I absolutely love pumpkin. It is one of my favorite tastes. When it turns fall, I try to find different ways to use pumpkin, as much as possible. Once fall is over and winter has begun, I put my pumpkin love away until the next year. I try to find gluten free and kid friendly recipes to satisfy my children. This was a recipe inspired by all the other recipes out there for pumpkin mac and cheese. I wanted to be sure that the “cheese” fit more of my liking and tastes. I most likely will use this sauce for nachos, pasta, and anything I would put cheese sauce on.
The sauce gets its cheesey flavor from nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is a species of yeast that has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy. I use this often as a topping for popcorn, cheese sauces, and as a flavoring in some of my burgers and patties. You can find this item in the health food stores out there. It is also called nooch.
This sauce can be frozen and stored well.
Enjoy.
Pumpkin "Cheese" Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs Earth Balance butter
- 1 1/2 cups Unsweetened non dairy milk
- 2 Tbs Cornstarch
- dash garlic powder
- 10 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
- 1 cup canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- dash black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In large pot, melt butter. Add milk and whisk together.
- Add cornstarch and seasonings into pot and continue to whisk on med-low heat.
- Once cornstarch and seasonings are incorporated, add in nutritional yeast. Whisk in until combined.
- Add pumpkin. Stir into cheese mixture. Turn heat up to medium to begin to thicken.
- Serve as a dip or try it in pasta to form a vegan option.
