Spring is on its way! Only 9 days to go, let the countdown begin!
We can start by celebrating with a creamy garlicky pasta dish loaded with spring veggies, like this vegan fettuccine Alfredo complete with peas and asparagus.
The "Alfredo sauce" is ridiculously delicious - it's flavourful, light and velvety. It's made from tender boiled cauliflower, plenty of sautéed garlic, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, Silk Unsweetened Original Almondmilk, salt and pepper. Pretty simple!
Almond milk is my top choice for creamy sauces and soups because it has a wonderfully light and neutral flavour. It blends well into a variety of dishes. This might sound weird but I find that its aroma is less likely to be mistaken for sweetness in savoury soups/sauces, which is an issue I sometimes have with unsweetened soy milk. Anyone else run into this with some non-dairy milks?
Almond milk + blended cauliflower creates such a luxuriously creamy and savoury sauce, it's kinda hard to believe that there's any veggies in there at all! Cauliflower-based sauces have even more to offer than their ability to conceal a few servings of veggies. Blending cauliflower into cream sauces adds flavour depth and a full creamy texture without the need for any additional thickeners (making this sauce roux free and gluten free!) Considering the other popular options for vegan cream sauces, cauliflower is a great choice. The finished sauce is creamy, light and very similar in texture (and colour) to a typical cream based sauce. The texture is velvety and a touch lighter than roux-based sauces and considerably cheaper (and lighter in calories) than cashew-based sauces.
Another great dish to customize to suit your preferences! Swap out the fettuccine noodles that I used for linguine, whole wheat, or gluten-free pasta. Switch up the veggies for broccoli, mushrooms, or spinach. Get a little crazy and add a tablespoon of capers. I'd love to hear your favourite combinations! Enjoy!
This post is sponsored by Silk. We love Silk for providing a delicious variety of non-dairy plant milks, from your typical soy and almond milks to cashew, coconut, and non-dairy milk blends! All opinions and text are my own.
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Vegan Garlic Alfredo with Asparagus & Peas
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Course, Entrée, Pasta
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
A creamy vegan garlicky fettuccine Alfredo complete with peas and asparagus. Makes 4-5 servings.
Ingredients
Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce
- 5-6 cups cauliflower
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup Silk Unsweetened Original Almondmilk
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¾ tsp salt
- black pepper, to taste
Vegan Garlic Alfredo with Asparagus & Peas
- 1 box fettuccine noodles
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup asparagus, cut into ½" long pieces
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup frozen peas, prepared
Instructions
Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cauliflower florets and boil until fork tender, approx. 8-12 minutes. After draining cauliflower, immediately bring another pot of fresh salted water to a boil to cook the pasta.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add minced garlic. Cook until translucent and set aside.
- Combine boiled cauliflower, sautéed garlic and olive oil, ½ of the vegetable broth, Silk Unsweetened Original Almondmilk, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Adjust the consistency with the remaining vegetable broth (typically you should end up using all of the broth, but only add a little at a time and adjust in increments.) Set aside.
Vegan Garlic Alfredo with Asparagus & Peas
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Do not rinse, immediately coat with sauce after cooking.
- In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high. Add asparagus and garlic and cook until asparagus is tender. Add peas and season with salt and pepper. Combine cooked fettuccine noodles, vegetables, and sauce in a skillet. Top with fresh herbs and cracked pepper.
Notes
When blending the sauce, make sure to start with only half of the vegetable broth and add more in increments. It's easy to adjust a sauce that's too thick but much more difficult to correct a sauce that's too thin.This dish reheats easily, just pop it in the microwave or heat it over medium on your stovetop.
Cyndy
The Alfredo sauce is wonderful and versatile ! I’ve been using it in many dishes - including as a soup base. It’s super simple and best of all, it is delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Jeff
This came out sooo good. I did add Mushrooms and the sauce was perfect. Thanks so much!
Jeff
★★★★★
Jeff
I am going to make this and just wondering if you think I could add Mushrooms or would they thin out the sauce too much?
Vanessa
Loved this recipe! Turned out I did not have all the ingredients I needed, so I made some substitutes. Had only 1/2 cup of almond milk. For the sauce I blended that almond milk with ~1 cup of the water from boiling the cauliflower. It was pretty thick. When I mixed the sauce with the pasta, I added about another cup of pasta water. Also added half of an onion I had in the fridge to the asparagus/pea/garlic. Tasted great and will definitely make again! Thanks for the recipe!
Mimi
I'll be making again, delicious. Merci!!
★★★★★
Brittany
I'm happy to hear that Mimi! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Avery
I’m not vegan, but I made this tonight. It was a great Alfredo alternative and didn’t come with the stomach ache after. I added Italian seasoning for some extra flavour and some garlic bread on the side. The recipe is definitely enough for a full pack of pasta, if not more. I’ll definitely try it again when I have a craving for pasta!
★★★★
Whitney P.
Can you use frozen cauliflower?
Brittany
I haven't tried it but I think that could work really well!
Rebecca
I've definitely had a better vegan white sauce before, but this one is pretty good too. Very easy to make and I like that it doesn't use flour like others do. I think next time I may add less veggie stock and more milk for more of a creamy flavor... maybe more nooch to compensate.
★★★★
Vilko
“Fettuccine alfredo are not a thing in Italy,”but in the US it has become a staple in many restaurants that brand themselves Italian.
In Italy, the dish is most similar to what Italians call pasta burro e parmiggiano (pasta with butter and parmesan cheese).
In Italy, YOU way of making pasta is often referred to as pasta del cornuto – which translates as “cuckold’s pasta”, because making it betrays an absence of time or care put into the simple meal
★
Brittany
Thanks for your input Vilko! It just so happens that I bought a fresh pasta maker recently so expect some pasta dishes made with time and care soon. ♥
cm
This looks great! At our house when we need a change from pasta I use rice, of various kinds. I love your idea of throwing in a few capers too.
★★★★★
shar
is nutritional yeast only in whole foods? I don't know where to find it.
★★★★
Brittany
Hi Shar! I usually buy mine from iHerb or Vitacost, but Amazon sells it too! I know some grocery stores carry it, check out the natural food aisle if there's one at your local grocery store. If you know where to find Bob's Red Mill, I know they make nutritional yeast. You can also check out health food stores or stores that sell bulk foods. I hope that helps!
Z
Hi. I was wondering how long this meal would be good for? If i was making this for a meal on monday how many days later would it still be ok to eat.
Brittany
I'd expect 3-4 days for sure.
Brooklyn
Can I use coconut milk instead of almond milk? My husband has an almond allergy. Thanks!
Brittany
Absolutely! Coconut milk might be a little strong though, so using soy milk or a combination of soy/coconut might be tastier.
Kirby
I've tried many different versions of a vegan alfredo sauce and this definitely is the BEST. I was eating it by the spoonful right from the blender! Have you tried freezing this? I was hoping that I could freeze leftover sauce or make batches ahead for quick dinners?
Brittany
Thanks Kirby! I'm so happy to hear you love this sauce too 🙂 I haven't tried freezing this sauce by itself but I've frozen potatoes au gratin made with this sauce and it worked really well! I think it's an ideal sauce for freezing, at most you might need to re-blend it after thawing, but that should be it. I hope it works for you!
Renate
I just made the sauce and it's so easy! Thank you for the recipe and the beautiful pictures, that's the reason I wanted to try this 😉 Cauliflower is a great solution to make the sauce nice and creamy. Mmmmm! PS. I'm from Holland and I will visit your website more often 😀
★★★★★
Brittany
Yay! Thanks for commenting Renate, I really appreciate it 😀 I'm glad you enjoyed this sauce!
Janis
Looks so good, am watching carbs, or supposed to, so am thinking spaghetti squasH which I love, and maybe artichokes along with the asparagus which I also love Can't wait
Brittany
Yep, that sounds tasty! Thanks Janis, I hope you love the recipe!
Brenda
Hi I am going to try and make this tonight. I am allergic to garlic can you recommend any substitutions? I was thinking onion ? Also what herbs would you recommend to top this with ?
Brittany
Hi Brenda! I'd recommend going with onion (perhaps more than one type?) If you want to top this with herbs I might go with basil or parsley. Or you could add fresh cracked pepper or red pepper flakes. Capers might be a nice addition too!
Brenda
I made it without the garlic and it was delicious! I have always hated cauliflower but Loved it in this ! I did add 1/2 a Rapunzel no salt added bullion cube for added flavor when cooking the asparagus and the other 1/2 in the blender when blending the cauliflower since I had to leave out the garlic and it was so good. This recipe will be on a weekly rotation for me.
★★★★★
Brittany
Wonderful to hear Brenda! I'll have to look for that bouillon - what a great way to add flavour without adding salt!
Michael Yenchochic
Hello there, recipe sounds great I'm going to try it tonight! Quick question 5-6 cups of cauliflower equates to 3.5 lbs according to a vegetable conversion site I use. .Does that sound correct? I have 2 large heads of cauliflower ready to use but it seems like quite a bit..
★★★★★
Brittany
I find it's usually a little less than 1 head of cauliflower. If you've got two heads, you should have more than enough!
mike
Tried the recipe last night using about 11/2 heads, maybe mine were a little small. .Anyways it turned out awesome!! Thanks for your recipes and website, I'm going to try as many as I can!
★★★★★
Brittany
Thank you so much Mike! Glad you enjoyed the recipe! 😀
Laura
This was amazing! Didn't have peas or asparagus so I used zucchini from my garden! The cauliflower sauce is divine. Thank you for sharing
★★★★★
Brittany
Oh, that sounds lovely Laura! Thanks for commenting!
Nina
This was so tasty! Really appreciate the cauliflower providing the creaminess rather than nuts. We did what you said and added the broth slowly. Ended up using about 1/2 the broth listed because we wanted it really thick We added zucchini to it and left off the nut'l yeast because of allergies. Yummy...definitely a keeper!
★★★★★
Brittany
Oh that's wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, it's my favourite creamy vegan pasta. Thank you for commenting Nina!
Shelly
Looks great!
Can I use water instead of vegetable broth?
Thanks!
Brittany
Hi Shelly! I really prefer vegetable broth but if you decide to use water make sure to taste the sauce and adjust the salt, and any other flavourings. Hope that helps!
Annie
Just wanted to leave you a message saying this was absolutely AMAZING. I made it tonight and I could not get enough. I've tried many vegan cheese-less pastas and this one is by far the best! I didn't even have non-dairy milk and it still turned out creamy, rich, and delicious.
I can't wait to try more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Brittany
Wow Annie! Thank you so so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for commenting! 😀
Shannon
I made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious! I couldn't find any asparagus so I just cut up a small zucchini. When asparagus is in season I will definitely try it again. Thank you so much for this great recipe. Loved it!
★★★★★
Brittany
Glad to hear it Shannon!
Karina
Can you leave out the yeast? Would it make a big difference in the taste?
Brittany
If it's not something you have on hand you can try making it without the nutritional yeast (it adds a cheesy flavour.) Do you have any non-dairy cheese on hand? A little bit of that would be a good substitute!
Jordan
Looks good! Could I use whole wheat noodles instead?
Jordan
Sorry, I see now that I can! Yum!
Brittany
Hope you enjoy it Jordan! 😀 Thanks for commenting!
Deborah Norman
How is this vegan when pasta has eggs.
Brittany
Pasta doesn't typically contain eggs! Egg noodles and fresh pasta do but your typical dry pasta does not contain eggs. Thanks for your question!
Erin
Thanks for wonderful post. I made this last night for my carnivorous parents who are visiting for the holidays. My husband and I thought it was quite amazing, but I knew it was a real winner when my dad asked my mom if she could get the recipe from me and try making it at home. Thank you for developing these tasty and healthy recipes 🙂
Brittany
Thank you so much Erin! I'm really glad your family enjoyed the recipe 😀
Jenna Krabacher
I have been vegan for years and have tried many alfredo recipes. This one is hands down by far the absolute best! Thank you so much for sharing this!!
★★★★★
Brittany
Thank you so so much Jenna! So glad to hear you love the recipe 😀
Kiran@happygut
O man, this looks so good! AND, I have cauliflower! Score!!
Brittany
Thanks Kiran! Hope you love the recipe! 😀