This vegan fettuccine alfredo rivals ANY dairy-based alfredo. In fact, it’s better. Plus, it’s easy to prepare and uses healthy, planted-based ingredients.
This vegan fettuccine from Plant-Powered Families has been a hot dish, so I’m posting it today.
As with my Chickpea Salad, I did have this recipe available once before, but it was deleted with my site redesign.
Before moving into the vegan fettuccine further, I have to tell a little story.
I had this post almost ready to go but was abruptly sidetracked. A reader email explaining that my “Rad Thai” recipe from the Diabetes Cookbook had been published without credit in one of Jill McKeever’s YouTube videos. I won’t belabor the issue here, because I covered it in my facebook post.
The video was taken down later that day, and I thank those of you reading that reported Jill’s video to youtube. I sincerely appreciate your help, it definitely expedited matters in this situation. I truly feel I have the most beautiful, supportive community.
On that note, please continue to contact me – and other authors – when you notice our recipes reprinted without permission or credit, and without any mention of where the recipe came from. I wrote about this issue before, and know it’s largely out of our control. When we do find out about it, however, we can stand up for our work.
On to the Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo!
Before I became vegan, a good creamy fettuccine was one of my favorite restaurant dishes. I sometimes made it at home, and always made it saucy!
At restaurants, I’d always ask for extra sauce. Yes, always. If the dish arrived and it was hefty with noodles but not much sauce, I’d sheepishly ask “can I get a little more sauce?“
Here’s the thing, though. I’d love it at the moment but always felt heavy and bloated after. Meat- and dairy-based meals would sit in my stomach for hours. Once I cut meat and ditched dairy, everything changed.
Except for my love of sauce, that did not change!
When I developed this vegan fettuccine I made sure it was good and saucy. I give a range of pasta to use in this recipe. If you’re like me and love the sauce, use the lesser amount of pasta. Or, bump up the pasta to extend the meal.
As with many of my recipes, this comes together quickly. You can blitz up the sauce while boiling the water and cooking the pasta. Presto, vegan fettuccine alfredo!
I hope you enjoy. Sending my gratitude to you all… x Dreena.
Enjoy some more vegan comfort foods!
Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 3/4- 1 lb whole-grain fettuccine (brown rice, kamut, whole-wheat, etc – can also use another shape pasta)
- 1/2 cup soaked and drained raw cashews
- 1/2 cup soaked and drained raw almonds
- 3-4 tbsp toasted pine nuts divided (see note)
- 1/2 tablespoon mild miso (ex: chickpea miso or brown rice soy miso)
- 2-3 cloves garlic see note below
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup + 1-2 tbsp plain nondairy milk see note below
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Few pinches freshly grated nutmeg and/or black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, prepare the pasta sauce. In a blender, puree the cashews, almonds, 1 tablespoon of the pine nuts, miso, garlic, sea salt, Dijon, onion powder, water, milk, and lemon juice until very smooth. Drain pasta (don’t rinse) and return it to the cooking pot. Add the sauce (scrape it all out of the blender) and adjust heat to medium-low. Let the sauce thicken; this will take just 2–3 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, nutmeg, and pepper. Serve, sprinkling with the remaining 2–3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts. Makes 2½–3 cups of sauce, serves 3–4
Notes
- Garlic and Spice Note: This sauce is meant to be very family-friendly. Adults may want to boost the punch with a little more garlic, Dijon, and/or black pepper. As with my other recipes, if your kiddos are sensitive to garlic “sting,” use just one clove.
- Milk Note: Once the pasta has sat for a minute or two after serving, it will continue to thicken. Add another 1–2 tablespoons of milk or more if needed to thin, and stir through over low heat.
- Idea: Greens are delicious wilted into this pasta! Try adding a few handfuls of baby spinach just before serving (the heat of the pasta will wilt the spinach without overcooking). If you’d like to use a hardier green like chopped kale, add it to the pasta cooking water just before draining the pasta. Proceed with the recipe and serve immediately so the greens do not overcook.
- Pine Nuts Note: These add an interesting flavor note, but if you don’t have them, you can simply omit.
food photo credit: Nicole Axworthy
Suzi says
Made this years ago and posted on my page. The memory came up today and so glad it did!! Hustled into the kitchen to recreate it today and no pine nuts so I subbed a macadamia. FABULUSH!! So glad I doubled it 🙂 YUM!!
Nidia says
It’s the best Alfredo sauce I’ve ever tried! Thank you so much for sharing such jewels with the community!
Dreena says
Well that’s a treat to read, thank you Nidia!
Nancy Moore says
Absolutely Delicious.
Love it.
Thank you Dreena for another winner.
Dreena says
Thanks so much, Nancy.
Katie says
How’s long do the nuts need to soak? I have your cookbook and didn’t see that in the book! Thanks!!
Dreena says
Hi Katie, thanks for the note. Cashews take about 2-3 hours to soak, I often leave them for about 4 hours. If you use hot water, it will speed the process along! The notes for soaking are in the intro pantry section of the book (and the nuts info starting on page 17). Sorry for the late reply – hope that helps.
lacey says
thanks! just made this and its amazing! tastes just like alfredo except BETTER!! QUESTION tho, how long does this sauce keep in the fridge? and is there any veggies, cooked or raw that can BE BLENDED into the sauce, as my kids wont eat it if they see it. cooked carrots? tomatoe? what would taste best for a picky eater? making this a one pot dish kind of meal. thanks!
Aaron Braun says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe – I loved it and my kids (7 and 4) went nuts over it. My only tweak was adding some sauteed cherry tomatoes and spinach.
Amber says
How long do you soak the almonds and cashew for ?
Thanks
Aaron Braun says
I soaked them for a couple of hours and the sauce turned out amazing.
Dreena says
Excellent – thanks Aaron!
Nicole Dawson says
This looks delicious Dreena. Fettuccine was always my favorite pasta before going vegan and I love seeing recipes out there that can take its place.
Cassidy says
Mmmm, this looks so creamy and delish! I’ll take a big bowl please!
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter says
It’s so frustrating when people steal our work when we spend hours on it, so I’m really sorry that you had to deal with content theft. I’m glad it’s been sorted. That pasta looks sensational! I know what I’ll be having for dinner tonight:) x
Stephanie says
Thank you for this awesome recipe. It’s terrible when people steal the recipes we bloggers work so hard to create. I mean, think of all the hours we put into recipe testing, styling, photography/videography, writing up a blog post, promotion, etc… it can be disheartening. Glad the video was removed. Keep doing what you do, this recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to give a try!
Jasmin | VeeatCookBake says
This looks so creamy. Love oilfree pasta sauces.
Ruth says
Dreena, Thank you for this lovely recipe. Is there a reason that the cashews are listed twice in the ingredients or is it just a small error ?
Becky says
This Alfredo sauced dish was very, very good. I used brown rice penne, but everything else was as the recipe states. I did add some baby spinach, too. Excellent!
Dreena says
Delighted to read that, Becky, thanks! I also use cut pasta more often (penne, rotini, etc), as it’s often easier to work through the sauce. Thanks for your feedback!