DAIRY-FREE "ALFREDO" SAUCE
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Have you ever had a fancy piece of cake that looked awesome but didn’t actually taste good? Well this dairy-free "Alfredo" sauce is the EXACT opposite. It’s not particularly photogenic (especially on zucchini noodles!). It’s super easy to make. It happens to be good for you. And it tastes freakin delicious, too! It’s kind of like Alfredo meets mac & cheese and it’s an umami bomb for those of you who are umami addicts like me! So trust me here and give it a go — you’ll see why pics can’t do it justice!
Dairy-free “Alfredo” on rotini pasta. Served with a mixed salad of spinach, grape tomatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, air-fried spicy butternut squash, and topped with crunchy BBQ lentils and hemp hearts.
Dairy-free “Alfredo” Sauce tossed with konjac noodles, roasted broccoli, and smoked trout. Served with a mixed salad, toasted pumpkin seeds, and hemp hearts.
Ingredients for approximately 2 1/2 cups sauce:
2 cups pre-roasted cauliflower
2 cloves pre-roasted garlic
1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews (soaked in hot water for 2 hours then drained)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
1/4 cup canned organic full-fat coconut milk
1/4 cup bone broth (or sub vegetable broth or additional coconut milk), adjusted to desired consistency
2 to 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast, adjusted to taste
1 tsp sea salt, adjusted to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper, adjusted to taste
pinch or two of nutmeg and cayenne pepper, adjusted to taste (optional)
for serving: pasta or spiralized vegetables of choice and toppings such as pumpkin seeds and shelled hemp hearts
Directions:
Dairy-free “Alfredo” Sauce served with spiralized zucchini and topped with hemp hearts and pumpkin seeds.
Put cauliflower, garlic, cashews, oil, coconut milk, broth, 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tsp salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne in a heavy duty blender and blend until smooth. I use my Vitamix on the purée setting.
Adjust broth to desired consistency and nutritional yeast and seasoning to taste.
Toss the sauce with your choice of pasta or spiralized vegetables. My kids enjoy it with good old-fashioned rotini, and I love mine on grain-free chickpea pasta, zero-carb konjac noodles, or zoodles. Heat and serve with toppings as desired. Alternatively, this sauce can be enjoyed cold on toast or as a dip for crudités.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
NOTES:
When I don’t have bone broth, I use water plus a Tbsp or two of Organika bone broth powder.
Some of my taste testers didn’t love how the sauce smelled initially, but once they heated it up and dug in, they were quick converts! Same goes for the konjac noodles. They are a great low calorie, keto-friendly, diabetic-friendly option, and they taste great with this sauce. However, they need to be drained and rinsed well before using (to get rid of the smell) and work better heated on the stove than in the microwave.
Dairy-free “Alfredo” Sauce served with a mixture of zoodles and zero-carb konjac pasta, roasted cherry tomatoes, roasted wild mixed mushrooms, toasted pumpkin seeds, and microgreens.
Dairy-free “Alfredo” Sauce with zoodles, toasted pumpkin seeds, grape tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and homemade Spicy Roasted Chickpeas.