Let me start right off on my very first ever recipe post by noting that I am dairy-free, grain-free, and a lot-of-other-things-free. You won't see "standard" food here. However, I've been some form of restricted diet, mostly without dairy, for the past 20 years. So I've been around the block with substitutes and if I say it's good.... it's good. And this cheesy, creamy sauce hits the spot so hard. It's the best I've tried yet. And used on GF corn noodles for the kids, it made a damn passable mac and cheese. I need to give a nod to the amazing Cristina Curp from the Castaway Kitchen blog, because she introduced some things to me in her recipes like using fish sauce for umami flavor, or hemp seeds for creaminess... all of which made this recipe possible!! Let me also point out that though some of these ingredients may sound complicated, you can find almost all of them at Trader Joes! I think the exception is the hemp seeds, which are a great deal at Costco right now. And if you don't have either one of those stores near you, what are you even doing with your life?
(note: I made this recipe in a Vitamix blender. If you have a restricted diet of any type, you need one in your life. Honestly, nothing competes. And I can't make any promises as to how this would turn out in something else because you really need the power of the Vitamix to cream up the cashews and hemp seeds. Don't say I didn't warn you)
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 c. Raw Cashews (I did not presoak, but you can never go wrong with that)
1/2 c. Hemp Hearts
1/2 c. Coconut milk or Coconut cream (Trader Joes has both, with no additives! I love using the cream to up the overall flavor and thickness)
1/2 c. filtered water
3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt or Pink Himalayan Salt
1 tsp Fish Sauce
Place all ingredients into the Vitamix and blend on high. Continue after the ingredients are blended for another minute or two, until it's warm, thick and creamy. You can use straight from the Vitamix! Place leftovers in the fridge. And you can add additional flavors or spices to turn this into a cheese dip as well!
Individual ingredients linked above.
Other products used: - Vitamix blender (this is the model I have and it does everything you need!)
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