This Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce Pasta is:
- ready in 30 minutes
- super rich and creamy
- seriously comforting!
If you’ve read my blog before, it’s probably quite obvious that I love creamy pasta sauces. While I usually use things like almond milk thickened with cornflour, pumpkin purée, or blended white beans, having seen all the hype about cashew pasta sauces, I was keen to see what all the fuss was about.
And I’m so glad I tried it, because, whilst cashews may end up a little more expensive than the pasta sauces I normally create, they do create the most creamy, rich, and naturally sweet alfredo sauce.
Whilst cooking with cashews can be a bit of a pain as they usually require soaking beforehand, this sauce is much easier as you can soften the cashews by simmering them in water once you’ve fried the garlic. This is pretty handy as it ensures the whole meal is ready within 30 minutes, with no thinking ahead or preparation required.
If you’re worried about the taste of cashews, the garlic definitely gets rid of this, as well as adding so much flavour. I’ve kept the sauce simple and haven’t used any other ingredients other than nutritional yeast for cheesiness, and salt + pepper to season, but you could also add miso for extra umami flavour if you like.
Green peas provide a good source of protein and fibre, and add a lovely pop of colour too. To make this Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce Pasta into a properly balanced meal, I also like to add some cooked greens such as spinach, kale or broccoli. A sprinkling of fresh parsley would be a nice serving idea too, if you’re into that.
And something I didn’t add this time, but which I think would be an excellent add-in…mushrooms! Or almond or coconut bacon – do it!
For more creamy vegan pasta recipes, check out my:
- Creamy Tomato Sauce Pasta
- Creamy Pesto Pasta
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- White Bean Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Sundried Pesto Pasta
- Creamy Miso Pasta Sauce
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make this Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce Pasta:
amazon_textlink asin=’B0002ITQHS|B000KGCOB2′ text=’measuring jug’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’rhiansrecip00-20|rhisrec-21′ marketplace=’US|UK’ link_id=’6360865e-52d2-11e8-b170-bf4163da3e2a’]
food processor
blender
hand-held stick blender
Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce Pasta (GF)
Ingredients
- 200 g (7oz) pasta (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 150 g (1 cup) frozen green peas
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive, coconut or rapeseed oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
- 75 g (1/2 cup) raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Salt + pepper, to taste
To serve (optional):
- Cooked greens of choice (spinach, kale, broccoli etc)
- Fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to instructions on packet - add peas at the same time
For the sauce:
- Heat the oil in a separate pan and add garlic once hot
- Fry for a minute until fragrant - be careful not to burn!
- Add the cashew nuts along with 180ml (3/4 cup) water
- Bring to the boil and simmer for around 10 minutes, until cashews have softened
- Turn off the heat and add nutritional yeast and salt + pepper
- Use a food processor, blender (or hand-held stick blender) to whizz until completely smooth
- If you’ve used a separate blending device, transfer the sauce back to the pan (just keep it in the same pan if you've used a hand-held blender) and mix in the cooked pasta and peas
- Add more water to thin out the sauce if necessary, and more salt if necessary
- Serve with cooked greens and fresh parsley, if desired
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Anonymous
Good recipe. I added some soya milk and vegetable stock and then blended some raw spinach which gave it a diferent (but nice colour).
Rhian Williams
Thank you, glad you liked it! And thank you for sharing your substitutions, that’s great to know!