Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce

Kree's Note:

I've been craving alfredo sauce lately, and this is the best non-dairy substitute I've found! Don't tell your family it contains tofu, I bet they'll never guess! The recipe is from www.veganchef.com. You can reduce the soy parmesan to make it healthier, although I wouldn't go below 1/2 cup because it does add a lot of the flavor.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 4 cups

• 1 (12 1⁄3; ounce) packagemori-nu firm silken tofu (I use light) or 1 (12 1⁄3; ounce) package extra-firm silken tofu (I use light)
• 2 cups soymilk (or other non-dairy milk of choice) or 2 cups rice milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 cup vegan parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a food processor or blender, place all of the ingredients, except the soy parmesan cheese, and blend for 2 minutes to form a smooth puree.
2. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring constantly until warmed through (I turned it up to medium and it was fine).
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the soy parmesan cheese.
4. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed.
5. Use as a sauce for pasta, vegetables, or grains.

Reviews

[bluemoon downunder]

A really tasty and versatile sauce that could be used with whatever pastas and vegetables you fancied using it with! I used firm silken tofu, soy milk, 1/2 onion minced and 2 cloves garlic minced (rather than the onion and garlic powders, but these would be a great option if time was short), less than a 1/4 teaspoon of salt (taste preference) and I omitted the cayenne pepper (taste preference) and I added a grinding of black pepper. I couldn’t track down vegan parmesan, so I used 3/4 cup of ordinary parmesan. Easy to follow instructions, and there are so few steps! In step two, I added a cup of finely sliced button mushrooms, and kept the sauce over the heat, while stirring, for a good 5 minutes until I was satisfied that the mushrooms (and minced onion and garlic) were cooked, then I added a packet of thoroughly thawed and squeeze-dried spinach. After adding the parmesan, I folded my sauce through some angel hair pasta. Thank you for sharing this recipe, Kree! I just LOVED it, and will be playing around with it and using it heaps more in the future. Next time, I’ll also be thinking seriously about what herbs I could add! Probably thyme and oregano!

[kikenan]

This is the first time I ever cook with tofu and non-dairy... I had a friend who is luctos and was amazed by this recipe.. I grilled some chicken and added to it and it was out of this world. Thank you

[Debbie R.]

The flavor was great, but the sauce was a little thin. However, my meat-loving DH ate it happily. I think next time I make it, I am going to use a less soy milk--like only 1 to 1.5 cups.