High Protein Vegan Alfredo Pasta
Delicious, silky, smooth, vegan Alfredo-style pasta made with chickpea-based pasta and silken tofu!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this protein-packed creamy Alfredo pasta:
- Chickpea pasta β you can use regular pasta too but the protein content will significantly lower.
- Silken tofu β no need to press, just drain!
- Onion & garlic β always needed for flavour.
- Olive oil β or another cooking oil of choice.
- Nutritional yeast β for the cheesy umami kick.
- Lemon juice β the acidic component to balance it out.
- Salt & black pepper β obviously.
How to Make
Cook the Pasta
On the stovetop, bring a large pot of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Cook the chickpea pasta for 6 minutes or until al dente. Make sure you reserve 3/4 cups of pasta water before draining.
Make the Sauce
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened.
Add the cooked onions and garlic to a food processor along with the silken tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Then pour in 1/2 cup of the pasta water and blend until smooth. Add the remaining 1/4 cup pasta water and blend again.
Pour the sauce into a large saucepan and heat over medium low until warmed through. Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed. Then toss in the cooked chickpea pasta and mix until evenly incorporated. Ready to serve!
Customizations
If you’re not a fan of chickpea pasta, you can substitute for lentil, black bean, edamame, mung bean, or brown rice pasta. However, texture, flavour, and nutritional content will vary. Obviously, you can also opt for normal pasta but the protein content will significantly lower.
To achieve the same creaminess, you can also substitute the silken tofu for full fat coconut milk or soaked cashews. However, this will result in a lot more calories and a change in the amount of protein.
Storage
Vegan Alfredo pasta will stay good in the fridge for 4 days if stored in an airtight container. That being said, it tastes best eaten fresh or the day after. Once it’s been in the fridge for more than a day, it does tend to get either mushy or dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! No modifications needed.
This would be difficult. However, if you use keto-friendly pasta instead of chickpea-based, it is possible to reduce the carbs significantly.
Obviously there are some differences in taste. However, as long as you blend the sauce well enough, the texture is very comparable. The flavour is certainly similar, but not totally the same.
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High Protein Vegan Alfredo Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 227 grams chickpea pasta 1 package
- 1/2 block silken tofu
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3/4 cup reserved pasta water
- salt + black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water with a pinch of salt to a boil on the stovetop. Cook chickpea pasta for around 6 minutes or until al dente. Reserve around 3/4 cup of pasta water before draining.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high. Once hot, add in diced onions and peeled garlic cloves. Cook for 3-4 minutes until onions are softened.
- Add cooked onions and garlic to a food processor along with silken tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and a generous shake of salt and black pepper.
- Pour in 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and blend until smooth. Then add the last 1/4 cup of the pasta water and blend again.
- Pour the sauce into a large saucepan and warm over medium-low heat. Add more salt and black pepper to taste.
- Toss in the cooked drained chickpea pasta and stir until evenly distributed. Ready serve with more black pepper if desired!
