Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
with broccoli / peas / white beans
Dubious that cashews and white beans can stand in for classic creamy alfredo sauce? We were too...until we tried this one. We're sure you'll love this fresh (vegan) take on the classic!
Smarts #1: If you have a high-speed blender, the raw cashews should easily blend into a smooth cream. If using a regular blender or food processor, soak them in water for 4 hours to soften. Drain well before using.
Smarts #2: Be sure to divide the beans into 2 parts. You'll add some to the sauce and fold some into the finished dish.
Ingredients
- Beans, any canned white variety - 1/2 cup
- Cashews, raw - 1 cup
- Garlic - 2 cloves, peeled
- Water - 3/4 cup, plus more as needed
- Oil, olive - 2 Tbsp
- Tamari - 1 Tbsp
- Lemon juice - 2 tsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
- Beans, any canned white variety - 1 cup
- Broccoli florets - 10 oz, finely chopped
- Peas, frozen - 1 cup
- Pasta, gluten-free fettuccine - 8 oz
- Reserved pasta water - 1/4 cup
- Red pepper flakes (opt) - for serving
- Black pepper - for serving
Nutrition Facts
Prep
-
Beans - Drain and rinse. Separate portion for sauce and portion for pasta. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
-
Make cashew cream sauce - (See note about soaking cashews ahead of time if not using a high powered blender.) Combine beans (portion for sauce), cashews, garlic cloves, water, olive oil, Tamari, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper (portion for cashew cream) in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding more water as needed. Taste and add more salt if needed. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
-
Broccoli - Chop into florets (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
-
Peas - Defrost and drain.
Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again
Try for freeLearn More
Make
-
Bring a large pot of salted water (for the pasta) to boil.
-
When water is boiling, add pasta. Cook according to package directions. In the last 4 minutes of cooking, add broccoli. Continue cooking until both pasta and broccoli are al dente, tender but not soggy. Reserve ¼ cup / 60 mL pasta water (for 4 servings; adjust if customizing) and then drain.
-
Return drained pasta and broccoli to the empty pot.
-
If cashew sauce was made ahead, reheat in the microwave until warm. Stir well.
-
Pour cashew sauce over pasta and gently fold until pasta is coated, adding reserved pasta water as needed to make the sauce smooth and creamy.
-
Fold peas and beans (portion for pasta) into pasta.
-
Divide pasta between serving plates or bowls and top with red pepper flakes and black pepper. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
Cashew-based “Alfredo” sauce is a staple comfort food in our often-vegan house so I was curious how this recipe would compare. The use of oil and soy sauce here made it much richer than what we usually make which wasn’t bad in that it limited how much we ate in one sitting. We added a little nutritional yeast and omitted beans because we’re not often a fan of the white-bean-in-pasta-veg alternative you all often use. We swapped mushrooms for the beans. Really appreciate a vegan-centered recipe here.
1 Helpful21 reviews
As others have commented, as a non-vegan, I really enjoyed this! I rounded up measurements and/or played with the proportions of the sauce ingredients to my own liking (i.e. more lemon juice, black pepper and double or tripled the garlic). Was very yummy and appreciated the relative simplicity.
0 HelpfulThis was so much better than expected. Was shocked at how good the sauce was. Everyone liked this.
0 HelpfulReally great recipe that was creamy and flavorful. Added mushrooms as some other reviewers did and topped with parmesan since we're not vegan. Would make again!
0 Helpful