Creamy Plant-based Alfredo Pasta

I’m sure most of you absolutely love creamy, cheesy, alfredo pasta. Growing up in an Asian household, my family rarely ate pasta. However, as I learned to cook, I found myself constantly experimenting in the kitchen to create quick and simple pasta recipes. 

A few weeks ago, my sister asked me to make her a dairy-free pasta dish as she is a vegan. My first thought was to use cashews to make a creamy sauce. I went to my local supermarket to  search for cashews but they were nowhere to be found. After that, I simply went home and decided to search up ‘How to make creamy vegan pasta without cashews’. I took a quick glance at the google search and  I saw that many people used Tofu to make a high protein dairy-free sauce. Therefore, I decided to give it a try and experimented with my ingredients. 

Essentially, this led to my creation of today’s recipe which is a creamy, dreamy, dairy-free alfredo pasta without cashews. 

Ingredients:

*16 oz dry Spaghetti (or any pasta of choice)

*1 block tofu

*2 tbsp olive oil 

*2 - 3 cloves garlic (chopped) 

*Half an onion (chopped)

*1 cup plain vegetable broth (no salt added)

*1 - 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (depending on how much cheese flavor you like) 

*1 cup pasta cooking water 

*Salt & pepper to taste 

Optional:

*2 tbsp cashews (to make an even creamier sauce)

*Any veggies you have on hand (I used mushrooms & lettuce)

Recipe

  1. Bring a medium to large pot with water to boil on the stove. Place your desired pasta into pot and cook until al dente (according to package instructions) 

  2. Grab a blender and combine tofu, cashews (optional), olive oil, garlic, onion, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, pasta water & salt and pepper. Blend ingredients until smooth. 

  3. Use your leftover pasta water to blanch your vegetables. 

  4. Bring a pan to low heat and place your vegan “alfredo sauce” onto the pan. Let the sauce heat up for 1 -2 minutes and mix in your spaghetti or pasta of choice.

  5. Lastly, add more salt & pepper to taste if necessary, and add more pasta water to desired texture if necessary. 

  6. Serve on a plate or in a bowl and  enjoy!

To see a video post of this recipe, check out the Instagram reel I made for it here!

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Single-serving vegan apple crumble

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Wholesome and simple bread pudding