Last Updated on October 8, 2020
Here comes an easy Alfredo sauce recipe – vegan style, which I tested out recently to have another simple pasta sauce for my daughter. Once you are used to eating clean, it is quite simple to turn dishes into a vegan version. Most of my clean eating recipes are anyway plant based and that way vegan by nature.
It’s just important to leave out animal-based products. The big advantage with this skinny and simple Alfredo sauce is, that it helps you keep in shape. On top of that, it’s really tasty:)
What is Alfredo sauce?
A rich and creamy Alfredo pasta sauce is traditionally made with lots of butter, heavy cream, mascarpone, and Parmesan cheese. In consequence, it is a fat and calorie rich pasta companion. Some chefs even add eggs to the sauce. Maybe you know the famous Italian dish, called “Fettuccine Alfredo”.
I remember the pleasure when eating it at Italian restaurants in my twenties. But I also recall very well the tired and bloated feeling after I had finished the fat loaded meal with cheese sauce. Since then I’ve always preferred the much lighter tomato pasta sauces. But with this new recipe, things have changed…
This pasta sauce will boost your metabolism
As so often when you want to copy conventional dishes, you cannot imitate the taste of animal products 1:1. You can only provide at least an equally tasty substitute. You’ll be happy to heat that this vegetable-based pasta Alfredo will boost your metabolism and keep you energized. No need to drink a Ramazzotti (Italian bitter) after dinner to aid digestion, promised:)
Where I got the idea for this easy vegan Alfredo sauce recipe
The Canadian Angela Liddon (ohsheglows.com) was sharing this recipe on her food blog some time ago. It is a plant-based alternative to this famous pasta sauce. Angela had the really ingenious idea of using cauliflower as the basis for her creamy sauce. This lighter, dairy-free sauce is just as smooth, has much fewer calories and actually consists almost exclusively of fresh vegetables!
I changed and simplified Angela’s recipe a little bit according to my preferences.
Our whole grain pasta battle
Of course, I used also whole grain spaghetti (didn’t have Fettuccine) instead of plain pasta to give this dish an even higher fiber content. If you can get whole grain Fettuccine or broader wholemeal noodles, then the thick sauce could even better stick on the pasta.
My daughter would probably prefer the plain pasta version, but she accepts our whole grain compromise. She knows my opinion on this in her sleep: “While plain pasta is, in fact, animal-free, it is based on white flour (refined carbs) and far away from being beneficial for our system. Whole grain pasta is the better, fiber-rich alternative with complex carbohydrates”.
As much as we try to please her with delicious vegan recipes, she knows that she has to please us with our more health-conscious, clean eating approach.
Sidebar: While I respect people with a vegan lifestyle and understand their ethical reasons, I regret that many of them make poor food choices. Many of them opt for vegan convenience food instead of testing out the multitude of easy, plant-based meals, which can be cooked in a snap. Hey, there are vegans, who are mainly living just of French fries and Coke, no joke…
Ok, let’s come back to the simple cauliflower sauce recipe.
PrintSuper easy vegan cauliflower Alfredo sauce recipe
A plant-based and light Alfredo sauce
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp. canola oil or olive oil
- 600 gr. cauliflower cut in florets
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 300 ml almond milk or soy-milk
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- some basil leaves or
- 1/2 bunch flat parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot.
- Sauté onion cubes in it over medium heat for 4 minutes.
- Then remove from pot and put aside.
- Add vegetable stock to the pot
- Cook cauliflower florets in vegetable stock for 10 minutes over medium heat until firm to the bite.
- In the meantime bring enough salt water to a boil for pasta and cook it “firm to the bite.” according to instructions on the packet.
- Remove 100 ml of broth.
- Puree cooked cauliflower florets with remaining vegetable stock, onions, garlic, milk, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice and salt in a food processor.
- Return the cream sauce to the pot, bring to a boil for a moment and then simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Mix the drained pasta with sauce and yeast flakes and garnish with basil leaves or coarsely chopped parsley.
Notes
- Garnish with basil leaves or sprinkle with chopped parsley
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Recipe variations
The best homemade Alfredo sauce recipe for me is one which is creamy, has a garlicky taste and ideally doesn’t make you fat. Luckily this easy Alfredo sauce recipe has it all!
- If you prefer a vegetarian version you can use regular milk instead of almond milk or soy milk and still benefit of a light pasta sauce.
- You can also use vegan butter instead of the canola or olive oil, but it is usually more processed than the oil.
- You can easily pimp up this sauce with adding mushrooms or steamed broccoli and serve it to brown rice.
- If you don’t have to watch your weight you can add 1/2 cup of soaked cashews to the food processor for a result that is even creamier.
- For an extra protein and fiber-rich sauce, you might want to experiment with the versatile white beans.
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