CASHEW CHEESE SAUCE

I recently bought a new dark tile and couldn’t wait to try it out for food photography, hence these unnecessarily moody shots!

I’m usually drawn to light and airy photography (as you might have noticed) but would love to practise my dark & moody shots more so expect to see a few darker shots in my upcoming posts!

This recipe has been a long time coming. I make this cashew cheese sauce all the time and have done for years – I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to blog it!

I finally got round to it as I have a few upcoming recipes that use the sauce, including a socca pizza & some stuffed peppers. It’s gonna be great, so stay tuned… (edit: recipes are now live! Use links above.)

As I said, I use this sauce all the time. On pasta, on pizzas, in risottos, drizzled over potatoes or vegetables, burritos and more. It’s SO delicious.

I remember when I first tried it years ago, before I was vegan, I wasn’t expecting to like it at all.

I was a very fussy eater and was only just starting to experiment with free-from foods so wasn’t expecting something made from cashews to be a good substitute for cheese.

But I was shocked at how delicious and cheesy it was! I remember I said “oh my god” out loud and proceeded to eat it by the spoonful.

So definitely don’t knock it before you try it! And don’t be put off if you’ve not heard of a couple of these ingredients because I promise you they’re not that expensive or hard to find.

Your local health food shop will more than likely stock nutritional yeast and you can find miso paste in your local Asian supermarket or the world food aisle at the general supermarket. The rest can be found at any supermarket!

I recommend soaking the cashews overnight or a few hours before hand but if you have a high powered blender, such as The Optimum G2.1, then you can get away with using them without soaking first.

This cheesy sauce is:

• Dairy-free & vegan

• Gluten-free & paleo-friendly

• Healthy

• Versatile (can be used for so many different recipes)

• Easy to make (you just need a blender!)

Use this cheese sauce on your pasta, on your toast or on a pizza!

Looking for more sauces recipes? Check out our favourite sandwich recipes here

Cashew Cheese Sauce

A delicious dairy-free cheese sauce, perfect for pastas, pizzas and more! Feel free to halve the recipe if you want a smaller portion.

yield: 1 CUP

prep time: 8 MINUTES

total time: 8 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 150g (1 cup) raw cashew nuts, soaked overnight in water

• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes, if using powder, you can use slightly less*

• 1 tbsp white miso, (Optional)**

• 1 tsp garlic powder, or fresh minced garlic

• 1 tsp onion powder, or fresh minced onion

• 1/2 tsp mustard powder

• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 240ml (1 cup) dairy-free milk, (unsweetened)

Instructions

1. Drain the cashews and discard the water they were soaked in.

2. Add to a high-powered blender along with the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Add more almond milk, if needed to create the desired consistency. I like it when it's thick but runs off the spoon.

3. Use straight away or add to a container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

*Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast with a natural cheesy flavour. You can find it in most health food shops or online, and it's not expensive. **White miso paste really helps give that fermented cheese flavour. It can be found in health food shops or Asian supermarkets. I buy mine from my local supermarket in the Asian food aisle. You can use brown miso instead, if you wish.