Vegan Alfredo

This is a pretty easy dish that everyone in my house loves.  Easy to customize also to your liking.

 

  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 cups cauliflower florets (fresh or frozen). 
  • 3/4 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup of Nutritional Yeast (optional)
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
  • Dash of pepper
  • 1 pound (16-oz) cooked pasta (can use fettuccine but I also like to use the eggless wide noodles from Walmart)
  • One head of broccoli (cut into florets)
  • One package of mushrooms, sliced
  • Optional:  kale, green peas

Cook pasta according to directions and set aside.

Instant Pot Instructions:

Push the saute feature on the Instant Pot. Add the olive oil cook until the onions are starting to get soft. Add in the minced garlic. Careful to not burn the garlic.

Now turn off the saute, and add the cauliflower, cashews, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Cook in the Instant Pot on high manual pressure for 3 minutes, making sure it’s sealed so the pressure can build.

Once it beeps and is done, carefully release the pressure, or let the instant pot release on its own.

Regular (Non-Instant Pot) Instructions:

In a large pot, saute the onion in olive oil until it starts to soften.  Add in the garlic for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the cauliflower, cashews,vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper.. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Instructions for both:

While sauce is cooking in the pot or instant pot, saute some sliced mushrooms in a skillet.  Saute until cooked and browned.

Steam or microwave the broccoli until cooked (test with a fork)

Transfer sauce ingredients (onions, garlic, cauliflower, cashews, broth) to a blender, add salt and blend until very smooth.  Be very careful blending hot liquids as they can increase in volume and pressure.  Start slowly in the blender and do not overfill. In some blenders, you may want to split up the contents and blend in two batches.

Pour back into the pot, stir in the sauteed mushrooms and broccoli.  Stir to coat.  If using kale or peas, add in at this time.

Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Pour over pasta and stir. If the sauce is a bit thick, simply add in a few tablespoons of water, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Serve immediately.