20 minute + 10 ingredient creamy Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo made with high-fibre & protein packed Chickapea pasta | Gluten Free + Vegan + Grain Free
Special thanks to Chickapea Pasta for sponsoring this post!
If you’re looking a filling and nutritious dinner to feed your family that’s big on flavour and low on effort then keep reading because I’ve got you covered with this ultra creamy and downright dreamy Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo.
We’re talking next-level pasta here, friends.
The base of this recipe is inspired by a classic Alfredo which is traditionally made with butter, cream and parmesan. Looking to lighten things up a bit here I’ve made a few healthier swaps and additions resulting in a dairy free Alfredo sauce that is every bit as creamy and rich as its original without becoming too heavy or unhealthy for a mid-summer dinner.
How to Make: Vegan Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo
All you need is about 20 minutes and 10 ingredients to make this dish.
Start off by prepping your pasta – just plop the pasta in a pot of boiling, salted water and let the water do its thing. Chickapea pasta cooks in under 10 minutes so you won’t need to wait long. Once the pasta is cooked to your preference just drain away the water and set aside momentarily while you prep the sauce.
The base of this sauce is made from sautéing garlic in olive oil and mixing in a little bit of flour to form a roux. This is what gives this Alfredo its creamy, luscious texture instead of using full fat dairy. A couple things to note about this roux/sauce base:
- Chickapea pasta is naturally grain free since it’s made up of just two ingredients: chickpeas and lentils! If you’d like to keep this dish grain free use arrowroot starch. If you’re not concerned about adding a little extra grain you can also use any old gluten free all purpose blend here. You only need a couple of tablespoons here so it’s not much at all.
- Since we’re going for summery vibes here we’re adding chopped up sun dried tomato to this roux!
Once you’ve mixed all of that up you should have a thick, pasty, golden kind of mixture. At this point you just need to add the almond milk – make sure it’s unsweetened and plain – and let that simmer and thicken up a bit for a minute or two before stirring in the tomato paste and vegan parmesan to combine.
Finally, transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor and blitz until you’ve reached a thick, creamy, saucy consistency.
At this point it’s just a matter of pouring that sauce all over your prepped pasta and we’re almost there. Mix in the remaining chopped sun dried tomato pieces, fresh basil and a little more of that vegan parm for good measure and then just go ahead and swan dive right into that pasta.
In case you need more reasons to love pasta:
✔️Each 3.5 ounce serving is contains 27 grams of protein and 13 grams of fibre – you’ll stay satisfied hours after you eat it
✔️It’s naturally gluten free, sugar free, vegan, organic, kosher and non-GMO
✔️There are no weird fillers, additives or sugars
✔️It’s a pasta turned superfood
Who doesn’t love that?
Enjoy!
Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo
20 minute + 10 ingredient creamy Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo made with high fibre & protein packed Chickapea pasta and topped with fresh basil | Gluten Free + Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (15 ml)
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, divided, blot the oil and chop fine (40g)
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour, tapioca starch or regular gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (360 ml)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste (32 g)
- 1/4 cup vegan parmasan (30g)
- 1 box | 8 oz dried chickapea pasta, any shape pasta
- 1 handful fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
- Warm olive oil in a large sauce pan or skillet. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute. Stir in oregano, half of the chopped sun dried tomatoes (the rest will be added in at the end) and the flour and cook another minute.
- Stir in the almond milk and bring to a simmer and let thicken two minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and the vegan parmesan.
- Transfer the sauce to a blender and process for a minute or two until you have a smooth, creamy texture. You can also blend this using an immersion/stick blender.
- Pour the creamed sauce back into the pan/skillet and stir in the cooked pasta and the remaining chopped sun dried tomatoes. Top with the fresh basil and additional parmesan if desired.
- Serve and enjoy! Leftovers will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge stored in an airtight container.
Liya says
Wow! That looks SO good! I have a question though, do we have to use almond milk? Can we use something like coconut milk or other soy milk? Also instead of the dried tomatoes, can we use actual fresh tomatoes? Is the vegan cheese necessary or is it optional? Thanks for this recipe! Looks AMAZING!
Can’t wait to try it out!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Liya, Great questions!
You can definitely use a different type of plant based milk here. Just make sure it’s unsweetened. You can use coconut milk, but it’s not my favorite here as I find the coconut flavor still quite strong even when it’s unsweetened. Soy milk, rice milk or other neutral flavored milks work great.
You can use fresh tomatoes in place of the sun dried tomatoes, but the end result in flavor will be different enough that it’s basically an entirely different recipe. Not a bad thing necessarily, but it’s important to note!
Fresh tomato (I’d add 1 medium tomato or a handful of cherry tomatoes at most) will make a much sweeter sauce. Sun dried tomatoes on the other hand have a much richer, umami-like flavor which will make for a more savory sauce.
If you’d like to try this with fresh tomato, and you still want a savory sauce you can try adding 1-3 teaspoons soy sauce/tamari. This is my favorite way to infuse vegan recipes with more umami. It works especially well in tomato-based dishes.
As for the vegan parmesan – you can skip it! Again, if you want to skip the parm a great way to make up for the missing umami is by adding a little bit of soy/tamari instead. Nutritional yeast is another great option which you can use in equal amounts. If you don’t want to add soy/nutritional yeast just taste and season with more salt at the end.
I hope this helps! If you end up trying it, I love to hear your thoughts after 🙂