Vegan Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo

If I had a dollar for every time Fettuccine Alfredo came up in a nutrition session with a client I would be a very wealthy woman. It seems to be the dish that is the ultimate counterpoint to healthy eating, the sin that must be confessed. That steamy bowl of rich creamy pasta is not sensible – it is evil. Ridiculous, void of common sense, and completely and utterly delicious!

Unfortunately, one bowl piles in about a days worth of calories and fat. ONE BOWL! (approximately 1200 calories and 75 grams of fat)

The original recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo was created nearly 100 years ago by a man named Alfredo di Lelio in Rome. He created the recipe to please his very pregnant wife who struggled with morning sickness. Butter, heavy cream, cheese, and pasta to the rescue!

This morning sickness cure can now be purchased jarred or frozen and is on nearly every Italian restaurant menu across the country. Fettuccine Alfredo is an indulgence that we tend to “indulge” in way to often.

Now you can have your Alfredo and eat it too. Just make it at home. The Abra Pimped way. I have to say this recipe may be my greatest triumph. I will boast. I will be cocky. This one deserves it.

My version (get ready for this) has 120 calories per serving! that is 1/10th of the original. Ridiculous! It also has 4 grams of fat compared to 75!! Seriously, I impressed myself here.

Oh, and did I mention it’s vegan? Don’t be scared, I almost shouldn’t have told you that. In order to achieve the ultra creamy texture of traditional Alfredo sauce most makeovers rely on ingredients like fat-free half-and-half or processed reduced-fat cheese. Have you ever stopped to think what could possibly be in fat-free half-and-half? A whole bunch of creepy, fake, chemically processed ingredients, that’s what. No thank you.

Just whole, clean real food ingredients here. Start by making a cashew cream, this will be your base for the vegan Alfredo sauce. Cashew cream is simply soaked cashews blended with equal parts water. Cashews will impart that guilt-inducing creamy affect but with heart-healthy fat rather than the saturated animal fat found in heavy cream.

Then add a big ‘ol head of roasted garlic to the cashew cream, for a boost of flavor and immunity (it’s cold and flu season y’all). Finally, in a saucepan combine white wine, vegetable stock (or chicken stock if you are not vegan), and the roasted garlic cashew cream. Saute until thick and creamy.

Here is where you are encouraged to play a little bit. I made this recipe using zucchini instead of pasta (slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips, pile the strips up and slice into fettuccine noodles.) I happen to love the taste of zucchini and wanted to see how far I could take the “pimping.” By all means, go ahead and make this with pasta. I just ask that you upgrade the quality of the pasta to a whole grain. Try quinoa pasta or kamut pasta, they are my favorites. Switching out the zucchini for pasta will increase the calories by about 150.

So go ahead, indulge in a bit of Alfredo. Just do so with my version, please

Zucchini Fettuccine Noodles Alfredo

Servings: 1

Calories: 47 kcal

Author: Abra Pappa

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Ingredients

• 1 zucchini
• 2 tablespoons of roasted garlic cashew cream
• 1 tablespoon of white wine
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable stock, or chicken stock
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. To make zucchini noodles: choose a large thick zucchini. Slice lengthwise into thin strips. Pile strips on top of one another and slice into fettuccine thick “noodles”

2. In a saucepan combine 2 tbsp cashew cream, 1 tbsp white wine, and 2 tbsp vegetable stock. Simmer until thick. This will be enough sauce for 2 bowls, increase as needed.  If sauce becomes to thick, loosen it with more veggie stock

3. Toss zucchini noodles into sauce until heated through
4. Top with chopped fresh parsley and a sprinkle of sea salt

Recipe Notes

Alternatively, feel free to use this “Alfredo” sauce on traditional or whole grain pasta.

Nutrition Facts

Zucchini Fettuccine Noodles Alfredo

Amount Per Serving

Calories 47

% Daily Value*

Sodium 136mg6%

Potassium 511mg15%

Carbohydrates 6g2%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 455IU9%

Vitamin C 35.1mg43%

Calcium 31mg3%

Iron 0.7mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.