Plant-based Alfredo with Roasted Acorn Squash and Broccoli

End your day right with a deliciously creamy and 100% plant-based pasta. My vegan alfredo sauce has cauliflower, nut milk, onion, garlic, nutritional yeast and chopped oregano fresh from the herb garden. Top it off with simple roasted vegetables and your easy, healthy weeknight dinner is complete!

Acorn squash boasts incredible benefits from the high levels of vitamin A & C it contains. Improved skin health and eyesight are just a few health benefits linked to the consumption of vitamin A, and a heightened immune system is the result of consuming vitamin C. Check out more interesting health facts about acorn squash here.

More veggies! Cauliflower is kind of strange because it isn't colourful so you wouldn't think it to be one of the healthiest foods for you, but alas it is packed to the brim with health benefits! Antioxidants are in abundance which will aid in keeping you cancer-free by stopping free radicals in their tracks. Cauliflower also has high levels of vitamin K which keeps your blood circulating at a healthy rate, therefore ensuring your cardiovascular system is in tip top shape. Read more about the amazing benefits of cauliflower in this article.

Once our acorn squash and broccoli are roasted we can set that aside until we are ready to plate our pasta. At this point the cauliflower should almost be soft enough to transfer to the food processor.

Once the cauliflower has softened you can transfer everything in the saucepan to a food processor. Add your nutritional yeast and lemon juice and blend the sauce until it is nice and smooth. Next you will add the xanthan gum, salt and pepper and blend for another 5-10 seconds. You will see the sauce thicken up right before your eyes, it is actually quite amazing what xanthan gum can do. Pour your sauce over the cooked pasta and toss the chopped fresh oregano in along with it.

The hard work is done! All that needs to be done now is the plating. Put your pasta in a bowl or on a plate and top with the roasted veggies. 

There you have it! An easy, veggie-packed, plant-based meal that can be made in a mere 30 minutes. Enjoy!

*serves 4

Roasted Vegetables

1 acorn squash

1 large head broccoli, cut into florets

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

Pasta

450g uncooked spaghetti

½ cup onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 3/4 cups cashew milk

2 cups cauliflower florets

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

¼ cup fresh oregano, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 C

Slice acorn squash in half and scrape seeds out. Cut the squash into ½ inch slices, shown in the pictures above.

Toss broccoli and acorn squash in olive oil with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Bake broccoli and acorn squash in oven for 30 minutes.

While the vegetables are baking, cook pasta to al dente in salted water.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Sauté diced onion for 1 minute, add the sliced garlic cloves and sauté for another minute. Add the cashew milk, cauliflower florets and increase the heat to high until the milk begins to boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer.

Simmer the cauliflower in the cashew milk for 10-12 minutes, until the cauliflower is soft. Transfer to a blender or food processor and add the lemon juice and nutritional yeast; process until smooth. Add the salt, pepper and xanthan gum and process for another 10 seconds.

Transfer the sauce to a pot with the cooked pasta and the chopped fresh oregano.

Serve with the roasted acorn squash and broccoli. Enjoy!