Vegan Alfredo

Being dairy intolerant can be hard at times – no pizza, no mac and cheese, no grilled cheese… you get the idea.  So as a dairy intolerant person you’ve got to get creative.  I had some gluten-free fettuccine pasta sitting in my freezer that needed to be made and that’s when I remembered this DELICIOUS vegan Alfredo I had once.  So I decided to recreate this dish with my own twist!  Honestly this recipe is super easy to complete and very quick with the right equipment (AKA a food processor).

If you’re NOT dairy free let me tell you – there are MANY benefits to giving it up.

WHY SHOULD I GIVE UP DAIRY? 

1. it causes inflammation.

Ingredients:

ALFREDO SAUCE:
– 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
– 1/4 cup pasta water
– 2 teaspoons vegan butter or olive oil
– 4 garlic cloves, peeled
– 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
– 1/2 cup diced onion
– 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
– 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
– 1/4 tsp black pepper

PASTA:
– 12 ounces any pasta (I used fettuccine)
– 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
– 1/4 cup kalamata olives
– 1 cup spinach
– chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Soak cashews for at least have soaked overnight (or at least 4 hours), drain and rinse them.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions in a well salted pot of water. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water.
3. While the pasta is boiling/you’re waiting for the water to boil, in a pan over medium high heat, heat the vegan butter or olive oil. Add the onion, stir and let cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove the onions from the pan and add it to a blender. Add the rinsed off soaked cashews (without the water), the pasta water, the almond milk, the roasted garlic, the nutritional yeast, the sea salt the vegan parmesan cheese and the lime juice. 5. Blend it all together until completely creamy. If you have a high powered blender this will happen quickly, about 1 minute, if not, just keep blending until completely smooth and creamy. Taste and add more salt or vegan parmesan cheese if necessary.
6. When the pasta is finished boiling, drain and pour back into the pan you had used earlier or even into a Tupperware container if you want. Pour the Alfredo sauce over and stir to combine completely.
7. When serving, top with parsley to garnish and more vegan parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Use immediately in a recipe or store in a sealed container in the fridge.