When I was young my mom occasionally took us to Wendy’s and I would often order a baked potato with broccoli and cheese sauce because it seemed fancy. Its not something that I make at home a lot, but has stuck in my brain as a comfort food. I eat at the hospital a lot because sometimes its the only time in a day I see my husband. On certain days, in the magical hospital cafeteria, the stars align and I can order a baked potato, a side of broccoli, and a bowl of Wisconsin Cheddar soup and I create my own loaded potato.
The other day I was roasting some sliced potatoes and some broccoli on the same pan. I realized that all I needed was some cheese sauce and I could have a deconstructed broccoli and cheese potato! And then I started realizing the benefits of eating it this way. By slicing the potatoes instead of baking them whole, you can season every bite, you can get a delicious roasty crisp on each piece, and it cooks a lot faster. And roasted broccoli is so so good.
The cheese sauce is vegan and gluten free and can be made quickly in the blender while the veggies cook. It is very, very yellow. It gets a nice yellow color from the carrots and nutritional yeast, and then I went and sprinkled some turmeric in and it turned BRIGHT yellow! You can’t really taste the turmeric, so if you don’t want it so bright yellow, just leave it out. And yes, it has carrots in it! The sauce doesn’t taste carroty, but they give it a sweetness and softness that is perfect. If you have explored the world of vegan cheese sauce, you are probably used to seeing ingredients like carrots, squash, or sweet potatoes. I have done a lot a experimenting and have come up with my favorite combo of ingredients, and carrots were my winning veggie. If you are new to the idea of a cheese-less cheese sauce, don’t be scared away by the carrots! This sauce is far healthier than a cheese sauce laden with cheese and milk and butter, so this sauce is great even if you aren’t vegan and are just looking for a healthier alternative.
Oh, and can winter be over soon? Please?
First, roasted potatoes:
Top with a serving of broccoli.
Drizzle with cheese sauce.
Roasted and seasoned potatoes and broccoli florets, drizzled in a healthy and easy vegan cheese sauce. Its like a healthy deconstructed broccoli and cheese baked potato.
Ingredients
- 4 medium to large red potatoes, washed, quartered, and sliced
- 2 bunches broccoli, washed and chopped into florets
- grape seed oil for tossing (my favorite oil for roasting and grilling, but olive oil would work too)
- salt to taste
- sprinkle of garlic powder
- sprinkle of chili powder
- rounded 1/2 C. chopped and peeled carrots
- 1/2 C. raw cashews, soaked in water for a couple hours, but up to overnight
- 1/2 C. water, plus more for thinning
- 1 TBSP. nutritional yeast
- 1 TBSP. lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne
- 1/8 tsp. turmeric (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Chop the carrots for the sauce and place in a small pot and cover with water. Boil until soft. While the carrots are boiling, chop the potatoes and broccoli. Toss them with a drizzle of grape seed oil until evenly coated. I separated the potatoes and broccoli and tossed them individually, but you can throw them all together,too. Spread the potatoes and broccoli out on a baking sheet, or two, if there isn’t room on one. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Sprinkle lightly with chili powder and garlic powder. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft but with a nice crust to them. Broccoli should also be tender, but not mushy.
- While the veggies are cooking, prepare the sauce. In a high speed blender combine cooked carrots, soaked cashews, 1/2 C. water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic clove, salt, chili powder, onion powder, and cayenne. If you have a Vitamix you can skip soaking the cashews. Blend until smooth as silk. Add water to thin the sauce to desired consistency. Taste and add more salt if needed. Assess the color of the sauce and if you want it to be more yellow, add the turmeric. If you have a blender that can heat things, like a Vitamix, blend the sauce until steam starts to escape the blender and the sauce is hot. If your blender can’t do this, just transfer to a pot and warm, stirring often and not boiling.
- Once the veggies are done, place a serving of potatoes in the bottom of a bowl. Top with a serving of broccoli. Drizzle generously with cheese sauce.
Notes
vegan, gluten free, vegetarian,
