Name: Vegan Nut-Free Pumpkin Cheese Sauce
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: Vegan Cheese
Ingredients: 1 can pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling); 1 block firm tofu (softer tofu may work, but use less liquid to blend at first. I wouldn't recommend this with extra firm tofu); 1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk; Juice of 1 lemon; 2-3 cloves of garlic (if you don't have a high-speed blender, you might need to mince these first, or just use garlic powder); 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast; 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon (more or less to taste) pink Himalayan salt

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My Vegan Nut-Free Pumpkin Cheese Sauce is a Fall-inspired cheese that is vegan, nut-free, gluten-free, and oil-free. I was feeling some pasta one night last week, but because I had leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge and I didn’t have any beans in the cupboard, I had to be creative.

I blended the pumpkin with a block of firm tofu and some nondairy milk to make it creamy, and I played up the orange color of the pumpkin with a little turmeric (undetectable in the flavor profile). Then I punched up the cheezy flavor with some garlic and nutritional yeast, creating a pretty amazing sauce.

The dried thyme in this just seems to complement the flavors perfectly. I don’t know why but thyme feels very fall-ish, probably because it’s used in a lot of soups, casseroles, and other popular fall dishes. But feel free to leave it out or substitute it if you don’t like it.

This protein-packed cheeze sauce is healthy and delicious, so feel free to eat all of it. After I started warming it up with my cooked pasta the first time I made it, I kept dipping a spatula back into the blender to “clean it.” ;)

Speaking of which, you should put this cheezy sauce on ~~anything~~everything. I’ve already put it on pasta, rice, broccoli, and in lasagna (recipe coming soon).

As always, let me know if you make this recipe and please tag #Zardyplants and mention me @Zardyplants so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

<3 Liz

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