Vegan Alfredo pasta is rich, creamy and decadent. This recipe features silky noodles tossed in a luxurious cashew cream sauce. Each bite of pasta provides a delicious bite of flavor with hints of garlic, fresh parsley and lemon.
The sauce has an amazing thick texture that just melts in your mouth and completely envelopes any pasta. The versatility of this sauce allows it to be served with any type of pasta. Some favorites include fettuccine, orecchiette and campanelle.
How To Make Creamy Alfredo Sauce
Part I: Mozzarella Base Sauce
The creamy quality of Alfredo sauce is traditionally made using butter and cream. This vegan take on Alfredo sauce uses a few simple substitutions to develop it’s rich flavor. For the base of the sauce, I start with my go-to Mozzarella Cheese Sauce and then build on it to develop more flavor. To begin making the cheese sauce, soak 1 cup of raw cashew nuts in hot water for around ten minutes. Strain the liquid out and place the cashews into a blender. To the blender, add lemon juice (reserve the rind for later use), water, nutritional yeast and onion powder and whirl together until a smooth sauce is made.
Part II: Alfredo Sauce
To start turning this mozzarella sauce into Alfredo sauce, dice a medium yellow onion and sauté on medium-high heat with a splash of avocado oil. Next, wash the fresh parsley and separate the leaves from the stems. Set the leaves aside and finely chop the stems. Add the stems to the pan and cook until the onions become translucent. While that cooks, prepare a vegetable broth mixture by combining 1 + 1/4 cup of boiling water with Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base. Set the broth aside. Next, chop up the fresh garlic cloves and add to the pan. Cook for a minute before adding 1 cup of the prepared broth to the pan. Cook down until the liquid evaporates and then add to the mozzarella sauce in the blender.
For the final steps, add nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and the remaining broth to the blender. Blend until creamy and smooth. To the sauce, mix in the finely diced parsley and the zest of 1 lemon to complete the flavor profile. Toss with the pasta of your choice and immediately serve this warm and gooey pasta.
When adding the cooked pasta to the sauce, add a few ladles of pasta water and stir together to add body and smoothness to the sauce.
Vegan Alfredo pasta is an easy meal for any day of the week. It’s decadent and delicious, so don’t be surprised if you start to crave it often. If you’re looking for more recipes featuring cheesy mozzarella sauce, try making Italian Meatball Subs or Zucchini Parmigiana. Remember to subscribe to my newsletter, rate the recipe below and tag @PlantBased_Provisions on Instagram.
For more delicious dinner ideas, try these recipes:
Vegan Alfredo Pasta
Vegan Alfredo pasta is a hearty dairy-free creamy cheese sauce. It's comforting, gooey, rich and decadent from the first bite to the last.
- When adding the cooked pasta to the sauce, add a few ladles of pasta water and stir together to add body and smoothness to the sauce.
Ingredients
Mozzarella Base Sauce Part 1
- 1 Cup Raw Cashew Nuts
- 2 Heaping Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
- 1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 Cup + 1/8 Cup Water
- Juice of 1 Lemon (Reserve Rind For Zesting)
Alfredo Sauce Part 2
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion (Diced)
- 1 Tablespoon Avocado Oil For Sautéing
- 2 Tablespoons Diced Parsley Leaves + Stems
- 5 – 6 Garlic Cloves
- 1 + 1/4 Cup Boiling Water
- 1 + 1/4 Teaspoons Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
Directions
- Begin making the cheese sauce by soaking 1 cup of raw cashew nuts in hot water for around ten minutes.
- Strain the liquid out and place the cashews into a blender.
- To the blender, add lemon juice (reserve the rind for later use), water, nutritional yeast and onion powder and whirl together until a smooth sauce is made.
- Dice a medium yellow onion and sauté on medium-high heat with a splash of avocado oil.
- Next, wash the fresh parsley and separate the leaves from the stems. Set the leaves aside and finely chop the stems.
- Add the stems to the pan and cook until the onions become translucent.
- While that cooks, prepare a vegetable broth mixture by combining 1 + 1/4 cup of boiling water with Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base. Set the broth aside.
- Next, chop up the fresh garlic cloves and add to the pan. Cook for a minute before adding 1 cup of the prepared broth to the pan.
- Cook down until the liquid evaporates and then add to the sauce in the blender.
- For the final steps, add nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and the remaining broth to the blender. Blend until creamy and smooth.
- To the sauce, use a spoon to mix in the finely diced parsley and the zest of 1 lemon.
- Toss with the pasta of your choice and immediately serve this warm and gooey pasta.
Nutrition
Per Serving (1/6 Batch): 325 calories; 10 g fat; 47 g carbohydrates; 13 g protein; 1 mg sugar; 138 mg sodium; 3 g fiberDid You Make This Recipe?
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