Why It Works
- Steamed cauliflower purées into a smooth, silky sauce without any dairy.
- Cashews add a creamy richness to the sauce.
My childhood motto was: Bring on the cream sauce. No surprise, fettuccine Alfredo was a favorite dish of mine. And I’m not talking about the original, slightly more elegant version, which was made tableside with a server tossing pasta with copious amounts of butter and cheese. I mean the sturdier, Olive Garden-style version, with butter, cheese, and cream. But as an adult, that kind of dish doesn’t appeal to me as much anymore, since one bite will usually satisfy the craving and any more will give me a stomachache.
While writing a book about cauliflower, I discovered how much I loved using cauliflower purée as a substitute for dairy. Which led me to wonder: Could cauliflower create a convincing vegan fettuccine Alfredo?
With the right blend of other ingredients, indeed, it can. The cauliflower, steamed until ultra soft and then puréed, creates a silky base. Cashews, softened alongside the cauliflower, add richness. Nutritional yeast, long loved by vegans for its cheesy quality, stands in for the parmesan.
Cauliflower lends itself well to vegan and vegetarian recipes because it's such a chameleon. It has a mild enough flavor that it can be pushed in many different directions without asserting itself too much. It also has the ability to mimic different textures, whether a silky sauce for vegan-ized renditions of creamed spinach or saag paneer, as a ricotta-like filling for a vegan lasagna, or a thick and spreadable vegetarian pâté.
Much like Kenji, I like a little brightness with my Alfredo sauce these days, so I added a bit of lemon zest. If you’re a purist like Daniel, leave it out. I also liked the technique Kenji uses to make a garlicky sauce: He grates the garlic raw and lets the heat of the pasta soften its bite.
The main thing to remember is not to be afraid of the salt. Parmigiano-Reggiano is plenty salty, while nutritional yeast is not. To get the “cheesy” quality, be sure to salt the pasta cooking water and the sauce. If, after you toss everything together, it tastes a little bland, add a little more salt. You’ll know it’s seasoned enough when you take a bite and think it tastes just like fettuccine Alfredo.
March 2018
Recipe Details
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (355ml) unsweetened, unflavored almond or cashew milk or vegetable broth
1 pound (455g) cauliflower, cored and cut into medium florets (12 ounces; 340g florets)
1/2 cup (2 ounces; 55g) raw cashews
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon (optional)
Kosher salt
1 to 2 large cloves garlic
12 ounces (340g) dry fettuccine
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
In a large saucepan, bring nut milk or broth to a simmer over medium heat. Add cauliflower and cashews and stir to coat with the liquid. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. (If the liquid seems to be evaporating out from under the lid, reduce the heat to low; you want to cook the cauliflower while retaining as much of the liquid as possible.)
Transfer cauliflower, cashews, and liquid to a blender or food processor and let cool until warm.
Wipe out the saucepan, fill it with water, and bring to a boil over high heat.
Purée cauliflower and cashews until very smooth. (A high-powered blender will give you the best texture, but you can achieve a smooth purée if you let a food processor run for a solid minute or more, scraping down the sides occasionally.) Add nutritional yeast, lemon zest (if using), and a few large pinches of salt. Finely grate as much garlic as you want over the sauce and pulse just to combine.
Season the boiling water with salt and add fettuccine; cook until just al dente, then reserve about 1 cup (235ml) of the cooking water and drain.
Return the hot pasta to the pot. Add the vegan Alfredo sauce and about 1/4 cup (60ml) of cooking liquid and toss, adding more liquid as necessary to loosen the sauce to a creamy consistency. Put the pan over the heat for a few seconds to heat the pasta as necessary. Taste and season with salt. Transfer to a large bowl, hit it with a few grinds of black pepper, and serve.
Special Equipment
Blender (preferably high powered) or food processor, large saucepan
Read More
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
---|---|
450 | Calories |
9g | Fat |
77g | Carbs |
18g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
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Servings: 4 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 450 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 9g | 12% |
Saturated Fat 2g | 8% |
Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
Sodium 550mg | 24% |
Total Carbohydrate 77g | 28% |
Dietary Fiber 7g | 24% |
Total Sugars 8g | |
Protein 18g | |
Vitamin C 38mg | 190% |
Calcium 53mg | 4% |
Iron 4mg | 24% |
Potassium 466mg | 10% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |