Vegan "Cheese" Sauce- Makes Vegetables Taste Special

Sometimes a simple healthy vegetable side dish needs a little something extra to perk it up and make it more interesting. Sautéed broccoli is delicious on its own, but I often like to dress it up with a creamy, flavorful vegan "cheese" sauce that I make.

I save jars and fill it with the sauce that lasts for about 4 days.

As you probably know by now, I follow a plant-based diet and don't eat regular cheese. But I still enjoy finding creative ways to add flavor to vegetables, and this creamy, orange-colored sauce is one of my favorites. 

It's smooth, savory, and surprisingly simple to make with a handful of everyday ingredients. This type of sauce is very popular in plant-based circles. 

I'm not suggesting this is just like real cheese, if that is what you prefer! I'm saying that it is a nice sauce without the heavy saturated fat. This recipe is simply another option for anyone who follows a plant-based diet, avoids dairy, or wants to try a creamy sauce made without the added fat of a traditional cheese sauce. I like having recipes like this on hand because they make it easy to enjoy vegetables in a new way.

Have You Heard of “Nooch”?

If you've spent any time exploring plant-based recipes, you may have come across the word nooch. It's the nickname for nutritional yeast, a pantry staple in many vegan kitchens.

Nutritional yeast is different from the yeast used in baking bread. It comes in flakes or powder and has a savory flavor that's often described as tasting nutty or cheesy. You can find it at stores such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, as well as online.

Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavor to sauces, vegetables, and other plant-based dishes. In this recipe, "nooch" helps give the sauce its familiar cheesy taste, while cooked potatoes and carrots create a smooth, creamy texture and that lovely orange color.

The best part? It's easy to make.

Ingredients for Vegan “Cheese” Sauce

• 1 cup almond milk or your favorite plant-based milk

• 3–4 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

• 2 tablespoons potato starch mixed with 1/3 cup of additional plant based milk in a cup .

• 1 cup diced potatoes

• 1 cup diced carrots

• ½ teaspoon salt

How to Make Vegan “Cheese” Sauce

1. Cook the vegetables. Place the diced potatoes and carrots in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, or until both vegetables are fork-tender. Drain well.

2. Add the remaining ingredients. Add the plant-based milk, potato starch mixed with plant based milk, and salt to the saucepan with the cooked potatoes and carrots. Stir to combine.

3. Heat the sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat and stir in the nutritional yeast.

4. Stir until creamy. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens and becomes smooth and creamy. If you'd like a completely silky texture, you can blend the mixture until smooth.

5. Serve and enjoy! Spoon the warm sauce over steamed broccoli and serve immediately.

More Ways to Enjoy This Sauce

Although broccoli is a natural choice for this creamy sauce, I don't stop there! I also like serving it over a combination of broccoli and cauliflower or any vegetable I happen to be making. 

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In the past, I made another variation of this tasty cheese sauce  made with soaked cashews and a squirt of hot sauce. It's a little richer and perkier.

My favorite way to eat this "cheese sauce" is on a baked potato with broccoli and jarred black bean dip that I get from Whole Foods. Yum! It's a meal in itself for lunch!!!

Sometimes, all it takes is a good sauce to give familiar vegetables a whole new appeal!

I'm in Florida, but my next door neighbor sent me this photo of the trees on our street in Pennsylvania from two weeks ago. So beautiful.

Two weeks later at my friend's house in Cape Cod leaves are falling!!

How about you? Do you like your vegetables plain or do you like to add a dressing or sauce to them? What is the fall like where you live?

Quick and Easy Quinoa Salad With Scallions, mushrooms, and Pine Nuts

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  Are you looking for a healthy side dish that's easy to make, tastes delicious, and doesn't require a lot of time in the kitchen? I think you'll enjoy this simple quinoa recipe!
  
  
  

  Every now and then, I like to switch things up and serve quinoa instead of rice. It's a nice change, and I love how easily it takes on the flavors of whatever ingredients I add. Quinoa is one of those ingredients that works beautifully with vegetables, beans, tofu, and just about any main dish.

  
  
  And there's a bonus! Quinoa is packed with plant-based nutrition. Although we usually prepare it like a grain, it's actually a seed. It's naturally gluten-free, provides all nine essential amino acids, and contains more protein and fiber than rice.
  
  
  

  Three Different Varieties of Quinoa 

  You may have noticed that there are several varieties of quinoa. White quinoa is the mildest and fluffiest when cooked, making it a great choice for everyday meals. Red quinoa has a slightly nuttier flavor and holds its shape a little better, while black quinoa has a more earthy flavor and firmer texture. You can even buy a colorful blend of all three at Trader Joe's!

  White Quinoa

  For this recipe, I'm use  white quinoa. It cooks quickly, so it's perfect when you need a healthy side dish without spending a lot of time in the kitchen.
  

  
  

  I made this recipe for a potluck dinner with friends. We divided up the menu, and I was asked to bring something made with quinoa. I decided to keep it simple and add some sliced mushrooms, scallions, and pine nuts (or more economically you can use sliced almonds or both)

  The combination turned out delicious! It's a simple recipe with just a few ingredients, but sometimes those are the best recipes of all.

  Whether you're making dinner for your family or bringing a dish to share with friends, this easy quinoa recipe is a tasty way to add something healthy to your table.

  This recipe serves 8 as a side dish. Cut in half to make 4 servings: Leftovers taste even better the next day. 

  Ingredients

  • 2 cups white quinoa, rinsed well

  • 2 cups water

  • 1½ cups vegetable broth

  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

  • 5 medium white mushrooms, sliced and sauteed

  • ½ cup pine nuts and or slivered almonds

  • ½ cup chopped scallions

    ** 10 cherry tomatoes, halved for garnish and decoration

    Optional Dressing: 1/4 cup of freshly pressed lemon or lime juice. 1/4 cup of olive oil, seasoning to taste. Whisk together pour over the salad.

  Directions: 
  Cook quinoa according to the directions on the package using a mixture of water and broth for the liquid. When done, fluff the quinoa and mix in scallions, pine nuts and slivered almonds., and sautéed mushrooms. 
  Optional Dressing: I eat the quinoa recipe the way it is, but you may like it with a light lemon dressing made with lemon juice and olive oil and seasoning of your choice. 
  
  
  

  
  
  
  My Notes: 
  Quinoa is a wonderful alternative to brown rice, especially when you're looking for a little more protein and fiber in a plant-based meal. And white quinoa, which you use in your recipe, has essentially the same nutritional benefits as red or black quinoa.    
  
  
  Why quinoa is a healthy choice

  • More protein: Quinoa provides about 60% more protein than brown or white rice.

  • More fiber: It provides about 50% more fiber, which helps support digestion and fullness.

  • Complete protein: Quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids, making it particularly valuable in a plant-based diet.

  • Naturally gluten-free: A great option for gluten-free cooking.

  • Rich in minerals: Quinoa provides magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and manganese.

   Be sure to rinse the quinoa well before cooking to remove its natural saponin coating, which can give it a bitter taste if you don't rinse well.

   Quinoa is a wonderful alternative to brown or white rice, especially when you're looking for a little more protein and fiber in a plant-based meal. And white quinoa, which I use in this recipe, has essentially the same nutritional benefits as red or black quinoa.    

IN MY KITCHEN- November 2026

I'm back in Florida, back in my Florida kitchen, and ready to share what's happening! After being away for 5 months, it's always fun to get settled back in and re-discover my own kitchen. 

Since it's the beginning of the month, it's also time for Sherry from Sherry's Picking monthly In My Kitchen blog share which I'm joining.

Florida has been very hot and humid. I have not been doing any real cooking. Instead I've been focusing on salads and light eating. The other day, we participated in a pot-luck dinner and I made a delicious quinoa salad with scallions, lemon, pine nuts, and slivered almonds. 

Quinoa with scallions, pine nuts, and sliced almonds

This recipe came out really good and leftovers tasted even better the next day directly from the fridge. I'll post the recipe in another post. 

You may remember that we have a flower truck that stops by our complex in Florida every Friday. The flowers are brought straight from the airport that morning and sell for $20 for 2 dozen gorgeous roses. I kept half of the two dozen, and gave the other half to my neighbor for her 82nd birthday!!

Since we do a lot of entertaining, I picked up some pretty cocktail napkins at Home Goods this week that I will use for company over the next winter months. 

Also while in Home Goods, I picked up this salad bowl and servers. It will be perfect for when I need to bring my pot luck dish to friend's home without worrying about breaking my glass bowls. 

I was surprised that the Christmas and Hanukkah displays were already out in Home Goods! I loved these colorful candles that I'll use for Hannukah!

Olives are a staple in our kitchen, so I'm starting with a large jar to begin the season. 

I took a run to Aldi for some chocolate. The sea salt with caramel chips are my favorite; my husband likes the plain or creme filled varieties. 

I found these dried baby bananas from Trader Joe's in our closet left from last season. The expiration date is still good, so we will be opening them soon. 

I made these Halloween vegan stuffed peppers in my Pennsylvania kitchen before we left for Florida.

My husband picked up this coconut milk at Costco... I don't usually use it but I do have some recipes I could try with it ... a case of 4 was on sale for only $7.99!!

That's it. Hope everyone has a great week! 

Italian Escarole And White Bean Soup-

Warm up on a chilly fall evening with Italian escarole white bean soup. This simple, hearty soup is perfect for cozy autumn dinners and for enjoying on Halloween night.

My Halloween Night Soup Tradition

I started a tradition many years ago when my kids were young to always have a pot of hot and nourishing soup on the stove for dinner on Halloween night before the kids went out in the cold damp night to go trick or treating.-

 Even though the kids are now grown and my local grandkids are past the "trick or treating" age, I know that I, and the hubby, will still be keeping the tradition and enjoying some delicious hot soup on Halloween night. 

Farmer's Market Seasonal Produce

I was at our local farmer's market and spotted a large, beautiful head of escarole among the lettuces and other fresh greens. It looked so good that I had to bring one home. The only problem was that I wondered what the heck do you do with all that escarole? 

I went online and started looking for recipes and different ways to use up the escarole. Since the weather has turned much chillier, soup seemed like the perfect place to start.

Created A Recipe

I found lots of recipes for Italian escarole and white bean soup. After reading through several of them, I got the general idea and decided to create my own vegan version with ingredients I enjoy. It turned out to be hearty and tasted great! You'll find my recipe at the bottom of this post.

Abundance of Escarole

But there was one little problem: I still had a ton of escarole left over!

Fortunately, escarole is a versatile leafy green that can be used in many ways beyond soup. If you've ever bought a head of escarole and wondered what else to do with it, I've gathered some easy ideas to help you put those leftover greens to good use.

Here are some easy ways to use escarole :

• Sautéed escarole: Chop the leaves and cook them in a skillet with a little water or olive oil, chopped garlic, and your favorite seasonings. 

• Escarole with white beans: Cook escarole with cannellini beans, garlic, and vegetable broth for a flavorful side dish or a light meal over rice.

• Pasta: Stir chopped escarole into your favorite pasta dish during the last few minutes of cooking. 

• Salads: The inner, lighter-colored leaves are usually more tender and work well in salads. Combine them with sliced apples or pears, orange segments, or other vegetables for a fresh salad with a little pleasantly bitter flavor.

• Buddha bowls: Cooked escarole makes a delicious addition to bowls with brown rice, quinoa, roasted vegetables, and beans.

• Mix it into other cooked greens: Combine escarole with spinach, kale, or Swiss chard for a flavorful mixture of greens. 

• Beans and stews: Stir chopped escarole into a pot of simmering chickpeas, lentils, or other beans toward the end of cooking. It adds color, texture, and extra vegetables to the dish.

The Soup Recipe: 

Ingredients: 

1 cup of diced onions

2 cups of diced carrots

2 cups of diced celery

2 cups of diced potatoes

1 cup of diced zucchini

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 cans of cannelloni beans, drained

Seasoning: garlic powder, salt, freshly cracked pepper 

1 tablespoon of vegetarian chicken flavored bouillon powder

8 cups of water

2 heaping cups of shredded chopped escarole

Directions: 

Add the onions to the liner of the Instant Pot. Sauce in 1/4 cup of vegetable broth for about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, zucchini and garlic. Add 1/4 cup more of broth and saute for another 5 minutes stirring. Add the beans, bouillon, seasoning, and water. Secure lid and set to pressure cook for 5 minutes. When done, allow to sit for 5 minutes and then carefully release the steam according to the manufacturer's instructions. When all steam is released, carefully remove the lid and add the escarole. Allow it to wilt into the soup. Soup usually tastes best after it has had time to sit and the flavors  mingle. Give it at least an hour before eating.

My Notes:

1. Escarole can be sandy, so separate the leaves and wash them thoroughly before chopping. 

2. The outer, darker green leaves tend to be more bitter, while the inner leaves are generally milder and more tender.

3.  Chop into fine short pieces, since once cooked it may be stringy.

4. Escarole soup is often called Italian escarole soup because escarole has a long history of being used in Italian cooking, especially in Southern Italy. 

5. Cannelloni beans are available in most supermarkets.

                                    Happy Halloween!!!

LuLu in her Halloween costume.. ( My grand cat)