If you love rich foods as much as I do, you probably know how a cream sauce can really make a dish. Unfortunately, plant-based eaters are often unsure of how to make a vegan cream sauce without dairy milk, cheese, and butter. The good news is that it’s easier than you think!
A simple and versatile vegan white sauce recipe can be made from several different bases, such as tofu, beans, nuts, and plant milk.
Plant-Based Vegan Cream Sauce
How to make a cream sauce, you ask? Well, a classic French-style white cream sauce, called a Bechamel sauce, combines fats, such as butter or pan drippings, with a starch such as flour or cornstarch. This mixture of fat and starch is called a roux. Milk is then added to the roux, heated, and whisked until thickened. This process is known as a reduction.
Cheese and other flavorings can be added depending on the recipe. Of course, we’ll be making a plant-based, vegan bechamel sauce!
Making a plant-based white cream sauce for pasta isn’t all that different. While a vegan sauce can be made with vegetable oils or highly-processed vegan “butter,” we’ll leave out these unhealthy fats and substitute fats from nuts or tofu for our whole food plant-based sauce versions.
Our flour-based version is made right the pan. While those that use soaked nuts or beans require a high-powered blender such as a Blend-Tec or a Vitamix before heating.
A plant-based vegan nut-based white cream sauce recipe often uses raw cashews, adding a nice creaminess and a touch of good-for-you fats. Cashews are softer than almonds and take less soaking. For example, try this easy cashew-based Alfredo Sauce, which can be served over fettuccine or other pasta.
On the other hand, this popular Bitchin’ Sauce recipe is made with almonds. It’s a great dressing and can also be heated and served over vegetables or baked potatoes.
For a completely oil-free sauce, you can make one using cannellini (Great Northern) beans because of their creaminess, mild flavor, and light color. Or alternatively, you can use starch to thicken your plant-based cream.
Keep reading to discover how to make your very own easy plant-based cream sauce from scratch in very little time.
Three Ways to Make Plant-Based Vegan Cream Sauce
How to make white cream sauce plant-based? And how can I use it in my whole food plant-based recipes?
A cream sauce can be used as a base for other recipes or served with pasta, over vegetables, soup, or lasagna to add creaminess.
Once you’ve learned how to make plant-based cream sauce, it opens the door to all kinds of variations. Use your creativity to transform these simple sauces by adding other ingredients such as red peppers, spinach, tahini, lemon, avocados, or cauliflower.
Cashew Cream Sauce
This version uses raw cashews.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw cashews, soak in water for 3-4 hours, drain
- 1 ¾ cup vegetable broth
- ½ cup white wine (optional or add an equal amount of vegetable broth)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon or more to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- a pinch of nutmeg
- salt to taste
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Add to a saucepan over medium heat and whisk slowly until heated through about 3 minutes. Adjust consistency with additional vegetable stock or water, if needed.
Cannellini Bean Cream Sauce:
This version uses cannellini beans.
Ingredients:
- 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups cooked from scratch.)
- ¾ cup unsweetened nondairy milk
- Juice of 1/2 lemon or more to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- salt to taste
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Add to a saucepan over medium heat and whisk slowly until heated through about 3 minutes. Adjust consistency with additional vegetable stock or water, if needed.
- Toss in your favorite cooked whole-grain pasta or vegetable noodles along with your choice of chopped fresh herbs such as dill or basil.
Flour-Based Cream Sauce:
This version has no nuts or beans.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons unbleached flour (rice, whole wheat or other gluten-free)
- 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- salt to taste
Instructions:
- Place the flour and about three tablespoons of milk in a bowl and whisk to remove lumps, or place in a closed jar and shake.
- Add the nondairy milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour slurry and nutritional yeast to the milk and whisk while heating for about 3 minutes. Adjust consistency with additional vegetable stock or water, if needed.
Beyond the Basics
Beyond the BasicsNow that you know how to make a basic whole-food, plant-based pasta sauce, you can get creative with additions to change it up. Add avocado to make an avocado cream sauce, or try lemon, spinach, or red peppers.
Here are a few examples of plant-based sauces:
- Cashew Cheese Sauce
- Easy Creamy Gravy
- Tomato Cream Sauce
- Chili Cheese Dip
- Thai Coconut Curry
I hope you’ll try one of these healthy plant-based cream sauces in your meal plan today. Pasta never tasted so good.
I love to hear from you. Leave a comment below about your experience making a plant-based, vegan cream sauce.
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