This easy pasta dish, traditionally made with cheese, milk, butter and oil, has been given a healthy makeover, using cashews and white beans to create the creamy white sauce. The cashews add richness while the white beans help keep the calories down.
Fettuccini Alfredo
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4 (makes about 2.25 cups sauce) 1x
Ingredients
- For the pasta:
- 1 package fettuccini pasta (12 ounces), to serve 4
- For the sauce:
- ¾ cup water
- 2 ounces raw, unsalted cashews (about ½ cup)
- 1 can white beans (15 ounces; about 1½ cups), drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¾ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (or a pinch to ¼ teaspoon preground)
- 1 ounce cashews, walnuts, or pine nuts (about ¼ cup; for optional garnish)
- Chopped parsley (for optional garnish)
Instructions
- To start the Alfredo sauce, place the water and cashews into a blender, and set aside for at least 15 minutes (so the cashews can soften).
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions (about 10 minutes). Drain and rinse with cool water, return the to the pot, and set aside (off of the heat).
- Add the beans, lemon juice, garlic, white pepper, and nutmeg to the blender of cashews and water, and blend until very smooth (add a little water as needed to thin).
- Stir the Alfredo sauce into the pot of cooked pasta, and heat through on medium-low heat (don't boil). Serve immediately as is or topped with grated nuts (use a rotary cheese grater to create a parmesan cheese-like topping) and/or chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
White beans. You can use any type of white beans in this recipe. I usually use navy beans, but you can also use great northern, cannellini, or "white" beans.
Adjust the nuts. If you don't want to use nuts in the sauce, simply substitute ½ cup more white beans in their place. The sauce will not have the same richness (since nuts are nearly all fat), but it will still produce a nice sauce. Also, feel free to decrease or increase the nuts as desired, adjusting the beans measurement accordingly (so that you end up with a total of 2 cups of cashews and beans).
For a little more flavor, add a teaspoon of lemon zest or ¼ to ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes to the pasta and sauce in step 4.
For a heartier meal, add some lightly cooked vegetables, such as onion, mushrooms, green peas, and/or summer squash, and/or chopped fresh tomatoes.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ recipe (1 cup pasta with sauce)
- Calories: 351
- Sugar: 2.9g
- Sodium: 39mg
- Fat: 14.1g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9g
- Carbohydrates: 47.1g
- Fiber: 8.7g
- Protein: 14.3g
- Cholesterol: 0
I've made this recipe twice already. The sauce is really creamy and delicious without tasting overly heavy. I added cherry tomatoes and sliced zucchini. It was very fast to put together. I'm sure I'll be making it often.
Thanks Neil! 😉
Nice work! You did a great job using your magic to make a delicious, healthy meal that I love.
Thank you Miles! 😉
I added mushrooms & asparagus to this dish and wow this was so delicious. I added a little low sodium veggie broth to the sauce as I was blending because it was a little thick due to my lack of soaking the cashews. Still came out perfectly tasty. I will be making this for some family parties, they'll never be able to tell it's vegan!
Yay! Love hearing that! Thank you for the comment, Deanna! 😉
Could you use almonds in place of cashews
Yes, but you may want to soak them overnight first, as they are very dense, unlike cashews. 🙂
This is great to know as,having had a heart attack 1 yr. ago this month.Cashews are my fav. but are on our nuts to not eat,it was a bitter pill to swallow! Will try this tho.....thanks
Made this for dinner tonight. No fettuccini noodles, so I used Tinkyada shell pasta.
Wow!!! This is the BEST vegan Alfredo sauce. Creamy with great taste and mouthfeel, and without being gummy like other tofu or all-cashew recipes. I served it with steamed zukes/yellow summer squash and sliced brandywine tomatoes on the side. Hubby said Yes, make again. 🙂 I think this would be a great cream sauce for pouring over baked potatoes, too.
Five stars, Cathy! You hit it out of the ballpark with this one.
Cheers!
Pam
Thanks Pam! 😉
Would it be possible to prep the sauce ahead of time (like just keep in the fridge) and just heat with each individual portion of pasta as needed? Thanks!
I think that would be fine. It may separate a bit, but just reblend it or shake/whisk it first.
Thanks for the response!!!
Loved this recipe -- thank you! Very creamy. Had to make it twice as the first time I used bad white pepper (had that animal smell - yuck). Second time omitted the white pepper and it was still delicious. Added some fresh black pepper at the end.
Hi, do you have a recipe on salt free soy sauce? Or at least what I could substitute it with since I swell up really easy 🙁
soy sauce is pure sodium, and nothing else really tastes like it, without having sodium or salt in it. You could dilute the soy sauce with water.
Wondering if Bragg Liquid Aminos might be a substitute with less sodium?
Bragg Liquid Aminos also contains a lot of sodium: 320 mg per teaspoon serving. I just searched soy sauce, and came up with 306 mg of sodium per teaspoon (Kikkoman brand). So, no it's not any better. You could dilute it with water to bring down the mg's.
Coconut aminos are used by vegans for a soy sauce substitute and it's much lower in sodium
Unfortunately, the dish was too peppery for us. The pepper was overpowering and people refused to eat the dish. I used Whole Foods white pepper. Perhaps suggesting half the amount first and adding more to taste would be better, in case one's pepper is stronger than typical.
The blended sauce was very watery, but heating it up on low heat quickly make it too thick and sort of gummy. So, would need more water next time.
Thanks for the comments Elaine. A dried herb or spice's strength can definitely be affected by the brand or how long its been in the drawer at home. I will try it with WF white ground pepper next time. Did you use nuts or beans? If beans, it may have been a little more watery at the start.
I made this recipe tonight and it was outstanding! I usually feel bloated and a bit sick after eating pasta (because of the oil and salt even in most vegan recipes), but I feel great:). I followed the recipe exactly and topped it with Benson's Table Tasty (no salt topper) and a quick grind of Italian herbs. I was skeptical of so much nutmeg, but it really works, and the white pepper is key to the Alfredo flavor. Another winning recipe!
Thanks Jen! 😉
I made this an hour ago. I found it to have too much pepper. I do love the creaminess of this, though. I'll try it again but skip all the pepper.
I was wondering...why white pepper? What is the difference between white and black pepper? I have never used white pepper. I look forward to making this soon! Thanks
White pepper is traditional in Alfredo sauces, as it matches the white color of the sauce. But for a more indepth explanation, click here. 🙂
Cathy,
I was so afraid to go salt and oil free but after making this pasta I was 100% convinced. Such a flavorful and creamy sauce -- I will definitely be making this many more times in the future. Thank you for the great recipe!
Great! Thank you Lola! 😉
I wonder why fettuccine are called 'fettuccini' in the US. However, I'm going to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing your recipes! 😉
Hi there! I made this last night with Brown Rice pasta, tomatoes and green peas. It was SO tasty. I have been vegan for the past 6 months and recently I've notice I've started having a bit more cellulite on my legs. I started cooking with no oil and eliminating salt (I was using pink salt only at home). My husband who isin't vegan and picky loved this dish last night even had two servings. I will keep looking at your blog for ideas. Thank you.
Valérie
Can you use cashew milk instead?
Sure! 🙂
What about cashew butter? If so, how much? Is there a ratio for butter to actual nut/seed?
Hi Alex, I think that would work, maybe 2 tablespoons? I don't know of any ratio, but I'd say taste it after blending; if it needs more, add more. Thanks! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your recipes! It only hurt to see 'fettuccini'. In Italy these noodles are female 😀 = fettuccine
The recipe calls for "canned" white beans. Canned beans have a lot of salt. Is there an allowable amount you consider low enough?
You can also use homemade beans, 1.5 cups if you want to avoid the salt, or just buy salt-free beans. A good guideline for allowing some sodium is that the mg amount should be less than the calories per serving number. 🙂
Try to find cans of “no salt added” beans. These should drop down to 10mg of sodium per serving. Different stores carry different “no salt added” beans, so you may need to shop around. I’ve been using them for years.
That said, I failed in finding a can of low sodium white beans. 😢
Picked up a pound of dry navy beans and will soak those overnight.
Your recipes look awesome and I'm looking forward to trying them. Just a general query about pasta though - isn't pasta usually made from egg & flour??
Generally, yes, but there are many that are made from other grains and no eggs. I use brown rice pasta most of the time, but you can also get corn and quinoa (or a mix) pastas. They've come a long way. 🙂 Check the labels.
I just put on you beefless stew and was looking through your other recipes and came across this one. I have been vegan for about a month now and really miss my Italian food. Would this sauce be good on zucchini noodles?
I think it would be great on anything. 😉
Hubby can't eat cashews but I wanted the creaminess of the nuts so I used pine nuts. I cut the pepper cause I'm not big on pepper and added a pinch of salt. YUM! I can't believe how easy it is! I served it over quinoa topped with roasted veggies and I had some grape tomatoes that were on the edge so I halved them, sprinkled with Italian seasoning and balsamic vinegar and roasted to top off. Delicious and SO easy! This is going in a regular meal rotation for me. Thank you.
I do not have this very expensive high powered blender, so I sometime give the cashews a quick boil and set them aside. Is this OK? They do come out creamy and your fettucini came out wonderful and tasty. I will make this for my finnicky daughter-in-law and she will not know the difference
Great tip! Or soak them in hot water. 😉
I'm a bit confused by the nutrition information for this recipe. It states "Sugar: 204g". Is this an error? How many calories should I subtract for the pasta if I want to know the calories for just the sauce? Thank you!
Thanks Laurie, that was a typo; thanks for letting me know. It has been fixed. 🙂 I don't have the nutrition info separated out (sauce and pasta) but you can input it into Cronometer.com if you'd like to find out.
The texture was perfect! I added some steamed asparagus and sauted shitake mushrooms. Thanks Cathy.
Made this using cashews & kidney beans . Was very thick, used the correct amount of lemon juice , garlic & pepper . This sauce had no taste . What can be done to increase the flavour?
If you're a regular salt user, it may taste bland to you. Sauces typically are loaded with salt, which is why everyone craves them. 🙂 You can increase the spices listed or add a no-salt seasoning blend (like Benson's Table Tasty).
Hi Cathy,
Do you use for this recepy rice noudles? Because of no use of normal pasta and bread?
Thanks, Els van der Kroft
You can use any type of noodle that you like. 🙂
Four and a half years later, and this is still my go-to Alfredo sauce. We love it poured over baked potatoes with steamed broccoli. This is THE BEST. You have a five star winner here, Cathy!
Thanks so much Pam! 😉
You're probably tired of me commenting on this sauce (LOL); but Cathy, it is still our go-to Alfredo sauce! Nearly six years later; it's still the one. ☺
Tonight, I decided to see how well it would work as a pizza sauce. I added 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast and 1 tsp dried oregano to your sauce recipe. Smeared it on homemade 100% whole grain pizza crust, and topped it with pan-seared mushrooms, roasted red peppers, chopped red onions, sliced black olives and arugula. OMG, I can confirm this sauce is the BEST white sauce for a healthy pizza. ☺
Thanks again, Cathy! Wishing you all the best. ☀️🌼
Hi Pam! 🙂 Love your comments! I'm going to try this, great idea! Thanks!
Hey Cathy, I have a general question about your recipes. I'm allergic to nuts and I see many recipes that has cashew nuts as a base. Would it be possible to replace that with something like sunflower seeds and other seeds? For example in this Alfredo recipe, could I replace the nuts with some seeds? 🙂
Hi Fred, I think that would work. Just soak them for a long time so they soften. Hemp seeds may work too, or a combo. "White, smooth, rich" is the sauce goal, so I'm sure there are many ways to achieve this that I have not tried yet. Good luck! 🙂