Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce
This vegan cashew Alfredo sauce is creamy, satisfying, and extraordinarily easy to make, demonstrating fully the culinary magic one can conjure up simply soaking raw cashews and blending them.
Soaking cashews is a common technique in vegan cooking, and there’s a good reason for that: it’s one of the easiest ways to make an unctuous, velvety non-dairy sauce, like this vegan cashew alfredo sauce.
Cashews themselves are already so smooth and full-bodied, so it makes sense that when broken down they’d retain those qualities. This particular vegan cashew alfredo sauce is of course rich, but not so rich and heavy that after a couple bites you’re completely unable to eat anymore. That isn’t unique to this recipe; this is true of most plant-based food, I’ve noticed. It’s a satisfying experience to eat delicious, creamy food without having to submit to the draining, lethargic, full-bellied slump that usually accompanies it afterwards.
Vegan Worchester Sauce
Essentially, the heart of this vegan cashew alfredo sauce lies in the addition of the Worchester sauce, which adds a certain je-ne-sais-quoi to a dish. If I had to say quoi, the flavor of Worchester is slightly sweet, tart, funky and fermented. However, typical Worchester sauce will often contain anchovies in it. So, if you’re going to make this vegan, it’s basically a process of squinting to read the fine print on the bottles to find brands of Worchester that don’t contain animal products. Admittedly, it might be more difficult for those of you who do not have access to a variety of grocery stores to find this ingredient.
Possible substitutes for Worchester would be a dark miso paste or coconut aminos – but i wonder now if those are any easier to find? Probably not. However, if you’re able to obtain a bottle of vegan Worchester sauce, it tends to last a long time, as you’ll only use a small amount per recipe, typically.
My recommendation is to make this vegan cashew alfredo sauce and pair it with an appropriate pasta, roasted brussel sprouts and toasted pecans. It’s a spectacular recipe that has everything you could want in one bite: creamy noodles, sweet roasted brussel sprouts, and a toasty crunch of pecans. Moreover, this recipe is highly customizable, in so much as you can try any variety of pasta, or roast vegetable or nut atop your pasta, and it should be just as delicious. Specifically, I used leftover red lentil rotini, but you can use a more traditional noodle like fettuccine – it’s really up to you. This is also great for people who have to avoid gluten; substitute wheat pasta for a gluten-free option, and there you have it.
With all that said, heat up some water to boiling, and get to soaking your raw cashews. You don’t want to miss out on this delicious, delectable velvety vegan cashew alfredo sauce recipe.
Cashew Alfredo with Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Pecans
Equipment
- Blender
- Skillet
- Oven
- Baking Sheet w/Parchment or Silicon Baking Mat
Ingredients
For the vegan cashew Alfredo sauce:
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 30 minutes in hot water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Some lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worchester sauce
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
- ¼ – ½ cup of water or vegetable broth, to thin the sauce
For the Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Pecans:
- 1½ cups dried pasta, cooked
- ½ cup pecans, lightly toasted
- 1 stock of brussel sprouts, halved (about 10 – 20 sprouts)
- 1 yellow or white onion, quartered
- 2 – 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Some salt and pepper
Instructions
For the Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- After soaking the raw cashews in hot water for 30 minutes, blend them along with the nutritional yeast, lemon zest and juice, garlic, vegan Worcester sauce, salt, pepper and water. Slowly add more water, until you achieve the consistency of a creamy Alfredo.
For the roasted Brussel Sprouts and Pecans
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, and cover the halved Brussel sprouts and quartered onions in white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, roast for about 20 minutes, until tender and crispy brown.
- Lightly toast the pecans in a skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, until they become fragrant. Transfer to a small bowl.
To Assemble
- Meanwhile, boil your pasta of choice, like fettuccini, spaghetti, rotini, ect.
- Over medium heat, in the same skillet in which you toasted the pecans, add the vegan cashew Alfredo. Allow it to cook for about 5 minutes, until heated through, and then add the cooked pasta.
- Serve the pasta and top with the Brussel sprouts and pecans!
Notes
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this easy vegan cashew alfredo sauce recipe, let me know by leaving a rating and comment before you go.
Also, check out this tofu ricotta stuffed shell pasta if you’re in the mood for another deletable vegan pasta dish.
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
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