Description
Brown rice elbows in a silky, smoky cashew ‘cheddar’ sauce thickened with arrowroot—creamy, dairy?free comfort.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the pasta
- 12-16 oz (340-454 g) brown rice elbow pasta
- Kosher salt (for the pasta water)
For the smoky cashew cheddar sauce
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) raw cashews, soaked 10 minutes in boiling water and drained
- 1 1/3 cups (320 ml) filtered water
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) chopped roasted red peppers
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (starch)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Pinch cayenne (optional)
To finish
- Reserved pasta cooking water, as needed
- Chopped chives or parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente per package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain and return pasta to the pot.
- Blend sauce: In a high?speed blender, combine cashews, water, roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, arrowroot, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, and cayenne (if using). Blend until completely smooth, scraping as needed.
- Thicken: Pour sauce into a saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking, 3–5 minutes until glossy and lightly thickened. Do not boil vigorously—arrowroot can lose thickening power if overheated.
- Combine: Pour sauce over pasta and toss over low heat. Add splashes of reserved pasta water to loosen to a creamy coating. Taste and adjust salt and paprika.
- Serve: Top with chopped chives or parsley, if using. Serve hot.
Notes
- Use any short gluten?free pasta; cooking time varies by brand.
- For a sharper sauce, add an extra teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or a squeeze of lemon at the end.
- If the sauce thickens too much, whisk in more pasta water to loosen.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: About 1 1/2 cups (350 g)
- Calories: 560
- Sugar: 4
- Sodium: 520
- Fat: 20
- Saturated Fat: 3
- Unsaturated Fat: 16
- Carbohydrates: 82
- Fiber: 6
- Protein: 16