Baked Vegan(ish) 'Chik'n' Alfredo Pasta

Here's what I attempted the other night...

Check out How to Cook Baked Vegan "Chicken" Alfredo Penne Pasta by Nicole Rizzuto on Snapguide.


My Review...

This was actually the best vegan Alfredo I've had to date. It was fairly easy, included the right amount of veggies, not a horrid big vegan mess (as I had anticipated) and was kid approved. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the finished product, since I was too hungry to think about photography and just wanted it in my belly, but here's a teaser... this beautiful photo of fresh broccoli and cauliflower florets sauteeing with my Quorn Chik'n (I know, Quorn is not vegan - it contains eggs - but we are cool with eggs... hence the reason we are veganish).

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it's the first time I've ever seen a recipe posted in this type of format, The Snapguide. While I loved the end product, I admit it was rather annoying not to be able to see the steps listed out like a regular recipe. I kind of wished there was an option to view it as a list or at least easily skip ahead and back. Anyways, for my ease and yours, I'm posting this recipe in traditional format for future meals.

Baked Vegan(ish) Chik'n Alfredo Pasta
based on a recipe by Nicole Rizzuto

Serves 6-8
(I doubled Nicole's recipe to fit my family, it served 6 of us & had enough leftovers for 2 lunches... depending on how hungry you are for lunch)


Ingredients:

• 1 lb your favorite pasta. Penne was recommended, I used bow ties
• 4 Cups Soy milk
• 1/2 cup  non-dairy cream cheese (Tofutti)
• 6 Tablespoons Earth Balance Spread 
• Coconut/soy Creamer (optional)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Corn Starch (optional)
• Salt & pepper  (or seasoned Salt)
• Garlic Powder
• 3 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 Cups Fresh Broccoli Florets
• 1 Cup Cauliflower Florets
• Mushrooms (optional), Spinach (optional) << I didn't use these, but I suppose you'd sautee them along with the broccoli/cauliflower?
• 10 Soy chicken nuggets (or I used a bag of Quorn Chik'n Tenders) 
• 1-2 Cups Daiya mozzarella cheeze (or handfuls, I didn't measure)

 

Instructions: 

1. Fill a large pot with water and a pinch or two of salt. Put it on your burner to boil for your pasta.
2. Preheat your oven to 375.
3. Grab your favorite large saute/frying pan and drop in some olive oil, enough to cover your surface. Start your burner on medium heat.
4. Get a medium sized saucepan and add in your milk, cream cheese, Earth Balance/margarine,  salt/pepper/Garlic Powder to taste, and add in your Soy or Coconut creamer to make as creamy as you want it. Put your pan on a low heat and stir occasionally.
5. When your pasta water is boiling, throw in the noodles and set your timer!
6. Prepare your veggies, chop them up as small or big as you desire. Throw them in your saute/frying pan and sprinkle on a little salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste. Saute until veggies are light brown.
7. Keep an eye on that sauce! Stir intermittently.
8. When veggies are sauteed to your liking, add in your chopped up soy nuggets or Quorn Tenders. I drizzled a bit more olive oil on top and garlic powder. Stir until chik'n is thawed and heating up. 
9. Don't forget about your sauce! Stir it up and break up those cream cheese chunks. At this point, the sauce didn't seem 'creamy' or thick enough to me, so I made a little concoction of 1-2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed well with 1-2 tablespoons of soy milk and drizzled it into my sauce. That should work to make your sauce creamy as you want.
10. The pasta should be done around now, drain in a colander.
11. Mix everything together! A handful of Daiya Cheeze, your pasta, veggies + chik'n, and sauce. You can mix it in your drained noodle pot, your big frying pan or the sauce pan, whichever is big enough or you feel is easy enough. 
12. Spray a big casserole dish (8 x 12 ish?) with light cooking spray.
13. Spoon your mixture into the casserole dish. Sprinkle more Daiya on top to your liking.
14. Bake for 20 ish minutes. The original recipe said 15-20 minutes, I cooked mine for 25 minutes... probably because I doubled the recipe.
15. When the pasta looks a bit browned on top/edges, it's done. Remove from the oven.
16. Enjoy and serve with some Crescent Rolls (vegan!).

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!!

<3, Tabi :D