Just a few ingredient swaps can make creamy Alfredo pasta dishes heart-healthy and full of fiber. This plant-based version uses cauliflower and cashew for the base of the sauce and adds color and flavor with garlic, peas, carrots and spinach.
Equipment Needed
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Measuring utensils
Sauce pan
Large pot
Blender
Stirring utentils
Colander
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE:
- 3 cups cauliflower florets fresh or frozen
- ½ cup cashews (raw, unsalted if possible)
- Water or stock to cover, about 2 cups
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves or 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp salt (leave out if cashews are salted)
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- INGREDIENTS FOR PASTA:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups sliced button mushrooms
- ½ tsp dried thyme leaves
- 12 ounces whole grain fettuccini
- 1 tsp salt for the pasta water
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 4 cups fresh spinach
Directions
- Make the Alfredo sauce by placing the cashew and cauliflower in a sauce pot. Cover with stock or water and cook for 10 minutes, or until cashews are soft. Drain and reserve cooking liquid.
- In a blender, combine the cashews, cauliflower, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, ½ cup of the cooking liquid, salt, Dijon mustard and black pepper and puree until smooth. Adjust the consistency with remaining cooking liquid. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and thyme leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes, adding peas and carrots in the last minute of cooking. Drain. Return pasta mixture to the pot. Add mushrooms and spinach and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until spinach is wilted. Toss with the Alfredo sauce and serve immediately.
