Alfredo pasta is one of the most loved Italian dishes anywhere in the world. It is super rich and creamy but for me the only problem is the calorie count. Alfredo pasta is super rich in fats and carbs, the sauce itself is made from butter, white flour, milk and cheese!
So here, I tried to make the alfredo sauce on the low-calorie side and also Vegan with lots of veggies and Italian spices. Vegan alfredo pasta is a dish in which pureed cauliflower and almonds are added to the sauteed garlic, onion, carrots, mushrooms and peas and then poured over whole wheat fettuccine. This pasta with cauliflower sauce is super creamy and very flavorful. NO milk, no butter, no flour, no cheese in this Alfredo but still it tastes good. It may be Vegan and low-calorie pasta but the flavors are pretty bold which will make you a believer.
The cauliflower Alfredo sauce by itself is very creamy and on top of that, almond and cashews add the richness plus the mushrooms, peas and carrots add color, texture and taste to the sauce. The cauliflower has an array of different vitamins and minerals plus the almonds provides healthy Vitamin E and many antioxidants which make this vegan Alfredo pasta very healthy. Who knew that cauliflower can be a pretty good base for creamy pasta sauce. Give it a try and tell me what do you think.
This no guilt Alfredo sauce is pretty versatile too, you can add it to steamed rice or it can be poured over grilled chicken or fish.
Total time:
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients for vegan alfredo pasta :-
- 1.5 lb of cauliflower florets
- 30 almonds 15 cashews
- 1 Tbsp of oil
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 medium carrots chopped in 1/2-inch cube
- 250 gms or 1/2 lb of cremini mushroom, chopped (optional)
- 1 cup of frozen green peas
- 1.5 tsp of Italian seasonings
- 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes or to taste
- 1 cup of any kind of milk or water or stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Handful of fresh basil leaves julienned
- 13 oz of whole wheat fettuccine
Method for vegan Alfredo pasta :-
- Microwave almonds and cashews on high in a bowl with 1/2 cup of water for 2 minutes. Let it cool down a bit, then peel the almond’s skin and keep it aside.
- In a wide pan, add cauliflower florets with 1/3 cup of water and salt and cook on low-medium heat with the lid on until the cauliflower is fork tender or fully done. Let it cool down and keep aside.
- Cook the fettuccine according to package direction.
- Meanwhile, in a big wide pan, heat oil and add garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, salt and saute until the sweats.
- Then add carrots, mushrooms, Italian seasoning, black pepper and saute again until the mushroom is cooked. Now add peas and saute again for 2-3 minutes.
- When cauliflower, cashews and almonds are cool enough to handle, process everything with a cup of milk or stock into a smooth sauce.
- Now pour the cauliflower sauce into the mushroom mixture and cook further on low heat for 3-5 minutes. Do the taste check and add more salt or pepper if you want.
- Add the fettuccine and mix well. Add a little pasta water, if the sauce is too thick. Turn off the heat and add the basil and serve Vegan alfredo pasta immediately.
