First up on today's agenda: some nitty, gritty blog details.
You may have noticed that the tagline for Blissful Basil has switched from "Confessions of a Vegetarian Foodie" to "Finding Happiness Through Wholesome Foods" and that all of the recipes posted over the last five months have been vegan. Although subtle, these changes signify a shift in the direction that this blog is taking now and in the future. Although I am not 100% vegan, nearly everything that I cook at home is 100% vegan so it only makes sense that I blog about 100% vegan recipes, right? Although I had been toying with the idea of transitioning to veganism for the past year or so (for animal and environmental reasons), it was the juice cleanse I did in early October that really shed some light on how much better my body feels and functions without dairy. Since that time, I've put in the extra effort to consume many more plant-based meals that focus on whole and fresh foods, which leads me to my next point...
Blissful Basil was originally the name that we came up with for this blog because it was a bit catchy and alliterative. However, in the same way that I've grown and matured (or at least I hope I have) over the last 3 ½ years since beginning to blog, Blissful Basil's meaning has also grown. At first it was just a cute name that jived with my love for Italian food, but now it represents the idea that it's really, truly possible to find happiness (i.e., bliss) through the consumption of whole, fresh, unprocessed foods (i.e., basil). Clearly, there are many, many variables that contribute to a sense of contentment and happiness, but there is absolutely truth to the notion "you are what you eat" in regard to the way that food affects our physical, mental, and emotional states. This is a long-winded way to explain a few minor changes, but I felt like you all deserved a bit of an explanation as to why you've been seeing so much of the v-e-g-a-n word lately.
To sum it all up, expect many more plant-based recipes with a strong focus on wholesome foods and the amazing ways in which they can positively affect mood, energy, mental clarity, and overall well-being. Anyone else super excited or is it just me?!
Alright, now onto the important stuff: food!
This vegan hemp seed alfredo sauce will make you write a bad check. Hemp seeds, raw cashews, and almond milk are blended with a magical array of flavors and spices, and the result is nearly unbelievable. It's incredibly thick, silky smooth, and tastes even better than dairy-based alfredo sauce. This sauce is the bees knees, and it's so addictive slathered over pasta, veggies, even a spoon. One word: alfredofreakingmazing.
Vegan Hemp Seed Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews*
- ½ cup shelled hemp seeds
- ½ cup plain unsweetened almond milk*
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- ½-1 teaspoon sea salt (I recommend using a full teaspoon if you are not going to salt your pasta!)
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Small pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in warm water for at least 30 minutes to soften. Drain before using.
- Add all ingredients to a high-powered blend and blend on high for 2 minutes or until super creamy and smooth.
- Serve over your favorite pasta or veggies.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
will you care if I tweet this?
I would LOVE if you tweeted it!
Question... I have very mixed feelings about cashews. In most cases, I'll pass them up or substitute them.
So is there a different nut that could be substituted for this recipe??
Wonderful blog, by the way. Absolutely lovve it :)
Hi Ashley! Thank you for your sweet words! You can substitute more hemp seeds in place of the cashews, so you'll use 1 cup hemp seeds and eliminate the cashews altogether. It should be plenty thick this way, but if you're finding it to be too runny just add more hemp seeds until you reach the desired thickness. It will definitely be a bit more "hempy" in flavor but it will be even more nutrition-packed. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
You could substitute the cashews with pureed cauliflower and also omit the nutritional yeast. Add onion and garlic powder to liking. That's how I make mine but I've not tried it with hemp seeds. I do have some and plan to add this to my sauce recipe.
Oh and my recipe has mozzarella and parmesan cheese, also.
ahh, ok! Yes, those will definitely substitute flavor-wise for the nutritional yeast for those who aren't dairy free. Thanks, Dora!
Heavenly! Awesome recipe! Thank you!
Wonderful tips, Dora! Thanks for taking the time to share—much appreciated. :)
Wowza! This recipe is awesome. I added a little earth balance and some ghost pepper sea salt for an extra kick. Thank you! This will definitely be a regular in my supper rotation. :)
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Nicole! Ghost pepper sea salt?? That sounds awesome, and I'm sure it adds quite the kick. Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback and adjustments!
I've been quietly reading and browsing through your blog for a while now, and this is the first recipe of yours I've made. It is absolutely delicious! So simple, creamy, rich, and somehow both authentic tasting and even better than nonvegan alfredo sauce (plants, am I right??!). Thanks for this great recipe.
Hi, Teresa! I'm so glad you gave the hemp seed alfredo a try and that you enjoyed it so much. I agree with your comparison to non-vegan alfredo sauce; it's also so much easier to make than traditional alfredo and so packed with nutrition. This also works great drizzled over vegan pizza or used as a base instead of pizza sauce. Thanks for sharing your feedback and kind words!
Can't wait to give this a try. How can i pass up something called #alfredofreakinamazing?! :)
Can it be frozen. I'm looking for 2 serving meals
I found your site by Googling "recipe vegan peanut butter cookie" which is now my family's favorite treat! My husband and I have been vegan for a bit---he began a year ago and I joined in this past April. We are still working on our teen daughter, as dairy does not agree with her and she's always been a self-professed, semi-vegetarian in that she only eats it once in awhile. Alfredo sauce is her favorite and I can't wait to see her reaction! Keep up the excellent work--love the look of your site and the ease of the recipes. I will rate the recipe after I try it :)
Hi, Lori! So glad you stumbled upon the peanut butter cookie recipe in your search and even more glad that you've been enjoying the recipe. Hope you, your husband, and especially your daughter enjoy the Alfredo sauce (fingers crossed). It's been a hit with my Aflredo-loving friends and family, and I hope it is with yours too. All my best. -A
That sauce is really delicious! I'm still having trouble when things taste a bit too much like nutritionnal yeast, so I added a bit more lemon juice (maybe 1-2 tbsp) and a few sun-dried tomatoes and wowww that definitely gave it a beautiful twist..! I used the sauce with your raw vegan zucchini pasta alfredo and was blown away! Will be making that regularely, it's really great :)
I want to try this so bad...I've been looking for a gluten free Alfredo sauce. Is there a substitute for the nutritional yeast you could suggest?
Great blog. Recipe came out well. Made my own almond milk ;)
This looks wonderful! Could I leave out the almond milk and just use water? We are raw vegan and I never make my own milks....I know....I'm too lazy! :)
Hi, Adrianne! Absolutely, filtered water works great in this recipe, too. Enjoy! :)
Thank you so much for this amazingly easy and scrumptious vegan dish. I added a little onion powder and chill flakes over gluten free linguine, top with baked cherry tomatoes. I follow Trinity's kitchen on google+, that lead me to your page here. I will be following your recipes as well now. I have tweeted this page out. thanks again keep on keeping on. Namaste. :))
So yummy!! Added a tad bit more salt & lots of pepperServed over Zoodles. So glad I didn't have to cook tonight it was too hot
Was supposed to have 5 stars. So here they are.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Brenda. Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts!
This might be a silly question but I'm just wondering if this sauce is supposed to be served hot or cold?
Hi, Kristine! You can serve it warm or cold. I find that pouring it straight from the blender over hot pasta is enough to warm it up, but I also love it over chilled zucchini noodles. Keep in mind that if you do heat it in a saucepan, you may need to add a touch more filtered water to thin it (and if you do, you'll likely want to up the seasoning with a bit more sea salt). Enjoy!
I followed the directions 100% but mine came out very thick. I could not pour it out of the blender, I had to use a spatula to get it out (and I did use a Vitamix). It tastes very good but I just wondered if you think I should up the amount of liquid in the recipe? Thanks!
Hi, Andrea! I'd add a bit more liquid. It should definitely be thick but easily pourable. Enjoy!
can I use water instead of milk? :)
Yes! That should work just fine. Enjoy!
Hi! Can I substitute the hemp seeds with something else ?
Hi, Chris! You can use raw cashews instead, just be sure to soak them for at least two hours before blending. Enjoy!
Very nice! I’m going to try this recipe. I make lots of my own vegan recipes too but haven’t tried Mac and cheese yet.
Used some red pepper flakes for some kick was delicious!
So glad you're enjoying the recipe, Scott!
Awesome post.
Superb blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I'm hoping to
start my own site soon but I'm a little lost on everything.
Would you propose starting with a free platform like Wordpress
or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I'm totally overwhelmed ..
Any suggestions? Thanks a lot!
Hi, Veronique! Feel free to email me with specific questions at blissfulbasil (at) gmail (dot) com.
Hey there!
I was just wondering about a substitute for nutritional yeast. I just discover I am allergic to it. Ive been researching the net to no avail...
Thanks in advance!
Hi, Nadia! Nutritional yeast is a really tough one to replace. I find that tahini tends to have a bit of a "cheesy" taste to it, so it might be worth a try to substitute it with tahini. If you do, I'd love to know how it goes. Hope this helps!
this is CRAZY good! i was craving something rich and cheesy (the pms was real) and it hit the spot <3
So glad it hit the spot, Kristina! Thanks for taking time out of your weekend to come back and share your thoughts and rating. Means a lot to me and is helpful for others considering making the recipe, too. :)
I LOVE learning more alkaline-heavy recipes. Since becoming vegan I learned to cook in a whole new way... alkaline cooking is just taking it to a whole new level of flavor and health. I know this sauce recipe isn't totally alkaline, but it is almost there! As an italian woman, I have a natural desire to cook and eat delicious pastas (lol). This sauce looks soo creamy and gorgeous. I am thinking about using brazil nuts instead of cashews to make this recipe even more alkaline. I wonder what I could use instead of the nutritional yeast? Any ideas? Maybe pistachios to give that cheesy flavor.. Do you think it would be ok to omit the nutritional yeast altogether? As much as I adore the flavor of it, am trying to avoid it. THANK YOU for your beautiful creative work with this recipe. CANT WAIT TO TRY.
Hi, June! So glad this recipe has piqued your interest. The nutritional yeast is a tricky one to omit as it really adds a wonderful depth of flavor and cheesiness to the sauce. I wouldn't recommend omitting it but if you prefer to do so, substituting tahini (or potentially pistachios) could work. I find tahini has a cheesy flavor at the finish, so it may be able to accomplish something similar to nutritional yeast in this recipe. Hope you enjoy the recipe however you decide to make it! :)
This was tasty and satisfying. Easy to make. I added some cocnut milk from a can to get a smoother texture. I'm not a fan of Alfredo sauce so this was better. Hubbie enjoyed it too!
So glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe, Susan! Thanks for taking time out of your day to come back and share your rating and kind words—means so much to me and is helpful for others considering making the recipe, too. :)
Cashews, onions & garlic cause serious digestive distress for me so I appreciate your substitution suggestion! You do say 1 cup hemp seeds and plant milk. How much plant milk would I use? Would it be 1/2 cup oatmilk & 1/2 cup hemp seeds?
Thank you!!
Hi, Colleen! You'll want to use 1 cup hemp seeds and 1/2 cup oat milk if you're omitting the cashews. Hope this helps and enjoy!