Bon Appetit! Vegan Plant-Based Spaghetti Alfredo

Cauliflower and cashews  team up to make a fabulous dairy free sauce. This vegan plant-based spaghetti Alfredo is the perfect dish to turn a non-plant-based-believer into a lover. Check it out!

I’m thanking the heavens that my mother gave me a spiralizer for Christmas. I used to make zucchini noodles or veggie noodles by using only a vegetable shaver. Not only did it make a big mess, but obviously the width of each strip (I’m calling them strips instead of noodles)  was not consistent. Now that I have an easy-to-use spiralizer, I’ve been able to step up my veggie noodle game. I’m not only making plant-based spaghetti recipes but also salads, entrees and all sorts of cool meals. 

Once again I’m showing my love for zucchini but I’m not going to talk about it much this time. You can grab a traditional spaghetti recipe with zucchini noodles here. Or you can read about zucchini beauty benefits here, get a cheesy zucchini spread recipe here, or even make fun zucchini boats for your kids here! I want the star of today’s show to be this creamy dairy free Alfredo sauce. 

I used to eat spaghetti Alfredo all the dang time as a child clearly not knowing that each plate was a full days worth of calories (quite frankly it didn’t really matter since I had a speed lightning metabolism). I often dream about enjoying rich and flavorful meals that I once devoured, but without the sodium, calories, bad for your fats and inflammation from the dairy. So now I’ve started to enjoy recipes that are plant-based substitutes of usually naughty meals. 

My usual dairy free blend of cashews, nutritional yeast and apple cider vinegar is what gives this sauce a cheesy taste. Actually, any time you want to create something that tastes like cheese, you’ll want to always use this trio of ingredients (trust me). 

Vegan Plant-Based Spaghetti Alfredo Beauty Benefits:

This creamy sauce is packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants that support anti-aging properties and healthy hair. The cauliflower supports our natural detoxification process. I’m telling you ladies, the next morning you will detoxify due to this being alllll plant based fibers, cruciferous based and full of moving-the-food-along properties. You’ll also get your serving of good fats in here from the cashews. So let’s eat up and feel beautiful from the inside out!

Vegan Plant-Based Spaghetti Alfredo

Ingredients: (serves 4)

For the sauce:

• 2 cups of cauliflower
• 1 cup of cashews (soak in water for 3 hours)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 white onion chopped
• 1 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• Blend of Italian herbs (oregano, parsley)

For the pasta:

• 4 zucchinis

Directions:

1. Place the cauliflower in a large pot. Bring the pot of water to a boil and them simmer until the cauliflower is tender.
2. In a food processor, combine the cauliflower, cashews, garlic and onion and blend for 2-3 minutes. 
3. Add the nutritional yeast, herbs, and flour. Blend for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the almond milk, juice from the 1 lemon, 2 tbsp olive oil and apple cider vinegar and blend again for 3 minutes or until creamy and smooth. If the mixture is thick, you can add some water to thin it out. 
5. With a spiralizer (or if you don’t have one, you can use a vegetable shaver), spiralize the four zucchinis.
6. In a pan, heat up 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the zucchini for about 4 minutes.
7. Add the sauce with the zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes.
8. Transfer to a bowl and enjoy!