Do you ever crave noodles? Just a big piping hot bowl of ’em? Yeah, me too. Of course, not every night. I like to change things up as much as possible. Variation is key if you ask me. But I do find myself reaching for some kind of noodles about once or twice a week. I especially like a noodle dish that comes together quickly but also lands high on the comfort food scale. That’s where this dish comes in: creamy, cheesy, savory, and just plain decadent- Fettuccine Alfredo. Done my way.
From my personal research, I have found that traditionally there aren’t too many ingredients in this classic Fettuccine Alfredo dish: pasta, pasta water, butter, and parmesan cheese, maybe some black pepper. Considering I grew up eating Lean Cuisine’s attempt of this recipe and I never had an authentic version before I went vegan, I wouldn’t say I’m an expert but you can’t tell me what to do so here we are.
Now, I must admit, when I was creating this Fettuccine Alfredo recipe, I did have one main concern. Although vegan cheese has come a long way and there are many fantastic products on the market, we still don’t have a product that can replicate the pungent, intricate flavor of parmesan. At least, not enough to be the backbone of the dish like it is with this traditional recipe. But considering the creation of Parmesan Regiano was in the 1200’s- I’d say it’s fair to offer the vegan cheese scene a little bit more time to catch up with recreating that funky flavor. I do think we’ll get there, it just might take a minute…
Not to fret though! Because in this recipe, we’re going to use a fantastic combination of ingredients that delivers everything we are looking for: nutty, cheesy, and creamy umami richness. This is done by starting out with a stick of butter (don’t roll your eyes at me, this feeds 4 people- if you want to eat fat-free, go munch on some celery). For this, I’m using Country Crock Plant Butter. It already comes in stick form, melts beautifully, and it offers that buttery richness we’re looking for.
For the cheese, we are going to use some vegan mature cheddar (I love the VioLife brand) but we’re going to turn up the volume with a few more heavy hitters: nutritional yeast, mellow white miso, garlic, and nutmeg. All of these combined with some creamy oat milk and a few cracks of black pepper (and some red pepper flakes) create a strong depth of flavor that’s so good, no one will care if it’s vegan. Pasta water helps to loosen the noodles while also creating a beautiful saucy texture. To provide a hit of acidity, a splash of rice vinegar at the end truly rounds out the whole dish.
A few notes to remember: this recipe comes together very quickly. I would recommend having all of the ingredients ready to go so you are not fumbling around. When filling the pot with water, remember we need starchy pasta water to help make the sauce. Therefore, only cover the noodles with about 2 inches of water. (Basically, don’t fill the pot up with more water than needed!) When the pasta is close to being done, want to start to make the sauce. Then you will transfer the noodles to the sauce and add some pasta water to help loosen everything up. All in all, everything comes together in about 20 minutes and supper is ready. Not to mention, all of your worries will disappear (at least while you’re eating it…). Enjoy!
1 (16 oz) box fettuccine noodles For an extra special treat, drizzle with white truffle oil right before eating. Oh my!
Ingredients
Salt + water, for pasta
1 stick Country Crock Plant Butter
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon black pepper + more to taste
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, grated
½ cup unflavored oat milk
2 cups pasta water, from reserved pot water
1 tablespoon mellow white miso (or chickpea miso)
½ cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup vegan mature white cheddar (VioLife brand*), shredded
1 tablespoon rice vinegar Instructions
notes
To make this a full meal, you could serve this dish with some sauteed greens (spinach or kale would be lovely), roasted broccoli or carrots, toasted garlic bread, or a simple side salad.
For the cheese, I like to use VioLife's Mature White Cheddar, which is sold as a block and shreds beautifully. Second best, you could use the mature cheddar slices (which are also white) and just finely slice them. If you can't find any kind of VioLife white cheeses, the last resort is using whatever favorite white vegan cheese that you have access to, like shredded mozarella style.
This post is sponsored by Country Crock® Plant Butter.
All opinions and recipes are my own.
23 comments
hello! excited to make this one. which violife cheddar are you using? the orange shreds or the white block?
The white block!
This is amazing!! Thank you bringing this into our lives! Came together easily and we had everything in the kitchen, with the exception of truffle oil!
Just fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
Oh lovely! Thank you so much for leaving a comment! Happy cooking. : )
OKAY YUM!!! I actually felt pure joy eating this, it’s so delicious and simple to make – definitely a new go to for me. I’ve made alfredo sauce many times and it’s been ok, but this recipe is a game changer and I feel like the miso paste adds such an amazing depth of flavour! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe :’)
Yayy!! I feel the same way when I eat this too. Thanks for the love. Happy cooking!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! My roommate, the biggest non-vegan fettuccini alfredo fan, also really liked it. I had to add an extra tbsp of flour to get the sauce to thicken up and garnished it with parsley.
Awesome!! Thanks for leaving a comment. Happy new year!
Made this tonight for New Year’s Eve and it was a huge hit. Super creamy and decadent but also simple and easy! Happy New Year!
Love that! Thank you for leaving a comment and happy new year!
I cook a dish from your Blog at least once a week and me and my Family totally enjoyed this pasta dish for dinner tonight.
I just wanted to thank you for all your insanely good recipes !
Happy New Year and love from Germany 🙂
Wow! I have a big smile on my face. Thank you for the love. Happy cooking!
This version is so delicious! My daughter’s all-time favorite dish, before being dairy-free, was Fetuccine Alfredo from Fazoli’s. Seriously. I’ve been searching for a good recipe to suprise her with as she doubted any vegan alfredo could come close. I saw this on your site and knew I had to try it.
It’s a good weeknight meal as it comes together quickly.
My husband is not a fan of vegan cheese but I reassured him who’s recipe were were using and to trust the process. It was a huge hit! The truffle oil was delivered by Amazon as we were plating the food. Do not skip it. It is totally worth it. Thank you so much for sharing flavorful, southern, home-cooked recipes with us. I don’t feel like I have to compromise on taste when I cook your food. When I plate your meals, I feel confident that what I am putting on the table will spark a smile and good conversation.
Haha! Just in time with the truffle oil, eh? That makes me very happy to hear that my recipes are family approved. How lovely! Happy cooking.
Definitely one of my new favorite recipes! So so easy to make and amazing pay-off. I have been waiting to make this for awhile and I wish I would’ve made it sooner. I haven’t ever made a vegan alfredo and haven’t had ANY alfredo in at least 4 or 5 years, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. But let me tell you, it was just incredible! I made it with sautéed mushrooms and blistered tomatoes, but honestly next time I probably will just make it on it’s own so that I can have more room in my stomach for it!!
This was absolutely divine! I can’t wait to make it again! I can’t wait till this darn pandemic is over. I am hoping my first trip to Europe will be with one of your cooking trips!
Yes, I would love for that to happen. I am eager to host another one. Happy cooking!!
I had fettuccine alfredo a lot A LOT before I went vegan, and this recipe is fabulous. I used Banza chickpea pasta, and wasn’t sure how that would affect my sauce thickening, but it turned out beautifully. I will probably omit the red pepper flakes next time because hoo-boy I am a heat wimp!
Also, the tip to get everything ready at the same time saved my butt, because it does come together that fast! Less than 30 minutes, including pasta cook time, is my kinda dinner.
I’m so happy you liked it!! I used to eat it a lot as well. Thanks for the love.
I am aching to make this but can’t find a block of Violife cheddar anywhere. I can get my hands on the mature cheddar slices. I would assume they would be interchangeable. Thoughts? Thanks!
Oh yes, that should be fine! You could also use Chao Cheese Slices or Follow Your Heart Slices. Happy cooking!
Have you used this with Violife’s parmesan block? Also love your recipes, I can’t wait for my partner to buy your cookbook😍—thank you so much 🙂 🙂
Yes! I think it’s quite nice when it’s shaved over foods and melted! I have found that if you put it on top of something and roast it, the texture becomes a bit odd for me. I hope you love the cookbook, thank you for the support and for being here! Happy cooking.