If loving beans is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
I’m having a serious bean affair these days (ssshhh…don’t tell the sushi or my treadmill!). I’ve always been a big bean eater (Does that sound funny to anyone else?), but ever since I went on my dessert making spree and had such great success making bean based sweet treats, I’ve been incorporating them into everything. First, I made Creamy Tomato Sauce, and now – Cheeze Sauce!
After looking all over the web and finding tons of great fake-out cheeze sauces (and trying a few, which were all delicious, by the way), I just couldn’t shake the fat and calorie guilt most of them left with me. Sure, nut based cheeze sauces are amazingly rich and creamy, but they aren’t helping my thighs be less rich and creamy. (Ew – that sounded kind of icky.) So….beans to the rescue!
I’ve made this sauce a couple of times this week, and each time I’ve tweaked it a little. I think it might still need a little tweaking here and there (less garlic, maybe no lemon or sub acv instead, and dare I suggested it, less nutritional yeast?!), but it’s still amazingly tasty – and crazy low-fat and super good on calories. (It’s super good on just about everything, but you know what I mean.)
Beans to the Rescue Cheeze Sauce
1 15oz can white beans of your choice, rinsed (or about 2 c)
2 small scallions (or 1 sm shallot or 2 TBSP onion)
1 small clove garlic (or 1/2 lg clove)
1/2 c nutritional yeast (or less – to taste)
1/2 c vegetable broth or water
1 – 2 TBSP vegetable broth powder*
2 tsp mustard (yellow or Dijon)
1 TBSP lemon juice or apple cidar vinegar (optional)
pepper
Add scallions and garlic to food processor. Pulse to chop. Add beans, nutritional yeast, 1/4 c vegetable broth/water, vegetable broth powder, mustard (may also sub 1 tsp dried mustard or turmeric), lemon juice or acv if using, and pepper. Give everything a whirl for about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl. Taste mixture for seasoning. Add remaining 1/4 c vegetable broth/water to thin. Process until completely smooth – about 1-2 minutes.
Serves 4 for less than 170 calories, just over 1 gram of fat, and a whopping 10.4 grams of fiber and 16.5 grams of protein in each serving! O beans, you magical fruit legume.
Cheeze Sauce in All Its Magical Glory
I’ve put this cheeze sauce all kinds of things this week, including my new favorite food – zucchini noodles. Yum! But today I outdid myself and tried it as a spread on some lettuce wraps.
Cheeze Sauce? Yes, please.
So good! But even better with some veggies and, of course, more beans.
Lettuce Wrap - All Dressed Up and Ready for My Mouth
If you’re not a big bean eater and are worried about the melodious side effects often associated with beans, don’t worry. The serving size is relatively small (about 4 TBPS) – which goes a surprisingly long way – and your body will quickly adjust to your new, fibrous friends. And if not, just go for a jog – by yourself 😉
I’m sharing this post on Diet, Dessert, and Dogs’ Wellness Weekends and Cybele Pascal’s Allergy Friendly Friday again. I love the extra outlets for sharing my recipes 🙂 Thanks for highlighting my Pumpkin Spice Muffins, Cybele!
Veggie V's Vegan Adventure 
Oh my goodness! This sounds fantastic. I have to try it soon.
Let me know what you think 🙂
Also a bean lover here with white navy beans at the top of my list so I will give this a try. For my low-carb friends I may try it with pureed cauliflower instead of the beans. Thanks for sharing on Ricki Heller’s Wellness Weekends – so many creative ideas there!
I love using cauliflower in dishes too! I have an awesome veggie “chowder” recipe I’ll share when the weather cools off. Still a bit warm here for me to crave soup. But when I am, execpt soups galore!
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I love beans, too, and have had a love affair with white beans this summer. I think this sounds delicious. 🙂
Saveur: Beans are the best! Let me know what you think 🙂
I’ve made white bean alfredo sauce and ricotta found them lacking. Also tried a variety of non-bean nutritonal yeast based “cheezes.” I just can’t get past the *Kraft/likeness of the cheese powder when I add nutritoinal yeast. Will definitely try this for some weekend nachos and another attempt at macaroni and cheeze. With my other attempts, the kds were willing to eat it but just didn’t quite get so excited as most kids over the orange powdered blech/blue box – and, well, it just isn’t the real cheese that I make for my own. Do you favor certain non-dairy “milks?” I definitely think the soy milk is affecting taste, too.
Thanks for posting this. I’d love more “cheeze” recipes. That’s one huge block on my becoming vegan.
Sheridan: I wasn’t an immediate fan of nutritional yeast either. I tried it off and on for the 10 years I was a vegetarian, and finally gave it some serious attention when I went vegan, hoping to ease the no cheese burden. Now I love it!
Most cheeze recipes I’ve seen are nut based, which I know doesn’t work for you guys, but you could try seeds. With the higher fat content, you’ll get more flavor and will need less nutritional yeast. The biggest problem I’ve found with nut or seed based cheezes, though, is that they don’t heat well. Beans, on the other hand, are very forgiving 🙂
Sorry, I forgot to address your non-dairy milk question.
I do think soy has a flavor that can affect your final product. It is a bit “beany” for most recipes.
I’ve been using almond milk because of the low calories, but that won’t work for your family, so my second next choice is hemp milk. It’s amazingly thick and great in baked goods. It also works well as a coffee creamer. It doesn’t seem to have much of a taste, either.
I haven’t tried rice milk in ages, but from what I remember, it was pretty thin and watery. I’d probably skip that one and just use water for sweets and veggie broth for savory.
The only other non-dairy milk I’ve tried is coconut milk. The non-can kind didn’t appeal to me in an everyday kind of way. The canned version is awesome when you need a heavy cream (the top third of the can is usually thick and creamy).