Is there such a thing as healthy pasta with Alfredo sauce? Perhaps not, but you can’t blame me for trying!
You see, Alfredo sauce is a craving of mine. And I got the craving the other week. Unfortunately I had no Alfredo sauce in the house and I am not one to make it from scratch either. In fact, out of the jar is what makes it so comforting to me, I don’t have to do too much!!
So last week I bought a jar of Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo sauce. (It says Gluten Free on the label!) And then I got to feeling under the weather and so I *really* wanted carbs and cheese, and lots of it! And this is what I ended up with…
Alfredo Vegetable Pasta
an original from Beyond Rice and Tofu
1 pound of pasta, gluten free *
1 – 15 oz jar Classico Alfredo sauce, check the label
1 – 15 oz can artichoke hearts in water, chopped
8 oz frozen spinach
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, not in oil, chopped
1/4 – 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed to thin
1 – 15 oz can white beans, drained (or garbanzos, cooked chicken or shrimp*)
a few Kalamata olives, sliced
fresh basil, torn
Cook pasta. For gluten free pasta, use lots of water in a large pot. And stir frequently to prevent it from sticking together.
Empty contents of sauce into a medium saucepan. Add artichoke hearts, spinach and tomatoes and stir to combine. (You can add the spinach still frozen like I did.) Add broth as needed to thin slightly. Add beans and just cook till beans are heated through.
Drain pasta. Place in serving bowls and stir in some sauce. * Top with olives and basil. Enjoy!
Notes:
* My favorite pasta is Trader Joe’s brand, which is the same as Tinkyada pasta.
* I have been eating a bit of meat or fish here or there to bump up my perennially low B-12 levels. I added some cooked (frozen) shrimp to mine.
* Keep leftover cooked pasta and sauce separate. Reheat pasta in a covered bowl with a teaspoon or two of water in the microwave. Reheat sauce separately and then combine as desired.
Beyond Rice and Tofu 
Renee, that looks delicious! My husband loves it the few times I have purchased that. It’s not often because it contains dairy and soy if I recall, but it is tasty for a quick alfredo fix. ;-) Love that you included artichoke hearts in your dish … one of our faves!
Shirley
Hi Shirley – Yes, it does probably have soy in it, and definitely dairy. Luckily for us, we don’t have to avoid those items. At least not yet…((knock)) on wood, cross my fingers!
My husband has taught me to like artichokes and artichoke hearts finally. I enjoy the hearts in water best.
I’ve tried to create a healthy Alfredo too! The sauce isn’t as creamy as the real thing but it’s a good copycat that can be enjoyed more often :)
http://smithbakeaholic.blogspot.com/2010/10/colorful-fettucine-alfredo-with-perfect.html
Hi Stephanie – Thanks for stopping by! I checked out your site – looks good, have to dig around there a bit more.
Luckily we don’t have to be dairy free, just gluten free, so I can use the real stuff!
Hey Renee!
Tried to find an email address to contact you, but couldn’t locate one! :-) At any rate, I was wondering if you had a GF/veggie breakfast recipe that you’ve posted that you could share on my gluten free breakfast/brunch roundup! I want to see if I can get about 100 recipes! I would love it if you had one you could add to the roundup! Here’s where it’s listed:
http://gingerlemongirl-giveaways.blogspot.com/2010/12/gluten-free-holiday-breakfast-brunch.html
Thank you SO much!! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season! I need to try this alfredo recipe! I’ve tried some vegan sauces in the past and I can’t ever seem to get it just right! This looks delish!!
carrie
Ha! You are right! No email address anywhere to be found. Oops! I don’t have any breakfast posts…we aren’t real creative with breakfast around here. Although I do really like Stephanie’s Crock Pot Breakfast Risotto.
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/06/crockpot-breakfast-risotto.html
I can cook up something this weekend and post it if you want…
The Tinkyada brand has excellent gluten-free pastas. But I did not know that Trader Joe markets them under their name.
Hi Sanjay – Trader Joe’s never says for sure who makes their products but if you look at their gluten free pasta, the ingredients are the same as Tinkyada and both are made in Canada and for me, they cook up the same.
Just this week too, I picked up some of TJ’s Vanilla and Cinnamon seasonal tea. When I opened the package, the tea bags are the same as the Celestial Seasonings bags without the tag and string. the flavor was very familiar to me so I compared it to a box of the CS Nutcracker Sweet tea I already have in my cabinet and it is the same thing.
And the best part is that the TJ’s products are usually cheaper than the name-brand.
Thanks for stopping in!