vegan pasta sauce 2x: alfredo and cheese

i made up the alfredo recipe, but the cheese sauce mix is an adaptation from the complete idiot’s guide to vegan cooking by beverly lynn bennett. both are rich, creamy and tasty.

super-simple alfredo sauce

3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/3 cup diced onion
1 cup soymilk
2 tablespoons flour
10 cashews
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
2 tablespoons minced parsley
salt & pepper to taste

sauté the garlic and onion in olive oil until onions are translucent. let them cool, then pour into the food processor with all the remaining ingredients. process until completely smooth. heat it up on the stove for just a minute or two until it’s the correct temperature and consistency (it thickens quickly). i served it on spinach fettuccine with mushrooms.

vegan cheese sauce mix

1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

process the cashews and rolled oats until finely ground. scrape the sides of the bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and process another minute. the resulting dry mix can be stored in the fridge for two months to be used a bit at a time.

to prepare enough cheese sauce to cover a good-sized bowl of pasta, combine 1/4 cup sauce mix with 1/2 cup soymilk and heat until thickened.