Creamy Pasta Alfredo
Ok, so we're about to ring in the new year and that means New Year's Resolutions are coming our way quick! So before we all start fresh in our commitment to eat healthy and exercise more, let's go out with a final shebang! Creamy. Pasta. Alfredo. 🎉
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m going to go ahead and let you all know right now that I did not intend to make an Alfredo sauce when I was concocting this recipe. I was out having dinner with a friend recently, at one our favorite vegan spots, and she ordered a side of mac n’ cheese. It wasn’t very good, and tasted nothing like my idea of mac n’ cheese. She also told me about some boxed brands that she had tried with high hopes, but was let down by those as well. So the night after our dinner I got to thinking about what might make a good, classic easy-mac style vegan mac n’ cheese. So, I wrote up this recipe and tested it out. It isn’t quite reminiscent of a classic, childhood macaroni and cheese dish, but it is one of the creamiest, most delicious Alfredo sauces I’ve ever had. And while it isn’t necessarily the healthiest, for an Alfredo sauce, it’s not too bad—the main ingredient in the sauce is tofu! And you wouldn’t even know it. We all know I’m all about indulging every once in a while, but if you want to stay on the healthier side and still try this dish, you could always make it with a brown rice or quinoa pasta, instead of traditional pasta. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m still working on the mac n’ cheese...
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2 mins. | 10 mins. | 12 mins. |
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup almond milk, unflavored and unsweetened
- 1 package Nasoya Silken Tofu*
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
- 1 ¼ cups Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds
- ¼ cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds
*Make sure to use silken tofu, as its consistency is key to the recipe.
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (I always put about 1 teaspoon or so of salt in my pasta water to help flavor the pasta). Once it comes to a boil, add pasta and cook according to package instructions.
- While the large pot of water comes to a boil, place a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook the vegan butter and flour together in the medium saucepan, whisking it together until the flour absorbs the butter and starts to brown slightly—this will only take a few minutes.
- Add the almond milk to the flour mixture and stir until the flour begins to absorb the almond milk—after a few minutes, the consistency should resemble cake batter.
- Rinse and drain the tofu in a fine mesh strainer. Add tofu, garlic powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper to the flour mixture and whisk until tofu crumbles apart and starts to become smooth.
- Once you have achieved a creamy, but still slightly lumpy texture, add in the Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese and the Daiya cheeses. Whisk together vigorously until the cheeses are melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and return it to the pot. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir together.
- Serve and Indulge!
