This creamy vegan white sauce is made using a can of cannelini beans flavoured with nutritional yeast flakes to give it a light cheesy flavour. Ideal tossed over gluten free pasta or for a lower carbohydrate option use spiralised vegetables like courgette, carrot or butternut squash instead. A perfect family alternative to the usual cheesy pasta dishes and a great way to sneak in additional vegetables too.
Difficulty – Easy
Time – 15 minutes preparation, 10 minutes cooking
Serves 4
What’s good about it?
Using canned beans is a great way to boost the protein in vegan and vegetarian dishes. Nutritional yeast flakes are a great source of B vitamins. You can choose a brand fortified with B12 which can be a valuable way for vegans to get sufficient B12.
- Make up the sauce. Place all the ingredients in a blender or nutri bullet and process to form a thick sauce. Add a little more vegetable stock if needed. Season to taste.
- Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. About 3 minutes before it is cooked add the vegetables and cook briefly until tender. Drain reserving a little of the cooking liquid.
- Put the pasta and vegetables back in the pan and stir in the sauce. Add a little of the cooking liquid if needed to combine the sauce.
- Spoon into bowls to serve.
Did You Know?
Broccoli like other cruciferous vegetables are rich in folate, vitamins C,E, K and fibre. A source of sulphur compounds they are beneficial for supporting detoxification.
Sauce
1 x 400g can cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
60ml vegetable stock
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp onion salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Black pepper to taste
Pasta
250g gluten free pasta
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
Large Handful of mangetout
Drizzle of olive oil