Basic White Sauce
By Mary McDougall
Serves: Makes about 5 cups
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
1 Cup
Raw cashews, soaked (higher calorie option)
OR
1 1/2 Cups
Cooked white beans or 1 block of soft tofu (lower calorie option)
1 1/2
Onion, diced & steam fried in vegetable stock
4 Cloves
Garlic, minced
2 Cups
Non-dairy milk
2 Cups
Vegetable stock (low sodium) keep more on hand to change thickness
3 Tbsp
Nutritional yeast
Directions
1
Saute onions and garlic with stock and steam fry until onions are translucent. Add to blender with soaked cashews (or white beans or tofu), non-dairy milk and rest of ingredients and blend, adjusting thickness to desired consistency with vegetable stock. Add fresh herbs of your choice to finish. This sauce will reduce and will continue to thicken on its own with time.
White Sauce Variations:
Creamed Greens: Steam fry onions and handfuls of chard or choice of greens, add white sauce and reduce. Serve with brown rice or other whole grains.
Gratins: In casserole dish, layer thinly sliced potatoes or other roots, with thin layer of sauce, continue to assemble in this format, seal with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees for a creamy gratin.
“Cheese Sauce”: Add roasted red bell pepper, onion powder and more nutritional yeast and blend. Toss with broccoli, and bake in casserole dish for broccoli with cheese sauce. Toss with al dente whole wheat penne or shells with corn, and peas, place in casserole dish and bake for mac and cheese.
Alfredo: Steam fry onions, mushrooms and broccoli, add al dente linguini, pour in sauce, toss, and reduce for 1 minute and serve with sprinkling of nutritional yeast for “parm” substitute.
Carbonara Linguini: Steam fry some red onions, fresh peas and diced smoked tofu. Add al dente pasta to the pan, toss with a bit of sauce, add freshly chopped parsley and a touch of nutmeg, and reduce until thickened.
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