As a vegan, I get asked the questions "What do vegans even eat?!", "How much do you spend on food?!", and "How do you find time to cook so much?!" on a daily basis. I mean, other than the entire produce section at any grocery store, there are also lots of other vegan options that are affordable and easy to prepare. In this series I will show you all of my favorite meals for maintaining an inexpensive, easy to handle, vegan diet.

For part one of this series, I'd like to introduce you to vegan comfort food! I get a lot of questions about how I survive only off of fruits and vegetables, and, while produce does make up the majority of what I eat, it is not ALL I eat. One of my favorite comfort food dishes, which also happens to be one of the first vegan meals I had ever made, is alfredo pasta. Before I became vegan/woke to the injustice that animals in the factory farming industry have to experience every day of their short lives, cheesy, buttery, heavenly alfredo was my go-to comfort food. Today, you will learn how to make VEGAN alfredo pasta that is just as amazing as the traditional dish, but without all the cruelty. Let's get started!

Vegan Alfredo Pasta

3 medium shallots

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp. olive or coconut oil

3-4 tbsp. all purpose flour

2-3 cups non-dairy milk

2 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. oregano

2-3 tbsp. nutritional yeast

salt and pepper to taste

10-12 oz. pasta

Optional:

1-2 tbsp. vegan butter/margarine

Handful of cherry tomatoes

handful of whole green beans

To start this recipe off you will finely chop and sauté the shallots and garlic cloves in a large pan (I use a wok for this) on medium heat in olive or coconut oil until they are soft and fragrant. If you don't have shallots you can use small boiler onions or 1/4 of a regular white or yellow onion. Then you will add the all purpose flour and stir with the shallots and garlic. Once thoroughly mixed add the non-dairy milk (I typically use almond milk but any non-dairy milk, especially coconut, will work for this recipe) one cup at a time and stir until all of the ingredients are combined.

Turn the heat to medium high to allow boiling and add the paprika, oregano, nutritional yeast, and vegan butter. I use Earth Balance butter, but this step is optional as it is only used for extra flavor. You can completely omit the butter or add vegetable stock instead for a lower fat content (Adding vegetable stock would require 1/2 to 1 more tbsp. of flour). Stir the spices in and continue to stir often until the sauce is thickened. At this point, you can add more milk if the sauce becomes too thick or more flour if it's too thin. It should only take the sauce ten to fifteen minutes to thicken completely. For a smoother sauce, add to a high speed blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth.

Cook your favorite pasta according to instructions (I like ancient grain rotini or linguine, but you can use whatever kind of pasta you want. Just read the nutritional facts to make sure it is vegan) and add the pasta to the sauce when they are both done. Voila! You have creamy, savory, vegan alfredo!

Optional:

I like to serve this dish with some sort of roasted vegetable. My favorite is roasting tomatoes and green beans in the oven. Add your vegetables to a mixing bowl along with a small amount of olive or coconut oil, and a pinch each of paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Roast these in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for ten to fifteen minutes or until the vegetables form a brown crust on top. Serve this on the side, on top, or mixed in to your pasta for a little extra flavor and color.

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Total: 30 min

This is a recipe that I make frequently when I want a warm, home cooked meal but don't want to spend more than half an hour in the kitchen. It is also made with fairly inexpensive items that can be found at any grocery store. Make this at home for an easy, weeknight dinner, or for your family/friend get-togethers to seriously impress those vegan-skeptics in your life.

Remember to take pictures and tag me @savannahhartje1 on twitter or Savannah Renee' Hartje on facebook if you make any of the recipes in this series so I can see your creations!