You can live without cheese. I repeat: YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT CHEESE! About four years ago I would have told you to go fly a kite if you said I would forever remove cheese from my life. Well here I am today, alive and feeling better than ever without any dairy products in my diet. I’m proud to say I’m a fully recovered cheese addict and I know you can be too!

Once you give this vegan melted “cheese” a try, you will likely want to top it on just about everything. But for those who are not big fans of broccoli, this is a great way to spruce it up! Thank you Running on Real Food blog for this  simple, yummy & nutritious crispy roasted broccoli with melted “cheese” recipe!

ROASTED BROCCOLI INGREDIENTS: 

4 cups broccoli florets

2 tsp olive oil

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

optional extra flavourings: pinch each of sea salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes

VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE INGREDIENTS: 

2 cups peeled and diced yukon gold potato, or any other yellow potato

1 cup peeled and chopped carrot

1/2 cup water (plus more to reach desired consistency)

1/4 cup almond milk (or more water if you don’t have any milk on hand)

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp soy sauce or gluten-free tamari

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

sea salt, to taste

BROCCOLI INSTRUCTIONS: 

Add the broccoli florets, nutritional yeast, sea salt, black pepper and oil to a bowl and mix well.

Spread evenly in one layer on a parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheet.

Roast for approximately 25 – 30 minutes until tender and browned. The timeframe for roasting broccoli is flexible. If you like the more well done, cook closer to 40 minutes. My best advice would be to take a look after 20, give it a flip then keep checking it every 5-10 minutes.

CHEESE INSTRUCTIONS: 

Boil the diced carrot and potato in a pot until very soft. Drain then add to a blender with the rest of the ingredients.

Blend until smooth and creamy, adding a bit more water if needed to reach desired thickness.

Spoon over the finished broccoli and enjoy! It can also be used over fries, as a dip for veggies or chips, on pizza, for mac and cheese and just about anything else you can think of.

Extra cheese sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.