Roasted Garlic Cashew Sauce
Forget the heavy cream and try this easy dairy-free plant-based healthier roasted garlic cashew sauce. And yes, cashews still have the calories and fat, BUT they contain heart healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat which are known to reduce cholesterol. They are also a good source of magnesium, potassium, Vitamins A and C, protein, as well as other minerals.
This creamy sauce has so many delicious uses! My favorite is over roasted vegetables, or as a base sauce in a casserole.
Jump to Recipe
What you will need:
- Cashews – raw, not roasted or salted
- Garlic – whole bulb of garlic
- Vegetable broth
- Onion powder
- Salt and Pepper
- Olive oil
- Sheet pan – for roasting the garlic
- Aluminum foil – for roasting the garlic
Equipment:
- High Powered Blender – I personally use a Vitamix that I have had for over 8 years. I love it and use it almost daily! It has never failed me and it’s a refurb! Several years ago at an Ironman event, they had vendor tents and Vitamix was one of them. They were giving awesome demos on how easy it was to use and how fast you could make tasty healthy food. I was hooked and ordered my refurbished machine on the spot, and I couldn’t be happier with it!
Prep
Soak the cashews for 4-6 hours (or overnight) in enough water to cover by 1 inch. The longer you soak them, the creamer the sauce will be. If you are tight on time, then soak cashews in hot water for 30 minutes – 1 hour.
While cashews are soaking, roast the whole bulb of garlic by cutting off just the very tip of the garlic head. Wrap it in aluminum foil with top open and drizzle with olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast in a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes.
Once cashews are done soaking, rinse and drain. Place in blender along with vegetable broth, onion powder and salt/pepper, blend about 30 seconds. Add roasted garlic and blend until desired creamy texture – approx 1-2 minutes.
Done! It’s that easy!
The blending process does heat the sauce. However, if you would like it a bit warmer, then place in saucepan over medium heat. Heat 3-5 minutes while stirring continuously making sure not to burn.
Tips
- Can last in refrigerator for up 5 days. Simply reheat in a pan on the stovetop, or microwave. Whisk to re-blend or put back into blender.
- Can I freeze it? – Yes, for up to 6 months, but I don’t personally recommend longer than a month. From my experience, It gets watery and is difficult to get that blended texture back. Feel free to comment if you have had success with freezing!
- The roasted garlic really makes this sauce pop with flavor. But, if you don’t have a whole bulb of garlic on hand, you can use garlic powder. I would start with 1/2 teaspoon and add by 1/4 teaspoons until you get the flavor you want.
Ways to Use Roasted Garlic Cashew Sauce
As I said above, it can be used in so many different ways. I like it best over roasted vegetables. But it can used over pasta, as a base for Alfredo sauce (just add parmesan), as a sauce in a casserole dish, in a Buddha bowl, and really anything that you would like a garlicky-cream sauce on!
Roasted Garlic Cashew Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews, raw
- 1 garlic whole bulb
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Start by soaking cashews – soak cashews in water 4-6 hours.
- While cashews are soaking, roast garlic by wrapping whole bulb of garlic in aluminum foil, leave an opening at the top. Drizzle with oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast in pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.
- Let garlic head cool. Once cooled, squeeze garlic bulb to remove roasted cloves. Set aside
- After soaking – rinse and drain cashews.
- Place cashews in a high-powered blender. Add broth and seasonings. Blend for approx 30 seconds
- Add roasted garlic cloves. Blend for approx 1 minute or until desired creamy texture.
- Typically blending process will heat the sauce. However, if not at desired temperature, place in a saucepan and heat over medium heat approx. 3-5 minutes, stirring continuously so as not to burn.
- Enjoy over your favorite dish!
Nutrition
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