First off, have you ever had cauliflower cheese sauce?!?! If not- I HIGHLY recommend you make it ASAP. Cauliflower has such a delicious creamy and mildly nutty flavor that blends perfectly. I honestly think this is my new favorite vegan cheese sauce.
I was craving a cheesy noodle dish the other day but didn’t have any nutritional yeast which is any plant based persons go to for cheese flavor. Not only is it cheesy and tasty, it also has B vitamins! I love this one by Simply Organic, and also this one by Braggs. All markets sell nutritional yeast in either the bulk section or the spice section. I also have a full jar in my pantry because I use it so often! So, without the nutritional yeast I was a little stumped as to how I would make this creamy cauliflower cheese sauce...
I look in my fridge and noticed that I did however, have a huge organic cauliflower which I know makes a delicious creamy flavor. I have a delicious cauliflower cheese sauce recipe in my cookbook, Easy Vegetable Meals which is on presale right now on amazon!
I ended up making the TASTIEST cauliflower cheese sauce without nutritional yeast! I sautéed mushrooms for a delicious umami flavor and added in some cooked zuchinni.
Instead of using regular noodles, I used my favorite- gluten free gnocchi which I get from sprouts, but I see them at most markets! You can also buy them online. Hands down this recipe became an instant flavor. But then again, what can be gluten free gnocchi with a vegan cream sauce made from organic veggies?
This meal was creamy, delicious, comforting, and took me less then 25 minutes to make.
Ingredients
1 box gluten free gnocchi
½ head cauliflower florets, steamed until they fall apart
½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or boiled for 10 minutes
½ cups vegetable broth
½ Himalayan salt
½ teaspoon oregano seasoning
pinch of black pepper
½ lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon avocado oil, or olive oil
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
½ zucchini, sliced
1 handful spinach
Instructions
1. Boil a large pot of water and add in the cauliflower florets and cook for 10-15 minutes or until they are so soft you can pull them apart with a fork.
2. In a separate pot bring 2 cups of water to a boil and cook your gnocchi.
3. While the cauliflower and the gnocchi cook, take a large saucepan and heat up the avocado oil on medium heat.
4. Add in your mushrooms and zucchini and season them with a pinch of salt and sautéed for 7 minutes. Set aside.
5. Drain your cauliflower and add to a blender along with the cashews, veggie broth, salt, oregano, black pepper. Blend on high until smooth. Season to taste.
6. Drain your gnocchi and put them back in the skilled with the mushrooms and zucchini.
7. Put the heat on the lowest setting. Pour the cauliflower cheese sauce over the gnocchi, add the handful of spinach, and the lemon juice. Stir until all the gnocchi are saturated with the delicious creamy cauliflower cheese sauce. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
