Life of a Wise Wife : GF, DF Cashew Alfredo Sauce

I love Alfredo sauce, only it is FULL of ingredients I don't get to enjoy. This is a super simple dairy free, gluten free Alfredo recipe. I made this a few weeks ago and completely forgot to post! oops.. Guess I got distracted trying to get our house organized. To achieve the thickness of Alfredo sauce, I started with a base of raw cashews and it worked tremendously! You could use almonds in this recipe as well if you prefer the taste of almonds.

Okay here we go!!

DF, GF Chicken Alfredo Pasta

click here for printable recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews

4 cups cold water

1 1/4 cup water to boil

4 strips GF bacon

1 head fresh broccoli

1/2 white onion

1 package gluten free pasta

1 t lemon juice

2 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1/2 t red pepper flakes (can adjust)

1/4 t salt

1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

What to do:

First off we have to prepare the cashews. Put the cashews in a medium bowl and cover with the 4 cups of cold water.

Let the cashews soak for an hour.

While your cashews are soaking, fry your bacon. Set aside on paper towels to drain extra fat. Once cooled, crumble your bacon.

Chop your broccoli.

Dice your onion.

Chop your chicken.

Cook your pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Drain your soaking cashews and place in a food processor or blender.

Pulse until the nuts are finely chopped.

Bring 1 1/4 water to a boil. Carefully pour the boiling water into the food processor with the chopped nuts. Process until smooth.

Add in your lemon juice, garlic, and 1 T olive oil. Process again until smooth.

Add the contents of the processor into a medium sauce pan. Heat over medium heat. Add in the red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir until the mixture thickens.

While your sauce is thickening, heat your olive oil over medium heat and sprinkle your chicken with salt and pepper and sauté until no longer pink.

Add in your onion and broccoli, stir and cover the mixture. Let cook for about 5 minutes, or until the broccoli softens and the onions become translucent.