← Back to Recipes
Recipe

Cashew Cheese Sauce

Delicious served with fresh tortillas, toasted flat bread pieces, or combine with refried pinto beans, or mashed black beans, to serve as nacho cheese dip.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup raw cashew pieces, or skinless Brazil nuts, or cubed cooked rutabaga
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast* flakes (Bragg®)
  • 1 tablespoon cashew butter, or nut/seed butter of choice, or bean butter, or rutabaga butter
  • 1-1/2 tablespoons 100% pure organic lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1/4 cup roasted red peppers (remove skin, ribs, and seeds), or diced cooked carrots (retain water to use in recipe), or dice tomato
  • 3/4 cup water

Method

  1. In food processor or blender, combine cashews, nutritional yeast flakes, cashew butter, and lemon juice; blend until almost smooth.
  2. While blending, add onion powder, sea salt, garlic powder, mustard powder, and roasted red peppers.
  3. Slowly introduce water, blend until very smooth.

Use immediately, or pour into airtight storage container and refrigerate up to 5 days. Servings: 1-1/2 cups. Prep Time: 10 minutes.

To freeze: scoop into plastic freezer bag; lay sealed bag flat on plate or small baking sheet; place baking sheet in freezer; remove sheet once package is completely frozen. Store up to 3 months.

To serve: add 1 cup cashew cheese sauce to saucepan set over medium heat; stir in 1/4 cup chicken broth or water; stir occasionally, heat until sauce bubbles; serve immediately mixed with prepared GF pasta of choice.

To prepare a cheesy pasta dish: While heating cheese sauce with broth or water, stir in cooked pasta, vegetables, and meat of choice; serve once heated through.

Note

Omit canned Cannellini (white kidney) beans; add rinsed and drained canned: Navy beans, or Pinto beans, or Black-eyed peas in same quantity as called for; proceed with recipe as stated.

Nutritional yeast, not to be confused with brewer’s yeast, is a deactivated (dead) yeast, usually the strain Saccharomyces cerebisiae. It is produced by culturing dead yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses. It naturally contains high amounts of B vitamins, is a complete protein, and is naturally low in fat and sodium. Some brands of nutritional yeast, though not all, are fortified with B-12 (cyanocobalamin). The vitamin B12 is produced separately from bacteria and then added to the yeast.