Creamy Cashew Garlic Sauce with Pasta & Veggies

Light, creamy, and slightly buttery is how I would describe this cashew garlic sauce. It is a delicious and versatile sauce that can be used with a wide variety of dishes. Top it on pasta. Drizzle it over roasted veggies. Serve it with roasted potatoes. Mix it in with quinoa dishes. The sky is the limit! 

cashew garlic sauce

I find this to a be a simple, easy meal that can be put together fairly quickly. Plus it tastes delicious! That is my kind of meal! An excellent go-to, comfort meal that can be enjoyed year round. 

A few notes before you get started:

VEGGIES: I like to make my meals chock-full of vegetables. Not only do they add volume and texture to a meal, but they are so nutritious! I absolutely love vegetables as they make me feel amazing. Feel free to add even more veggies to this dish, such as peppers, asparagus, Brussel sprouts, tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage. Whatever vegetables your big heart desires! 

NOODLES: If using legume-based noodles, I’d suggest waiting to mix the sauce with the noodles until just before serving- unless if you know your noodles hold up in the sauce. Tolerant noodles and Whole Foods Market brand noodles are my favorite brands of legume-based noodles- I have had the most luck with these brand of noodles holding up in sauces. Some other brands have disintegrated in the sauce before, and that was not very pretty. 

SAUCE: Feel free to double the sauce recipe if you like it extra saucy. If I am making for a crowd, or know I will want leftovers of this recipe- I’ll fix up a larger batch. If your blender is not overly strong, you may find it helpful to soak the cashews in hot water for about 30 minutes to help soften them before blending.

Recipe for the double below:

1 cup raw cashews 

2 cup water

3-4 Tablespoons of minced garlic

2-3 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

½ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)

1-2 Tablespoon white miso paste

Ingredients:

Veggies:

1 large onion, chopped

4 cups broccoli, chopped

4-5 cups, sliced mini bella mushrooms (or mushrooms of choice)

4 cups chopped dark leafy greens (e.g. kale, spinach)

Salt- free Italian spice blend, to taste 

Pasta:

1 (8 oz) package of bean or whole grain pasta

Sauce:

½ cup raw cashews 

1 cup water

2-3 medium cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

½ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)

½ -1 Tablespoon white miso paste

Optional Toppings:

Fresh Parsley

Oil free marinara

Crushed red pepper

Method:

  1. Wash and chop the veggies. Sauté the onion with 1-2 Tablespoons of water until translucent.  Add the broccoli and the mushrooms. Stir in Italian seasonings, and 1-2 Tablespoons of water if needed.  Cook until the veggies reach desired texture. Toss in the greens for the last 2 minutes and stir the veggies.
  2. Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package.
  3. In a high speed blender, combine all the sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth.
  4. In a small sauce pan, heat the sauce on medium heat, stirring often to avoid burning. Lower the heat and allow to thicken. Continue to stir. Cook until reaches desired texture.
  5. Serve the garlic sauce and vegetables over the noodles. Mix it up and enjoy!

Serves 4