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This white bean Alfredo sauce is wonderfully creamy pasta sauce for those who are dairy free, like me!
If you love creamy pasta sauces, but can’t have the cheese, I sympathize. A while back I did a recipe for a cashew based Alfredo sauce (vegan) that quite a few of you raved about. But some folks can’t do the nuts, so I thought I’d give this popular sauce a whirl with white beans. It worked!
What Is White Bean Alfredo Sauce?
White bean Alfredo sauce is a bean-based pasta sauce that can be enjoyed warm or cold. It’s easily made in a blender in just minutes and has a nice nutritional profile to boot, thanks so all that fiber in the beans.
Does It Taste Like Alfredo Sauce?
There will obviously be a difference in flavor and even texture when you go from dairy-based to non-dairy. That goes without saying. But that aspect aside, this is about as close as you will get with a non-dairy Alfredo sauce.
You can always adjust the seasoning to your liking, but where the base is concerned, it’s pretty creamy and close to being Alfredo sauce, considering it’s all beans.
Alfredo Sauce Alternatives
If you aren’t sure about beans, and don’t have a nut allergy, the next step up is a cashew based Alfredo sauce. You can find the cashew Alfredo sauce recipe here.
How To Store White Bean Alfredo Sauce
This sauce keeps well in a jar with a lid for up to 3 to 4 days. Make sure whatever you store it in is air-tight and food-safe. If you leave it loosely covered, this sauce will take on the aromas of anything else in the fridge, leaving it with not-so-great flavor. So close it up tight.
Can You Freeze White Bean Alfredo Sauce?
Technically, yes. But when you thaw it again, you’ll most likely need to give it a quick whizz in the blender again. And if the texture isn’t right, you may have to blend in a few more beans just to get the consistency back to normal. If you freeze it, it will freeze for up to 2 months.
What You’ll Need
15oz.can Cannellini beans– These beans do the best job of coming out creamy from the blender. But you could potentially use any white bean for this recipe. Make sure there is not sugar added though, and use the water the beans are packed in. Don’t drain the beans or rinse them. Use everything in the can.
1tbsp.garlic powder– Garlic granules work well here too. Use whichever one you have. The only thing I would avoid here is garlic salt. But if that’s all you have, omit the salt listed in the recipe until you can taste the sauce to see how salty it is.
2tsp.onion powder – As with garlic, onion granules work too.
2tsp.nutritional yeast– This adds a bit of actual cheese flavor to the sauce. Not enough to make it taste like cheese, but enough to give the finished flavor some umami-like depth.
1tsp.salt – I used Himalayan pink salt. But use what you have on hand. A full teaspoon might seem like a lot, but it’s needed in this sauce. If you are nervous about it or have to have less salt in your eating plan, start with less and add more as needed for flavor.
¼cupchicken broth– If you want this to be vegan, you can certainly use vegetable broth. Chicken broth is simply what I had handy. But vegetable broth would be delicious here as well. Just make sure that no matter what broth you use, there is no sugar (usually in the form of dextrose) in it. Low sodium is also a good option as well just to keep the sodium in this from going overboard. If you are using fully salted broth, cut back on the salt called for by about half. You can alway add more, but you can’t take any out. So use caution and adjust salt to taste.
How To Re-Warm White Bean Alfredo Sauce
This isn’t the warmest sauce, just out of the blender. You are making this with room temperature ingredients, so room temperature sauce is what you’ll end up with. You’ll either need to chill it in the fridge for a cold dish, or you’ll want to simply warm it over low heat on the stove top. You can also microwave it for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on your microwave.
How To Make White Bean Alfredo Sauce
Place all the ingredients in a blender.
Blend for several minutes, until the sauce is completely smooth.
Transfer to a storage container and store in the fridge until ready to use.
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Heartier herbs like thyme or oregano can be added in to simmer with the sauce. Add delicate herbs like parsley, basil, or chervil at the end to maintain their delicate, aromatic flavor. Quick tip: Swirl in a bit of leftover pesto to add another herbaceous twist to your Alfredo sauce.
White sauce – also known as béchamel – is made with flour, milk, and butter. It's a basic sauce that can be used as a base for other sauces or as a topping for dishes like lasagna. Alfredo sauce, on the other hand, is made with butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese, and has a much richer flavour than white sauce.
What's in Alfredo Sauce? Alfredo sauce is made by melting butter, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese together. Unlike other pasta sauces that use tomatoes as a base, alfredo omits vegetables altogether and uses dairy products to achieve its mouth-watering flavor.
The key ingredient in Alfredo sauce is cheese—generally Parmigiano Reggiano—and lots of it. To thicken Alfredo sauce, simply add more cheese than the amount called for in a recipe until you achieve the consistency you want.
Stir in big handfuls of spinach, Kale mushrooms, zucchini, onions, broccoli, spinach, squash, or grape tomatoes after the pasta is cooked. You can also substitute zucchini (zoodles) for the pasta.
Nutmeg: A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg can elevate the flavors in your Alfredo sauce. However, use it sparingly; a little goes a long way. White Wine: A splash of a good-quality white wine can add depth and complexity. Make sure to cook off the alcohol by simmering the sauce for a few extra minutes.
Flours can be used to make a bit of a slurry and add to the sauce to make it thicker. 1 part flour to 2 parts liquid and then adding it to your sauce should thicken it nicely. Just make sure that when you make the slurry, there are no lumps in your mixture.
Marinara sauce is lower in calories and fat, making it a preferable sauce choice for those that are counting calories or on a low-fat diet. It also has more fiber than Alfredo sauce as it contains mostly vegetables. Conversely, high-fat diets are on the rise, making Alfredo an ideal sauce for many consumers.
The five mother sauces are: Bechamel, Espangnole, Tomato, Hollandaise, and Veloute. Each take some practice and skill to master, and some are easier than others to perfect. Bechamel is a white sauce, made of flour, butter and milk. It's typically the base for Alfredo sauce or white country gravy.
One of the key components to making a thick and creamy Alfredo sauce is the cream. That being said, I think you could get away with using half and half or if in a real pinch, whole milk. Keep in mind that the less fat content in the dairy the thinner and less appealing the Alfredo Sauce will be.
Mix together a little cornstarch in a small bowl with some cold water (or other liquid) until the mixture is smooth to form a slurry. Slowly, whisk the slurry into the simmering sauce in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Whisk the slurry slowly into the hot sauce until you get the desired thickness.
Here's how fix a broken sauce: Add about ¼ cup of water to the pan and reheat the sauce to a vigorous simmer, whisking constantly. The bubbling action will help re-emulsify the butter and bring back that thick, glossy sauce.
There are dozens of variations of fettuccine Alfredo out there. You could sprinkle in fresh herbs and lemon zest or juice to cut the richness of the cream. You could also top servings with cooked shrimp or chicken for some protein, or toss in a vegetable like cooked asparagus!
The easiest way to accomplish this is to mix about a spoonful of cornstarch to 2 spoonfuls of liquid – it could be water or chicken stock or even milk. You will add this mixture, also called a slurry to the sauce and as it starts to cook, the sauce will thicken.
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning are my favorites in Alfredo. If you'd like some acid, a squeeze of lemon juice is a nice flavor add. And if you're looking for even more jazz, try some freshly grated nutmeg.
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