Saturday, October 10, 2015

Cheesy Kabocha Sauce (Vegan)



What if I told you you could make a delicious, healthy, dairy-free cheese sauce from a vegetable? What if I told you that same cheese sauce is so easy to make, it basically just requires you to know how to boil something? Well, it's all true. And I've got the pictures to prove it.

If you peruse the produce section of your grocery store regularly, it's likely you have been noticing some really beautiful squashes popping up. One of my favorites is kabocha squash. I usually just roast it, but now I love kabocha squash even more because it is the base to this awesome sauce (I don't think I've ever accidentally said 'awesome sauce' - always on purpose) recipe. If you are unfamiliar with kabocha squash, pictured here is a very pretty blue variety.











Some things that make this sauce healthy:
1. No oil
2. Low in fat
3. No preservatives
4. No added sugar
5. Made from whole food ingredients
6. Plant based

Ways to enjoy this sauce:
1. Over vegetables (cheesy broccoli!)
2. Over pasta
3. Stirred into a vegetable soup
4. Chili topping
5. With chips



Cheesy Kabocha Squash
By Bailey West, B.S. Nutrition/Dietetics

1 small kabocha squash
1 cup nutritional yeast
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup cashews, raw & unsalted
1/4 cup pickle juice or vinegar
1/3 cup soy milk, unsweetened
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t turmeric
1/8 - 1/4 t cayenne pepper
salt & pepper, to taste

1. Boil about 8 cups of water in a medium sized pot.

2. Wash your kabocha squash and then cut it open. Scoop out seeds and discard. Chop the rest of the squash into pieces small enough to boil in your pot.

3. Boil kabocha squash pieces until soft (about 5 minutes).

4. Drain the water and let the squash cool. Once cooled, use a spoon to separate the orange meat from the skin of the squash. Discard the skin.

5. Place the squash meat and remaining ingredients into a food processor. Blend on high until smooth. Add salt to taste.


1 comment:

  1. I'm going to try this. I just have to find the blue squash

    Awesome blog. I haven't checked it our in awhile. Good job

    ReplyDelete

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