Broccoli with Cashew 'Cheese' Sauce

Jazz up a nutrient-dense bowl of steamed broccoli with our rich and creamy cashew ‘cheese’ sauce. You’ll soak cashews for two hours in bone broth, then blend them up with a handful of other ingredients for a simple, crave-worthy topping for vegetables of any kind. Broccoli and ‘cheese’ are a natural pairing, but this sauce also tastes amazing with cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, and potatoes. 

Typical cheese sauce is chock full of inflammatory dairy products and saturated fat. This makes it very tough on your liver. Our cashew sauce, on the other hand, is a great source of fiber and the trace element copper, both of which are linked to improved liver health. (1, 2) 

Research shows that regular consumption of broccoli can promote resilient liver health as well. (3) This dish tastes like comfort food but will support and improve your body’s detoxifying abilities. (1)

The recipe as written creates a basic savory sauce, but feel free to make it your own with flavorful additions like hot sauce, curry powder, fresh herbs, nutritional yeast, or lemon juice. 

Broccoli with Cashew ‘Cheese’ Sauce

Serves 4, with leftover sauce 

Ingredients:

2 cups raw organic cashews

1 ¼ cup bone broth

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 teaspoon fresh ground salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 

½ teaspoon turmeric 

2 heads broccoli, chopped into small florets

Step 1:

Soak cashews in bone broth for two hours (for ideal texture, don’t soak any longer than this). Drain cashews well and set aside bone broth to use in another recipe if desired. You can also drink it if you don’t mind a little cashew flavor. 

Step 2:

Combine soaked cashews, garlic, salt, pepper, and turmeric in a food processor and process on high for 1-3 minutes or until the sauce is creamy. Adjust seasonings to taste and add a little bit of the leftover bone broth if you’d like the sauce to be thinner. 

Step 3:

Bring ¼ inch of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add broccoli, cover, and steam for five minutes, or until broccoli is bright green and just tender. Drain well, divide into serving bowls, and spoon cashew sauce over hot broccoli. Enjoy immediately! 

You will have leftover cashew sauce -- it keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week and it’s great served over pasta, as a dip for raw vegetables, or as a spread on sandwiches and wraps. 

Ready for More Liver-Loving Recipes?

The liver is responsible for hundreds of tasks in your body, including elimination of waste products (detox), regulating energy, supporting metabolism, and so much more. But it can be hard to know what to eat to support your liver! These recipes include foods that will give your liver just what it needs to thrive and help your body detox.

---

Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and HormoneDetoxShop.com.

---