Recipe developer DeVonn Francis first came across nutritional yeast at a restaurant job, when chef Gerardo Gonzalez used the nutty yellow flakes to make homemade vegan Dorito dust. It's an inexpensive, shelf-stable ingredient that lends a distinct cheesiness when you don’t want or have the real thing. To create the creamy sauce for this pasta, Francis hydrates the yeast by blending it with cashews and pasta water until smooth. Might you mistake it for actual alfredo sauce? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s delicious either way. This recipe is part of the 2021 Feel Good Food Plan, our eight-day dinner plan for starting the year off right.
Recipe information
Yield
4 Servings
Ingredients
1
4
6
6
1
2
2
12
2
2
½
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Toast cashews on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 7–9 minutes. Let cool.
Step 2
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Arrange half of mushrooms in a single layer in pot and cook, undisturbed, until edges are brown and starting to crisp, about 3 minutes. Give mushrooms a good toss, then continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until all sides are brown and crisp, about 5 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to a plate; season with salt. Repeat with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, remaining mushrooms, and more salt.
Step 3
Reduce heat to medium-low and return all of the mushrooms to same pot. Add leeks, shallots, and garlic and cook, stirring often and adding another 1 Tbsp. oil if pan looks dry, until leeks and shallots are translucent and softened, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 4
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions (the pasta will finish cooking in the pan). Drain pasta, reserving ¾ cup pasta cooking liquid.
Step 5
Blend cashews, nutritional yeast, and pasta cooking liquid in a blender until very creamy. Set cashew cream aside.
Step 6
Return drained pasta to pot with mushroom mixture and add reserved cashew cream. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring well to coat, until pasta is al dente, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add parsley and squeeze in juice from lemon half. Toss well to incorporate.
Step 7
Divide pasta evenly among shallow bowls or plates and top with several grinds of pepper.
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Reviews (127)
Back to Topwell-how much pasta water? not very accurate?? I would put the cashews in the cuisinart and make cashew butter and then add the water and yeast i also made this with onions, yellow pepper and zuchinni and grape tomatos and TEMPE any grouping of vegies would work
Anonymous
bozeman mt
5/25/2024
This pasta was delicious when it came fresh out of the pan (like others, I tweaked it to my taste -- extra mushrooms, some extra spices, peas, garlic)! Unfortunately it dried up quickly and did not reheat well at all.... Possibly adding more water would have solved this?
Emily
Michigan
9/29/2023
Decent recipe but as others said, requires tweaks to make the sauce have any flavor. I added Parmesan and bouillon paste. Would try adding roasted garlic as another person suggested. The sauce dries up quickly so you’ll need at least a cup of pasta water. I used the mushrooms I had on hand: baby bella and king oyster. Added a lot of salt. In the end, enjoyable dish. Would make again with the tweaks.
Kim
2/25/2022
This recipe is delicious. It takes me back to the Alfredo pastas I loved as a little kid. Would definitely play around with the water ratio next time and likely add some salt or white wine just to see if I can improve on something that’s already great!! Made with shells 💖
Devon Williamson
Toronto, Ontario
1/27/2022
BLOWN AWAY!! My bf just said it’s the best thing I’ve ever made after rolling his eyes this am when I told him we were having creamy vegan pasta for dinner lol. After thoroughly reading the reviews I made some adjustments. First I boiled my cashews with tons of salt and a veggie bouillon cube (trick I learned from another recipe). I also added half a container of silken tofu and two large cloves of roasted garlic to the drained cashews, pasta water, nutritional yeast mixture as well as tons of pepper. The roasted garlic really elevated the cream. I used 4 large cloves of garlic instead of two with the leeks and shallots and I sautéed all the veggies together with some vegan butter for a bit before adding the pasta and cashew cream. My pasta water was very salty and I set all of it aside, prob ended up using about 2.5-3 cups of it to bring it all together. Added fresh cracked pepper, tons of lemon zest and chopped parsley on top and CHEF’S KISS!!!!!
Laura X
Brooklyn, NY
1/16/2022
It's alright, but fairly bland. It really needs more to brighten it up and add more flavor. We had to add pesto, but I bet lemon and a splash of white wine would probably really help.
Suz F
Montana
10/2/2021
I LOVED this meal and it's Daniel fast friendly! I would definitely double the garlic and salt generously if you're using raw cashews verses salted ones to bring out the flavor but overall it was super easy to make and tasty!
Haleigh Marie
Dallas,TX
4/29/2021