Better than takeout, creamy cashew noodles

If you're sending noods, I sure hope it's these ones. As much as I absolutely love takeout I can sometimes feel quite ill after consuming because of the various oils that my terribly sensitive stomach cannot handle. So, in my typical foodie nature I try to make dupes (that I'm not at all claiming are authentic) but taste delicious to me and satisfy allll my cravings.

We were talking cashews in my last post and one of my least favorite parts about cashews in vegan recipes is the *hours* of soaking that need to happen prior to use. I am a fairly busy college student and tend to get very hangry if I don't have dinner on time; I just simply cannot find the time to soak cashews these days. Anyway, my very fun secret ingredient to this recipe is....cashew butter!

Our creamy cashew butter is the key ingredient to an easy sauce, it adds tons of flavor and requires zero prep. I can't believe it took me this long to realize this -- nut butters really do have so much versatility in both the cooking and baking worlds.

So, there are a couple key ingredients and brands I'd like to share related to this recipe:

• Lotus Foods ramen noodles: these noodles truly have my heart. They’re vegan, gluten free, cook SO fast, and have great ingredients. I use them for all my ramen/stir fry dishes and they can be found at Target, Sprouts & Whole Foods!

• Coconut aminos: my favorite sweet gluten free alternative to soy sauce. You can totally sub tamari or soy sauce for this recipe but I absolutely love the slightly sweet taste of coconut aminos. I would 1000% recommend buying from only Trader Joe’s because it is SO much cheaper there than any other grocery store. I linked another brand from Target that I like because you can really find this stuff anywhere, but like I said TJ's is the best price wise.

• Miso paste: I mentioned this in my last recipe post as well (so clearly it gets put to good use) but here’s the brand I like and I would most definitely recommend it! Miso adds the best umami flavor to dishes and is a great way to pack in flavor -- it can be found at Sprouts & Whole Foods as well.

• Rice Vinegar: necessary to add the perfect tang to sauces, stir fry, fried rice, etc. and it is 100% a pantry staple for me!

Okay, now it's recipe time! All the ingredients and methods are listed out below:

Creamy Vegan Cashew Noodles

(serves 1)

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of ramen noodles

• Veggies of choice (I used zucchini, mushrooms, baby bok choy, spinach + baby broccoli)

• 1 tbsp cashew butter

• 2 tbsp coconut aminos

• 1 tsp of miso paste

• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes or chili onion crunch from Trader Joe's

• Splash of rice vinegar (could also use a baby splash of Apple Cider Vinegar as I think it would work the same)

• Seasonings: salt & pepper, garlic powder, ginger powder, onion salt

Method:

• Cook your noodles according to the package & set aside

• Chop & add your veggies to a pan heating with a bit of sesame or avocado oil and then add about a teaspoon of each of the seasonings (make sure to taste and adjust to your preference!)

• To make your sauce add the cashew butter, coconut aminos, miso paste, red pepper flakes + rice vinegar to a bowl and stir till combined (use a little bit of water to thin if needed!)

• Coat your noodles in the sauce & then add them to the pan with your veggies! I also threw in some leftover sesame tofu at this point but add any protein you have :) top with sesame seeds, green onion, etc & enjoy!

As always, please tag me @tanya_tastes if you recreate or message me a photo! Hope this recipe makes you a delicious takeout dupe that you can enjoy from home :)