Craving a creamy pasta dish that won’t weigh you down? This easy and healthy vegan alfredo sauce is ultra-smooth, oil-free, and made with simple whole-food ingredients. This plant based pasta dish is ready in just 30 minutes for the perfect healthy comfort food for busy weeknights or for a quick lunch meal-prep for the week.
Why You'll Love this Vegan Alfredo
- Weight-loss Friendly: Whole plant food ingredients add fiber and nutrition to this dairy-free alfredo, without added oils and excess fats, keeping the calories lower so you can enjoy dreamy creamy pasta without the guilt. Try it with Banza Chickpea Pasta for extra fiber and protein!
- Creamy & Flavorful: Cashews, potato, and hemp seeds provide a creamy pasta sauce base when blended, and garlic and nutritional yeast deliver the classic flavors you expect from fettuccini alfredo.
- Quick & Easy: It only takes 9 ingredients and 30 minutes to make this plant based fettuccine alfredo, taking the stress away from weeknight cooking. Add in cooked frozen vegetables, like broccoli or spinach for a complete meal in no time!
- Meal-Prep Friendly: This recipe can be used for a quick meal-prep for vegan lunches or dinners by dividing out the finished recipe into separate glass containers to be reheated in minutes. The alfredo sauce can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the fridge for a week or frozen for longer too.
Equipment Needed
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Stock pot
- Colander
- Small sauté pan
- High-speed blender. I use a Vitamix.
- Tongs
- Serving bowls
Ingredients for Vegan Alfredo
- Russet potato
- Fresh garlic
- Cashews. This recipe works best with raw unsalted cashews. For a cashew-free alfredo sauce, replace this with more hemp seeds, or steamed cauliflower for a low-fat version.
- Hemp seeds. Also called hemp hearts, choose the hulled/shelled hemp seeds. This can also be replaced with more cashews or potato.
- Plain non-dairy milk. I use oat or soy, but any version will work.
- Nutritional yeast. Adds a cheesy-like flavor to the sauce.
- Salt and pepper
- Pasta of choice. For a high-protein and gluten-free version, I recommend Banza Chickpea Pasta. This recipe is easily made gluten-free by choosing any gluten-free pasta.
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How to Make Plant Based Alfredo
Step One – Boil Potato
Add 1 to 2-inches of water to a pot and bring to a boil. While it heats up, peel and chop the potato into 1-inch pieces. Add the potato pieces to the hot water. Lower the heat, and simmer for 5-7 minutes, until soft.
Step Two – Sauté Garlic
In a small pan, sauté the minced garlic with a couple tablespoons of water for 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step Three – Cook Pasta
Fill a stock pot with water, and cook pasta according to package directions.
Step Four – Blend Alfredo Sauce
When the potato is soft, add it to the blender with the sautéed garlic, cashews, hemp seeds, non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend until very smooth and creamy.
Step Five – Bring it All Together
Strain the cooked pasta in a colander and add it back to the pot. Immediately Pour the alfredo sauce over the pasta and mix to coat with the sauce so the pasta doesn’t stick together.
Storage and Meal Prep Tips
- Refrigerator: The pasta will keep well in the fridge for 3-5 days. The sauce thickens on the pasta in the fridge, so if you have leftover sauce, add a bit more sauce to the pasta before reheating. You can also use a splash of non-dairy milk to reheat. This helps keep it creamy.
- Freezer: The alfredo sauce freezes well for 1-3 months, but I do not recommend freezing the pasta.
- Meal-prep: To prepare lunches or dinners for the week, divide the finished fettuccini alfredo into separate meal-prep containers and reheat in the microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing in between, until hot.
Serving Suggestions
- With salad and breadsticks. Pasta is always great served with a salad! Serve this alfredo dish with a side of Vegan Caesar Salad with Crispy Tofu for extra plant based protein.
- Add protein and texture. Top this pasta dish with Almond Crusted Lemon Pepper Tofu strips for a plant-based take on chicken alfredo.
- Serve it as a side dish. Vegan alfredo makes a tasty side dish next to vegan main dishes, like Portobello Steaks or Crispy Cauliflower Cutlets.
- Keep it simple. Make a full meal with minimal effort by heating frozen veggies and adding them to this alfredo pasta. I love to use broccoli, spinach, and asparagus!
- Make it hearty. Add a few Eggplant Meatballs to the fettuccine alfredo for a filling and delicious meal that is high-fiber and packed with plant-based protein and healthy fats.
Try These Vegan Pasta Dishes Next:
This Oil-free Vegan Alfredo is proof that creamy pasta dishes can still be healthy! Whether you’re looking for a quick and easy vegan dinner or a healthy recipe to beat your cravings, this recipe is sure to satisfy and nourish you.
If you made this recipe, please leave a comment below to help support this blog and help others find easy plant based recipes. Follow @RootyFruityVegan on social media for more recipe ideas!
Creamy Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A creamy dairy-free twist on a classic pasta dish made with simple whole plant foods, that is ready in just 30 minutes, and so delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 medium russet potato (~200 grams)
- 4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup raw unsalted cashews, preferably soaked (see notes)
- 1/4 cup hulled hemp seeds
- 1 1/2 cups plain non-dairy milk (I like to use oat or soy milk)
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 16 oz. pasta of choice
Instructions
- Add 1 to 2-inches of water to a pot and bring to a boil. While it heats up, peel and chop the potato into 1-inch pieces. Add the potato pieces to the hot water. Lower the heat, and simmer for 5-7 minutes, until soft.
- In a small pan, sauté the minced garlic with a couple tablespoons of water for 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Fill a stock pot with water, and cook pasta according to package directions.
- When the potato is soft, add it to the blender with the sautéed garlic, cashews, hemp seeds, non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend until very smooth and creamy.
- Strain the cooked pasta in a colander and add it back to the pot. Immediately Pour the alfredo sauce over the pasta and mix to coat with the sauce so the pasta doesn’t stick together.
Notes
Soaking the cashews for 1+ hours helps them blend easier for a smoother sauce. However, when using a high quality blender, this step may not be necessary. I use a Vitamix and do not need to soak the cashews for a smooth sauce. Alternatively, the cashews can be boiled for 10 minutes to soften.
Nutritional information is calculated using classic wheat-based pasta and plain soy milk.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Nutrition
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 225 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 73 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
