The Ultimate No-Cheese Sauce

What kind of cheese isn't yours?

NACHO cheese!!  

Sorry - I had to.  My husband told me that joke about 5 different times while experimenting with this recipe.  

This recipe was a work in progress for months.  I am a cheese loverrrrrrr so I have extremely high standards for what a cheese replacement sauce should taste like.  

It was super important to me to make this entirely from whole food ingredients.  No vegan cheese flakes or anything like that.  

We do actually eat cheese in our house,  we actually eat way too much cheese if I buy it.  Like dunk our faces in a bowl of queso if it's in front of us. 

So the desire to create this recipe, came from trying to wean ourselves away from it.  Everything I've read and researched advises reducing or eliminating dairy to help your body function even better.

What's amazing about this sauce is that it can really be used with almost anything.  

A few ideas I've tried...

Dip some tortilla chips or veggies in it.

Use it as a salad dressing for burger bowls.

Use it for the sauce in macaroni or pastas.

And guess what else?!  It passed the test for my kids without them asking what the difference was!!  Try it out in your kitchen and let us know what you think!

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Ultimate No-Cheese Sauce 

Ingredients:

  • 1 large carrot, chopped

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews

  • 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast

  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

  • 1 tsp. salt

  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

  • 1/4 tsp. onion powder

  • 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened cashew)

  • 1/2 cup water from pot

Instructions:

  1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Begin by adding the carrot and cashews and keeping heat at a boil. Boil for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Turn the heat off and allow it to sit while you gather everything else.

  2. In a food processor or blender, add the carrots, cashews, 1/2 cup of water from the pot you used to cook the veggies in, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and milk.

  3. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Add more liquid if you prefer the sauce to be thinner.

  4. Serve over your favorite pasta or however you want to devour this delicious cheezy sauce. Store leftovers in an air-tight container for up to a week.

Lunch & DinnerJennifer CohodesComment