I LOVE pasta. Love it. I’m obsessed with it. If I could eat it for every meal every day I would. Over the past couple a months, one of my favorites has become Trader Joe’s quinoa/brown rice blend spaghetti because its gluten free, slightly healthier, and has protein. They’re cauliflower gnocchi is fantastic too. One way I’m able to eat pasta so frequently is making sure I have way more vegetables than noodles on my plate. Also- I make sure my sauces add lots of flavor and not a lot of calories. Alfredo sauce is a total classic that’s also extremely versatile, but generally it is not a healthy option. Even when I ate cheese I didn’t really like Alfredo sauce, but I am obsessed with this vegan version I came up with (way lower in calories and fat too!)
So this is my recipe, but I got most of the basic steps from listening to Leslie Durso on the Food Heals podcast (shes an AMAZING vegan chef).
1 head of cauliflower
1 box of vegetable stock/broth
1-2c of unsweetened/unflavored almond milk
2c raw unsalted cashews (soaked at least 8 hours)
1/4c nutritional yeast
3 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Soak 2 cups of cashews in filtered water at least 8 hours or overnight. This makes them soft so that they blend well and make the sauce creamy!
Fill large pot with all of the vegetable stock. Cut head of cauliflower into florets and add to pot.
Cover and cook on high at a boil until cauliflower is very soft.
Once cauliflower is cooked drain (but save about 1/2c of the broth) and put into a blender. Add that 1/2c of broth you just saved to the blender.
Add all other ingredients to blender. Start with less liquid and add more as needed to get the consistency you want.
Blend, blend, blend!!! It takes a decent amount of blending to get the sauce really smooth. They key is having soft enough cauliflower and cashews so be patient with both of those steps.
This sauce is delicious on pasta and vegetables! I normally make some sauteed mushrooms and broccoli to go with the pasta and top it all with the sauce. Sometimes I’ll even add tofu if I need the extra protein. Its super easy to make and it makes A LOT so we have it for leftovers too.
