I present to you the cheese-less cheese sauce of your dreams!! Confused? Stay with me. This is a dairy-free sauce made with simple, real food ingredients that will have your tastebuds doing the happy dance. It gets it's luxurious creamy texture from cashews (hi healthy fats!) and loads of flavor from garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon and spices. 

If you're not familiar with nutritional yeast, it's a fun way to add a savory cheese flavor to dishes without any dairy. Nutritional yeast also happens to be a rich source of B-vitamins (often a concern for my vegan and vegetarian friends) as well as a being complete protein. You can use it in sauces like I did here, or sprinkle a teaspoon on salads, soups, etc for and extra flavor and nutrient boost.

Now - on to the cheese sauce! Feel free to use this as a guide and adjust the ingredients to your liking. I mixed it with chickpea shells, broccoli, tomatoes and spinach for an elevated macaroni and cheeze that I already know is going to be a staple around here. 

Spicy vegan garlic cheese sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups unsalted cashews (soaked in water for 1-2 hours)

• 1.25 cups low sodium vegetable broth (adjust for your desired consistency, you can always add more!)

• 2-3 cloves garlic

• 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Drain and rinse cashews

2. Place all ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender

3. Blend until smooth and adjust spices to your liking

4. Warm up and serve over pasta or eat cold - both are delicious!