You won’t miss cheese for one second when you try this super simple vegan roasted garlic “cheese” sauce that’s prepared with whole-food ingredients that, when mixed together, create a sauce that’s flavorful, healthy, and versatile. It may end up being your “go-to” sauce for just about everything, vegan or not, since it tastes delicious with all types of food – from eggs to chicken, crackers, veggies and more.
I’m not vegan. But I will 100% become vegan if I can have this “cheese” sauce everyday. Seriously, vegans will love it. And non-vegans will love it. Everyone will love it. It’s loaded with a variety of ingredients that impressively create a cheesy-licious flavor that will easily get mistaken for a rich, dairy-loaded, cheese sauce. It’s also made with simple ingredients that are both easy to find and easy on your health.
This was my first time using the oregano oil I bought a month or so ago. Oregano oil is a great substitute for dried oregano. It also has extra health benefits, as it’s a good source of vitamin k, iron, and manganese. It adds a hint of herb notes without overpowering the sauce.
Nutritional yeast is an important ingredient in this recipe. It’s a large factor in why this sauce tastes so cheesy. It’s hard to describe if you’ve not tried it. Not gonna lie, it looks like straight up fish food 🤔 but promise it doesn’t taste like fish food. It offers a pleasant cheesy, nutty flavor along with health benefits thanks to the protein, vitamins, mineral, and antioxidant properties it has. It’s made from a specific species of yeast that is grown for use in food items.
It’s great for all dietary needs since it’s low in calories, sodium, fat, and sugar and is free of gluten, wheat, soy, and dairy. It’s abundant in B vitamins, protein, and trace minerals (think zinc, manganese, and selenium). Nutritional yeast is also a complete protein since it contains all nine essential amino acids.
One vitamin in particular, vitamin B12, is almost always found in animal products. Vitamin B12 is used by the body for important roles like production of red blood cells, energy metabolism, nerve regeneration, and production of DNA. It’s important to eat foods high vitamin B12 since your body can only obtain it from external food sources. But, since it’s usually found in animal sources, vegans tend to have low levels of vitamin B12. However, nutritional yeast is a great source of vitamin B12 and is used often in vegan cooking.
Keep in mind that fortified nutritional yeasts have more of these nutrients versus unfortified types. This fortified nutritional yeast tastes great and packs on the nutrients.
I use nutritional yeast in a few other recipes, like in this Super Simple Vegan Pecan Spinach Pesto or this Nutritious Vegan Vegetable “Cream” Sauce
Super Simple Vegan Roasted Garlic “Cheese” Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 cups cauliflower florets, cooked
- 1 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 12 hours - (see note)
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 4 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- 5 cloves roasted garlic, or 1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder - (see note)
- 1 medium onion, roasted, or 1 tbsp onion powder - (see note)
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 drops oregano oil, 2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped - (see note)
Instructions
- Brush 5 cloves of garlic with avocado oil, wrapped them in foil, and roasted them in the oven at 375F for 40 minutes.
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Turn processor on and blend for 6-8 minutes or until completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.
- Serve with pasta, veggies, crackers, or your favorite protein, like chicken or pork. It’s that easy. And that delicious!
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- I recommend soaking raw, unsalted cashews for at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours.
- I brushed 5 cloves of garlic with avocado oil, wrapped them in foil, and roasted them in the oven at 375F for 40 minutes. It’s an extra step that takes a bit of time (when in reality it takes 5 seconds to simply use garlic powder), but I highly recommend doing this step. If you’ve had roasted garlic, I think you will understand that this step makes such a difference in taste, for the better. Roasting the garlic releases flavors and fragrances you don’t get with garlic powder.
- I chopped one onion and sautéed it in avocado oil for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly brown and softened. As with the garlic, I recommend taking the extra time to complete this step.
- Oregano oil is a great substitute for dried oregano. It also has extra health benefits, as it’s a good source of vitamin k, iron, and manganese. It adds a hint of herb notes without overpowering the sauce.
