I typically do pasta dishes for dinner and leftovers for lunch at work. Easily made me about 3 meals (dinner, and two lunches)! Also mixed in some roasted veggies (brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower) with my pasta and alfredo. Definitely a good pairing!
I wouldn't call this alfredo, but it was creamy. I made mine with only 3/4 cup boiling water (not pasta water), so it was thick. Overall I found it a bit bland. If I were to make it again, I'd add in sundried or roma tomatoes, like others have suggested. I used this as a sauce for pizza.
Pretty good for an alternative alfredo. :)
I followed everything in the recipe but I added a few things:
1. Vegan parmesan cheese (http://www.veganstore.com/vegan-parmesan-alternative/Page_1/234.html). I found this at my local supermarket.
2. About 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt.
3. About 1 tablespoon of vegan margarine.
I really enjoyed this recipe and my omni boyfriend ate it as well (although he said it was just 'okay' and that he likes 'real alfredo more. But that's to be expected I suppose!)
Overall: 4 stars!
I absolutely love this recipe!! My SO is allergic to cashews, so I use almonds instead. I also add about a TBS and a half of cornstarch to thicken it.
I use this for vegan alfredo pizza ALL THE TIME! love it!!!!
I made this today for my lunch, and I think I am going to make some more for supper! This was really good! I have been wondering what to make for my husband and I for Valentines day and I think I have found it! Make this with a nice salad and some veggies and I will have a great meal. I am still pretty new to this vegan diet and trying to find something for a special occasion is really hard.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Oh my, this was delicious!
Changes I made:
1 and 1/2 tbsp garlic powder instead of actual garlic
I added 1/4 of an onion, sauteed
I only used 1 Tbsp and 1/2 of Nutritional Yeast, as I'm not a huge fan
I used roasted, unsalted cahsews, because that's all the grocery had that I wouldn't have had to take a mortgage out on the house for.
It actually thickened up very nicely, but my blender goes really, really fast, so I'm not sure if that's part of the reason or if it was just being cooperative. I used regular old tapwater, since my fiance and I don't really eat grains or starches anymore (save the occasional brownie, burrito or burger bun, once in a VERY blue moon), and we served it over steamed broccoli and chick'n. It tasted AMAZING with the broccoli, and really good with the chick'n as well.
In my opinion, it wasn't necessarily an ALFREDO, but it was a very delicious cream sauce, and that's really all I wanted.
Thanks for this fantastic recipe!
i found it.. this was amazing!
Im in the islands right now and the organic store has no nutritional yeast... HELP?
:hotforyou:
It has been so long since I've had alfredo. And I have missed it SO SO much. This is the 1st vegan alfredo that I've tried and I'm so glad I finally decided to make it. This sauce is fantastic. Quick, easy and super tasty. I'll be making this recipe a lot! We ate it on penne w/ diced tomatoes. Next time, I'll add steamed broccoli. I'm also going to try an alfredo pizza. I'll be doing that on Monday. I will report back after we try it out!
;)b
SOOO good :) My husband (non-vegan) even liked it! Def have to put it in a sauce pan and let it thicken tho. added more garlic and parsley yummy!
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