White Bean Alfredo Recipe

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

15 oz. 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.

1 tbsp. 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.

2 tsp. onion powder – As with garlic, onion granules work too.

2 tsp. 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.

1 tsp. 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.

¼ cup chicken 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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White Bean Alfredo Sauce Recipe