One of the things that has surprised me the most with vegan cuisine is how I’m able to create similar flavours and textures that I used to enjoy while eating animal products. The goal, for me, is not to aim for the vegan dish to taste exactly the same, but to try to bring out something about the non-vegan dish that I really enjoyed, like a rich sauce or a thick chocolaty pudding. This doesn’t apply to all foods however, I have no desire to create a dish that has the texture of meat because I just don’t crave that texture or taste anymore. It really just depends on the food!
[Butternut Squash Mac n Cheeze: Two Ways]
One of the things I’ve always loved about Mac ‘n Cheese is that it’s comforting and creamy. When I make a vegan version of Mac ‘n Cheese, I’m not trying to create a carbon copy, but a dish that gives me that same type of comforting feeling when I eat it.
Over the past couple years, I’ve found that I can create dishes that satisfy my cravings without having to sacrifice. I crave the new dishes that I make, instead of the dishes I used to eat. Now that I’m used to this lifestyle I rarely feel like I’m missing out. The only time I feel left out is when I am eating at a non-vegan friendly restaurant, otherwise I have so many choices the hardest part is trying to decide what I will eat!
One thing I don’t always enjoy about vegan cooking and baking is the often long ingredient list that is required to make some recipes. The recipes tend to involve more creativity, more spices & seasonings, and other ingredients to achieve that outcome that I’m looking for. It’s not necessarily a bad thing per say, but sometimes I just want a quick and dirty recipe that I know I can whip up within a minute’s notice.
This 5-ingredient cheeze sauce is one of those quick and dirty recipes that I know I will keep coming back to again and again! It’s hands down the easiest cheeze sauce I’ve made and it doesn’t require a food processor or other special kitchen tool. Just a stove top and a whisk…gotta love that!
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Low-Fat Vegan Cheeze Sauce
Yield
2/3 cup
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This is the Lexus of all the cheeze sauces I’ve made to date. It’s extremely smooth, buttery, and comforting!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsweetened, unflavoured almond milk (or more as needed to thin out)
- 6 tbsp nutritional yeast (Bob’s Red Mill makes one in natural food section of most grocery stores or bulk food stores)
- 1 tbsp Earth Balance or other non-dairy buttery spread
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour (or other flour)
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a skillet or pot, melt the Earth Balance over medium heat.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour and milk until all clumps are gone.
- Add milk & flour mixture and nutritional yeast to pot and whisk well. Reduce heat to low-medium.
- Add Dijon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste and whisk frequently until the sauce thickens up, for about 5 minutes. If it’s still too thin you can add more flour to achieve the thickness you desire. To reheat: reheat in the microwave or on the stove-top (add a splash of milk if it’s too thick) and whisk well. Store in an air-tight container for up to 5-7 days.
Just 5 ingredients and just as delicious as the other sauces I’ve made!
I first made this sauce a couple weeks ago and we’ve been enjoying it a lot! I’ve poured it into pasta, on vegetables, sandwiches, etc. It’s so silky and delicious, you really have to try this. You could also get creative and add some herbs or spices to it to change it up quite easily.
Yesterday, I also made a fantastic lunch with it…
more on that recipe tomorrow!
The Quick & Dirty 7-Ingredient or Less Challenge
Speaking of short ingredient lists, I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to create more vegan recipes with as few ingredients as possible. Quick & Dirty recipes if you will!
My goal is to create more recipes with 7 ingredients or less that don’t require a lot of time or even special kitchen tools. It’s going to be tough, but I’m really excited for the challenge!
I’m curious, what’s your biggest cooking or baking hurdle? Long ingredient lists, hard to find ingredients, special kitchen tools, not enough time?
Leave me a comment below if you have any recipes in mind that you’d like ‘condensed’…no pun intended!
That cheese sauce sounds like one I would use a lot! I love that it keeps for up to 5 days! And easy recipes are wonderful. I can cook difficult and complicated things but when times get busy (as they are about to in my life) simple is best!
I’m a big fan of this idea! I love finding quick, yummy, healthy things to make for dinner. One of my stand-by recipes lately is the spicy tomato, peanut, kale pasta from La Dolce Vegan. It’s just pasta, kale, tomato juice (though I’ve been using sauce), peanut butter, and chili-garlic sauce. I add a bit of nutritional yeast too. Really good!
Love it! Your blog has been so helpful in so many ways! This new challenge willbe great!!!! The biggest hurdles for us are definitely time and loooooong ingredient lists! We are gluten free in addition to being veggies and it can be very time consuming! With two little ones, I don’t need that! I’m so excited for your quick and dirty recipes!!!
Angela, I swear you read my mind. I’d been making your cheeze sauce all winter, and I COULDN’T GET ENOUGH. Now though, I’m living in a teeeeeny tiny treehouse (yes, a treehouse!) for the summer, and I couldn’t bring my food processor with me. I’m going to make this this afternoon on my hot plate and relive the good times!
My biggest cooking hurdle is dinner time. It’s strange because it’s not like it should be difficult– I work from home, so I should have time, right? But every night, I have a great plan to make a great dinner and then time slips away and I make something less great.
So I guess, my question is, what are you best quick and easy recipe ideas?
two of my favs are creamy tomato barley risotto and 15 min avocado pasta :)
Long ingredient lists cause me to automatically skip over a recipe. I just don’t have the patience for a million ingredients! But worse are the ones that take entirely too long. I don’t mind if they take place over two days or need a bit of tending to. But if I have to wait a long time when I’m hungry, that’s not cool (probably why I almost never roast veggies, I’m entirely too impatient!) But worse is when it takes a long active time. I like making new things, but I am not a fan of “slaving” in the kitchen.
Okay, that cheese sauce is callin’ my name!! Here are two of your recipes I’d love to see “condensed”…impossible as it may be!
Garlic Pumpkin Knots w/ Parmesan Cheese
Chilled Double Chocolate Torte
thanks!
One of my biggest hurdles is lengthy steps. I don’t mind a long recipe, but when one of the steps is to roast something and then I have to wait for it to cool, I really have to be feeling ambitious. I also seek out recipes that I already have everything for and don’t have to go to the store.
My biggest hurdle is that I’m allergic to tree nuts – I have difficulty finding substitutions for some dishes (i use a lot of sunflower and pumpkin seeds) in order to find a crunchy/nutty taste. It is much easier to cook at home though than to go out to restaurants. Even if I find a good Vegetarian/Vegan friendly restaurant the chances of the dishes not containing a lot of different nuts are slim to none. I realize nuts are a good source of protein and healthy fats but I don’t think I’m missing out all that much.
I would have to say long ingredient list AND kitchen tools, so often when I’m making raw dishes it requires some sort of gadget (SEE: Spiral Slicer and Dehydrator), also many recipes I have tried have 15 ingredients and just as many steps.
That sauce looks fantastic – brilliant idea to top pizza with it! I fully intend to try that out later this week. Mmmm.
I would LOVE to see an easy cheese-free casserole (that isn’t solely focused around pasta either)!
This challenge is a fantastic idea! You should encourage other bloggers to join in at some point, and then maybe showcase a bunch of the diverse ideas like you do in Vegan Recipes Link Love? Just a thought! :)
I do love when recipes become quick and dirty! They’re the best!
This post could not have come at a better time! I am in the middle of making my grocery shopping list and literally was thinking “I’m going to look at the OSG cheez sauce recipe and see if I can make it without a food processor”. Now I am so excited to make this recipe tonight! Thanks so much for your ever evoloving (or maybe in this case reverse evolving ha) and inspring recipes. :)
haha that’s great, thanks for the encouragement!
Goodness…I don’t know which recipes I’d like to see condensed, but I’d love if one of them were a slow-cooker recipe that didn’t involve oodles of prep time. Haha, no tall order there. ;)
that cheese sauce looks AMAZING!! I’m definitely going to be making it…possibly today :D
this is a bit of a challenge…do you know an easy way to make lasagna? I’ve been craving it lately, but it takes a lot of work. Any 7 ingredient ideas? :D
thanks for the suggestion!
I think long ingredient lists are the one thing that will keep me from trying something. I don’t have a printer or a smart phone, so if I want to make something with a long ingredient list I have to copy it all down by hand. Usually, I’ll just search for a version of the same recipe with fewer ingredients to save myself time.
My biggest challenge is the ingredients. We do not have a good health food store nearby. I order some things through a co op I am a part of…but it is mostly bulk. If I knew I liked and would re use some of the ingredients, I would be willing to purchase them that way, but don’t really need 10 pounds of buckwheat groats until I’m sure we would use them. I wish so much we had a Whole Foods or a Fresh Market somewhere close!
Really, I’d say the hardest thing for me would be my husband who asks for (it seems) the EXACT SAME THING every night. Not that I have a problem with eating the same thing over and over. . .
I love creamy cheesy sauces!! and even more…simple recipes!
Biggest Hurdle-usually hard to find ingredients and hard to pay prices!!! lol I just made a hummus today that had only 4 ingredients and was superb! A post will be coming soon!