20 Minute Vegan Alfredo

You will be simply amazed at how amazingly, rich, creamy and delicious this vegan alfredo sauce is, without any oil or starches or yucky ingredients. It has incredible flavor and requires just 7 ingredients (+ salt & pepper) to make it!

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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5 based on 3 review(s)

Ingredients

For the pasta
• 14 oz bag of gluten-free brown rice fettucini pasta (or your preferred pasta)
• 1/2 tablespoon fine sea salt
Alfredo sauce (Makes 2 cups sauce)
• 2 cups (480g) low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup (64g) raw cashew butter w/NO added oils OR a heaping 1/2 cup raw cashews (See note below how to make your own cashew butter if desired)
• 2 teaspoons (10g) apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (16 g, add more if you like, but I found this to be perfect. I also use Dr. Fuhrman's which is a bit less salty)
• 2 tablespoons (20g) brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• optional: 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs blend (not necessary but does add a nice flavor)
• optional: any veggies you may want to add
• Note: Please note I have ONLY tested this recipe (3 times in fact) exactly as written, so I don't know about subs. If you can't find cashew butter, then you can make your own. It is practically impossible to find any raw cashew butter that doesn't have added oil, which just tastes nasty. I always make my own. To make it, just add 2 cups RAW, unsalted cashews to a food processor and process for about 10 minutes or so. You will need to scrape the sides down a few times during, particularly in the beginning as it will go through chunky stages. Process until completely silky smooth, do not stop until it becomes almost pour-able like almond butter and dripping off of a spoon easily. Just when you think it's done, keep going. It should be like a smooth buttercream frosting texture basically. Then just use 1/4 cup for the recipe as listed.

Instructions

1. Follow each step closely to have this ready in 20 minutes. You will first need to start your pasta before the sauce. Add 12 cups of very hot water to a large pot and put the lid on (it will come to a boil faster). Turn to high heat and let it come to a boil. Mine took about 10 minutes before it was boiling (yours may be faster). Once it's boiling add the pasta and salt and quickly stir it around to loosen it up. The salt is important because it flavors the pasta and you won't end up with bland pasta. Keep on high heat and cook for 9 minutes or until al dente. Yours may vary depending on the pasta you use.
2. While waiting on the water to boil, add all of your "alfredo sauce" ingredients (including the dried Italian herbs if using) to a blender. Blend until very smooth and there is no lumps from the cashew butter or rice flour. It will be very runny, don't worry as it will thicken up a lot when cooking.
3. Check your water to see if boiling yet.
4. Add the sauce to a large sauce pan and whisk well from the bottom to make sure there are no lumps from the rice flour. Turn to high heat. Once it starts bubbling all over, immediately turn to medium heat and whisk continually while letting it cook 3-5 minutes until thickened. You want to continually whisk around the bottom and sides, so the flour doesn't clump. Don't walk away from it! You don't want to cook it too long because it will thicken up considerably as it cools, but you want it to reach a light, creamy consistency and then remove from the heat. Add any veggies if you like. I sometimes add peas and carrots from the freezer and let them cook a minute in the sauce. Your sauce should be done before your pasta, so cover to keep warm.
5. Once your pasta is done, drain and rinse with water to stop the cooking. Brown rice pasta can stick really badly, so I rinse really well and serve immediately. If using regular gluten pasta, you don't need to rinse it. Add to a plate, then add the sauce and garnish with extra dried Italian herbs or red pepper flakes or anything else you like.