Guest Blogger: Angie’s Vegan Alfredo Sauce

by Barb on December 23, 2013

Note: While I’m off traipsing around the globe, some of my wonderful blogger friends have agreed to guest blog for me… Today I give you Angie!

Hello, That Was Vegan readers! I am Angie and I blog over at Angie Eats Peace. I share a little about being a vegan/reader/yogi/runner/hiker/bulldog owner. Stop by and say hi, sometime!

I am so honored to be guest blogging on one of my favorite blogs. Barb always comes up with such amazing, creative recipes that are delicious and animal-free.

I have been a vegetarian for 7 years, and a vegan for about 1 ½ years. However, this is my second attempt at veganism. I was vegan for about 2 years shortly after becoming a vegetarian. The main mistake I made during that time, that led me to lapse into eating cheese again, was I did not diversify my cooking enough. I was eating the same things over and over again. I was left with cravings and getting bored. I would have dreams that I was eating pizza (true story) and felt like I missing out on something.

This time around, I was more prepared, armed with cookbooks by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, I built up a more diverse range of recipes and started getting more creative. I try to make meals that are as unprocessed and whole, as possible, but I still need by junk food fix every now and then.

I promise that I eat my daily kale, drink my green juice and load up on quinoa, but some days, I just want pizza.

There are some decent vegan cheese substitutions out there, but sometimes, I just want something more hearty and comforting.

I have been playing around with this vegan Alfredo sauce recipe, and think I finally have a version I am happy with.

For this pizza, you only need a small amount of the sauce, so there may be plenty left for another use (dipping sauce for veggies? The base for a spinach artichoke dip? Another pizza? A small serving of pasta? Let your creativity run free!).

Angie’s Vegan Alfredo Sauce:

I start off by soaking 1 cup of cashews in 1 cup of water (this softens them so they will be creamier) for a few hours.

Drain the cashews and put in the food processor or high power blender.

To the blender, also add:

1 cup of unsweetened milk (almond, soy, rice or coconut)
2 tablespoons of crushed garlic or 2 whole cloves
1 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1 cup of vegan parmesan (or more nutritional yeast, if you cannot find veg parm)
1 teaspoon of salt
Fresh cracked pepper

Whirl this around in the blender/food processor till smooth. Taste and add more ingredients to your preference, then transfer to a sauce pan.

Once in the sauce pan, melt in 1 tablespoon of earth balance, for a nice buttery finish.

Check the sauce here and maybe add in more ingredients to your taste.

For the pizza:

Spread the sauce over pizza dough (I buy the pre made dough from Trader Joe’s).

Top with chopped broccoli flourettes & sliced mushrooms brushed with a little bit of olive oil. (I also added a bit more of the sauce on top of the veggies.)

Bake for 20 minutes at 375.

Remove from oven, and for an added treat, top with coconut bacon. Have you tried coconut bacon yet? If not, please stop whatever you are doing, and find some immediately!