Fettuccini Alfredo is one of those creamy indulgent comfort foods that no one should have to do without, not even if you are vegan. Velvety smooth cashew cream sauce smothers this Fettuccine Alfredo! It’s so quick and easy that by the time you cook the pasta the sauce is ready. Top it off with some freshly grated Parmesan and dinner is served.
Onions – Sautéing the onion till its caramelized is definitely the way to go. The caramelizing onions bring another velvety layer to the sauce. If you skip the onions, your sauce will taste good, but I don’t recommend it.
Olive oil – I like to sauté in olive oil but if you are oil free, please feel free to use a bit of water when sautéing.
Cashews – The star of the show, cashews are an excellent replacement for a heavy cream. They need to be raw and soaked. For soaking most people will tell you to soak overnight but that does not help you make a quick sauce when you want it. I soak my cashews in boiled water for 10-15 minutes and find that they blend up nice and smooth this way. I also have a Vitamix so it will pulverize just about anything. If you are using a regular blender I suggest boiling the cashews on the stove for 15 minutes to really soften them and help achieve that velvety smooth sauce you are looking for.
Nutritional Yeast – These golden flakes have magical powers to give your sauce the cheesy flavour you want in an Alfredo, not to mention its packed with the power of vitamin B12.
Lemon – I have used both freshly squeezed and real lemon from the bottle and I find that both are good.
Garlic – I love that flavour of garlic! There are no vampires knocking at my door. I toss my garlic in the blender raw and love the flavour it adds, but if you prefer a more subtle flavour, have no fear you can chop them up and toss them into the pan for the last minute or two when you sauté your onions.
Pasta – Traditionally Fettuccini is used for Fettuccini Alfredo but any pasta will do. I have also used gluten free pasta as well and thoroughly enjoyed it. I always make sure to salt my water just before I put the pasta to cook. Like my mom always says, the water should be salty like the sea.
Fettuccini Alfredo
Ingredients
Sauce
1 medium yellow onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup raw cashews
½ cup nutritional yeast
1 ½ cup water
½ tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove
1 tsp salt
Pasta
450g fettuccini pasta
¼ cup non-dairy butter
*Note* you will need a good high-speed blender (I use a Vitamix)
Instructions
1. Boil a pot of salted water and cook the pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, put back in the pot with ¼ cup of butter and coat pasta. Set aside. (to save time, you can cook pasta at the same time as you are making the sauce)
2. Coarsely chop your onion and sauté until golden brown, then set aside to cool.
3. Soak cashews in boiling hot water for 10 minutes.
4. Strain and rinse cashews, then add to blender along with lemon juice, water, garlic, nutritional yeast, sautéed onion and salt.
5. Starting on low working your way up to highest setting, blend everything until completely smooth and creamy.
6. Pour ¾ of the sauce over the pasta and mix in. Save the remaining sauce to top pasta in the plate. Top with your favourite parm.
Enjoy!
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