How to Make Silky Sauces With More Plants and Less Dairy

A good sauce doesn’t have to be filled with milk, cheese, and butter. The great thing about plants and herbal ingredients is how flexible they can be. Whether you’re a vegan, dairy sensitive, or just trying to branch out a bit, exploring alternative sauces could lead you to your next favorite dish. While you can buy vegan sauces, making your own is not too difficult. Use these guidelines to make a delicious sauce for everything from pasta to cauliflower steak (or beef steak).

Making your own plant-based sauce is a matter of balancing several different ingredients; it’s not that much different than making a “regular” milk sauce. While you can certainly blend a watery vegetable and add salt and spices (tomato sauce is the hero), this genre of sauce can separate into water and vegetable matter in a few minutes. For a more emulsified sauce, you’ll need a liquid, a binder, and (sometimes) a main flavor component.

I say “sometimes” because either the binder or the liquid can also act as the primary flavor. To complete your daring task, you’ll need a blender you can trust. Any budget blender, food processor, or immersion blender will do. If you find yourself constantly liquefying things, opt for a more expensive blender that can handle even the most fibrous vegetables.

Choose your liquid

Many sauces use milk, such as classic béchamel , but you have many other options. Swap it out for non-dairy milk, butter, vegetable broth or stock, pasta water, or aquafaba . The liquid component will help you achieve the perfect consistency you are looking for. Fibrous plants can absorb water after mixing, so keep some in case you need to dilute the sauce later.

Select binder

The binder is the fun part. Most likely, this is your main vegetable, or you will have a main vegetable with an assistant binder. Look for an ingredient that is high in fiber, fat, or thickener. Vegan mayonnaise contains thickeners like xanthan gum, ripe avocados are high in fat, leeks are high in juicy pectin, and broccoli contains a healthy dose of fiber. Beans , nuts, and seeds are excellent binders because they contain both emulsifying fibers and their own fats. An additional step with these three is soaking. No one wants hot sauce, so be sure to soak beans, nuts, and seeds for a few hours or even overnight. To bypass soaking, use canned beans that are already soft enough, or nut and seed oils.

Choose your main flavor

The base flavor of your sauce can be simple with a single vegetable or spice, or you can give it a job with a mixture of flavors. For a distinctly vegetable sauce, add a couple handfuls of spinach or soft-cooked vegetables such as broccoli, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, or carrots. Try a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor. To make ranch sauce, take equal proportions of minced garlic, green onion, dill, onion powder and sprinkle with mustard powder (and a pinch of monosodium glutamate). If you want some smoke, you can make last-minute changes in the blender step and add one pickled chipotle pepper.

Once you have the ingredients, you can make a raw or cooked sauce. I recommend cooking any hard or fibrous ingredients that may need a bit of softening, such as broccoli, cabbage, celery, or potatoes. It will also provide a smoother sauce if your mixing device is a bit dull. Add the ingredients to the pot and cook until the main vegetables are soft or wilted, about 5 to 15 minutes. Leave about a quarter of the liquid to adjust the consistency later. Add the mixture to a blender or use an immersion blender and puree. If necessary, adjust the consistency of the reserved liquid.

Mild ingredients like soaked cashews or beans and tender fruits and vegetables like baby spinach or squash are great for a raw sauce. Add the ingredients to a regular blender or high jar if using an immersion blender. As with the cooked version, save a small amount of liquid for later. Add most of the liquid first so the blades have access to the grease, spices, or dry ingredients, then the rest of the ingredients. Puree and use the remaining liquid to adjust the sauce if necessary.

One of my favorite vegetarian sauces is broccoli cooked soft with onions, garlic and broth. Adding emulsifying fat (other than a teaspoon of olive oil to cook the onion) is not required because fibrous vegetables are perfectly aerated and emulsified on their own after blending. Try it and then play with other vegetables and basics.

You can always start simple. If this is your first time using vegetable sauces, you can use a recipe you already like and see if there are simple substitutions you can make, like béchamel with almond milk instead of cow’s milk and butter or margarine instead of butter. The veg-chamel will have its own interesting nuances and from there you can continue your plant research.

Silky broccoli sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• 1-2 cups broth

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, and onion. Saute until the onion is soft and the onion is lightly browned. Add broccoli, salt, baking soda and one cup of broth. Cover and reduce heat to low for 10 minutes. Stir and break up the broccoli to see if it’s softened. Cover with a lid and cook for another 5 minutes. Broccoli should break easily and be buttery soft. Turn off the heat and stir the mixture. If it’s too thick, add more broth until you reach your desired consistency. It goes well with pasta or spread on potatoes.