Mushroom and Spinach Alfredo

Omnivore rating: 4 stars. It doesn’t taste exactly like real cheese, but it’s really good!

Vegan rating: 5 stars. I can’t tell that there’s no cheese in this sauce! This is the closest tasting vegan alternative to a real cheese sauce that I have tried.

Ready to get started?

Here’s what you’ll need:

(I substituted some ingredients for this picture- canned spinach instead of fresh; cornstarch instead of flour; and an onion plus extra seasoning with water instead of veggie broth.)

Step one: Wash and chop mushrooms or veggies of choice.

Step two: Saute mushrooms or veggies in the vegan butter. Let the mushrooms cook down to about half their size. Then add the garlic and saute some more.

Step three: Whisk liquid sauce ingredients with the nutritional yeast and either flour or starch. (If using starch, add only 1/4 cup because it makes it super thick.) Add this mixture to the pot of sauteed veggies and stir.

Step four: Add the cashew butter and spices to the pot and stir.

Step five: Make sure the cashew butter is incorporated into the sauce, then add the spinach to the pot and stir again. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the spinach is wilted to your liking.

Mushroom and Spinach Alfredo

Servings: 12
Time: 30mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

6-7 Tbsp. vegan butter
8 oz. fresh mushrooms (I used baby bella)
6 Tbsp. garlic
1/2 cup all purpose flour (you can use cornstarch or tapioca flour if you’re gluten free)
4 cups unsweetened almond milk (not vanilla)
4 tsp. apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 cups of veggie broth
2+ tsp. salt (depends on how salty your broth is)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash table blend
1/2 cup cashew butter
6-7 cups roughly chopped fresh baby spinach
Optional: Herbes de Provence
Dried or fresh parsley for garnish

Directions

Wash and chop the mushrooms or veggies you are using.
Add butter and mushrooms to large nonstick pot. Saute mushrooms on medium high heat until they have shrunk to about half their size, about 5 minutes. Add garlic. Saute on medium for about 3-5 minutes more, until fragrant.
In a mixing bowl, combine the almond milk, flour, apple cider vinegar, and nutritional yeast. Whisk with a fork or whisk until smooth. Pour almond milk mixture into the pot with the mushrooms.
Add veggie broth, salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, and other spices as desired.
Add cashew butter and stir to dissolve.
Add the fresh spinach and set heat to medium low to simmer for about 15 minutes.
While the alfredo sauce is simmering, cook the pasta according to package directions. When pasta is done cooking, check the sauce to see how wilted the spinach has gotten.
If it is to your desired taste, then go ahead and serve it over the cooked pasta and enjoy!!

Use at least 16 oz of pasta. (I have used brown rice pasta, zucchini noodles, and spaghetti squash and they all taste great with this alfredo on top!)

Substitutions:

Veggies: This alfredo sauce can actually be made using several different veggie options besides mushrooms and spinach. Depending on what veggies you choose, you won’t necessarily need to sautee them as long as you would the mushrooms. Just keep an eye on the veggies as you sautee them, and make sure they don’t burn before you add your garlic and the rest of the sauce ingredients. Ideas for alternate veggies include: broccoli, cauliflower, fresh tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, carrots, etc. Let me know if you think of some other veggies that will taste good with alfredo!

Spices: If you would rather make this a spicy dish, you can use Tony Chachere’s, Slap Ya Mama, or other Cajun type of seasoning mixes, or crushed red pepper to taste. You can either add 1-3 Tbsp. to the spices listed, or in place of them. Keep in mind that most Cajun seasoning mixes contain salt, which may affect the amount of salt you add separately.

Other: The spinach can be substituted with kale. The fresh spinach can be substituted with frozen spinach, but use about half the amount if frozen. The almond milk can be substituted with any other non-dairy milk of your choice. The cashew butter can be replaced with 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked for 4-6 hours or overnight, drained, then pureed in a food processor or blender.

Reply with a comment if you need any other substitution ideas.