Old Favorite Made Vegan: "Spaghetti and Broccoli"

Creamy, Delicious, Satisfying... and Vegan!

When I was a girl, one of my favorite things that my father would cook was something we always called “Spaghetti and Broccoli.” It was capellini pasta (always capellini… my dad’s favorite!) with broccoli florets and alfredo sauce. Simple, delicious comfort food... full of creamy, carb-y awesome. Now that I no longer eat dairy, I wanted to find a way to recreate this delicious recipe from my childhood as a dairy-free vegan dish.  I’ve tried a few different vegan “cheese” sauces, and I finally found one that is PERFECT for this recipe. Enter… my favorite cashew cheese! Thinned out with unsweetend hemp milk to a creamy “cheese sauce” consistency, it is pretty much a perfect substitute for alfredo sauce, for those of us who don’t do dairy.  The other cool thing about this recipe is that if you have some cashew cheese already prepared in the fridge (as I almost always do, these days!) it goes together in no time flat.

Papa’s Spaghetti and Broccoli (Vegan Style!)

8 oz. cappelli, or other pasta (if you prefer to avoid gluten, you can use a GF pasta)

One head of broccoli, chopped into florets

1/2 cup cashew cheese

1/2 cup unsweeted hemp milk (you could try almond, if you don’t have hemp)

*Note: you can adjust the amount of hemp milk according to how thick or thin you like your sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste

 Cook the pasta as you normally would. While it’s cooking, steam the broccoli. Whisk the cashew cheese and hemp milk together. Toss the drained pasta and broccoli with the “cheese” sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!