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?
Very good. My non-vegan mother liked it too. I doubled the garlic and added a bit of onion powder and a touch of nutmeg. I thought it was bland until I added a bit of salt. This was served over striped bow tie pasta with broccoli. It was very pretty. My daughter already wants to make it again. I never would have believed this was vegan if I hadn't made it myself.
yummy :) i made this for dinner tonight. we ate it over whole wheat spagetti. i only used 1 cup of water. and i added parsley for a bit of color. i think next time i might stir in some earth balance, for extra indulgent taste! thanks for the great idea
I have to tell you that I have made this sauce countless times and it turns out perfect every time. Like everyone else, I tinker with things when I am familiar with them-I left out the yeast and lemon juice and added whole garlic and nutmeg to make it more like a traditional alfredo. I gave this to an omni friend of mine and he thought it was out of this world too! Served this over ravioli with mushrooms and artichoke hearts-absolutely perfect!!! I can't thank you enough for this.
I had to tinker to get the flavor just to my liking, but overall this was very tasty & I'm sure I'll make it again. I used 3 cloves of garlic, & still ended up adding more garlic powder later-- next time will try about 6 cloves. Also added an extra tbsp of nutri yeast & an extra tsp of lemon juice, and tons of fresh ground pepper. Would have been even yummier with fresh basil, but I'm out... next time!
I was using make-ahead pasta, so mixed 2 tbsp arrowroot powder into boiling water before adding it to cashews; it thickened up fine in a saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes. Turned out to have a really nice richness & texture... ate it with sauteed broccoli & baby 'bellas, over whole wheat pasta... very good. Thanks for the recipe!
I have made this recipe many, many times now! I just can't stop! It's great! This time I forgot the nutritional yeast, but I did add fresh basil leaves, 4 cloves of garlic, pepper and a dash of salt, and it was still as tasty as could be!
I still can't believe when people say this is bland! Just add a few more spices and I'm sure it will taste mighty fine!
I also saute up some mixed veggies, whatever I have on hand - broccoli, carrots, zucchini, onion and this time I used sun dried tomatoes! I think I might try blending the sun dried tomatoes with the cashews next time!
When it comes to thickness, I suggest adding a little bit of starchy water at a time, so you don't over do it right away in the beginning.
This is good but with loads of salt, black pepper, and a dash of cayenne... I also used about a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken this since I didn't use any starchy water... good recipe :)
ha! this is an identical sauce my boyfriend makes to put ontop of our lasagnes!he uses more yeast though, about 1/4 cup. i can definitely vouch for it's wonderful taste :D i haven't tried it with pasta on it's own yet, but i just know it's going to be awesome :)
SO yummy. I didnt really think it tasted like alfredo but it was good. We doubled the recipe but only used two cups of pasta water. I added two roma tomatoes in the food processor and then mixed in a diced red bell pepper and half a head of broccoli, along with some halved cherry tomatoes. I cooked the sauce in over medium heat for 6-7 mintues and had it with fettucini, roasted aparagus tips, marble rye toast, and a spinach salad with homemade balsalmic dressing.
This was really easy to make! It was good but it needs a little something. I think next time I will try some fake parmesan cheeze.
oh man def. will make for lunch.
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