Review: Victoria Vegan Alfredo Sauce

I was walking through EarthFare shopping for vegan cheeses to use in a vegan lasagne and as I was perusing the sauce isle, I came across this jar of VEGAN ALFREDO SAUCE! Super stoked, I purchased the $7.98, 18 oz jar of sauce, much to the chagrin of my wallet. 

We had lasagne that night but the next night I was planning a great meal of steamed asparagus, spinach salad, and penne pasta with Alfredo sauce. As I was pouring the sauce into the pot to heat, I noticed chunkules and a certain grittiness to the sauce. I thought it was just how the sauce consisted when it was cold. 

Putting the sauce on warm-low heat, I started gathering the supplies to cook the penne and construct the salad. It could not have been more than 3 minutes later that I got out a spoon to stir the sauce and on the bottom of the pan, a thin, filmy layer of brown goop had formed in the alfredo sauce. Hmm... this was unusual. I did not have the sauce on a high temperature and it has already started burning? Weird. 

I tried to stir the sauce lightly so as to not stir up the burnt bits. When the salad was complete, I looked at the ingredients of the sauce; surprisingly, it was exceedingly similar to a sauce that I make every so often! 

Victoria uses cashew cream as the base of her alfredo with garlic and rosemary to flavor it. My mind put two and two together. The grittiness was little bits of cashews that were not completely blended up into the sauce! 

When the noodles were finished, I leerily poured the sauce over the penne and served our dinner. We took bites. OH! At first taste, I liked it. The tanginess of the sauce complimented the creamy aspect. A distinguished after taste set in. It was sour, almost like lemon juice. Jonathan thought so too. I noticed the grittiness I noticed when starting the sauce remained in the cooked sauce. There were little tiny pieces of cashew that remained rigid against the tongue. 

We both switched over to finishing the salad and asparagus without another word about the alfredo sauce. When we finished eating the pasta, I asked what he thought of it. I could tell he did not want to insult the dinner but we both agreed that the sauce was subpar. 

Unfortunately, the sauce does not reflect alfredo at all; even as a standalone pasta sauce, the flavor is not that great and the texture is even weirder. It was not a horrible experience, but this vegan alfredo sauce was vastly different than what I expected. 

I am sure different taste buds have different sensors and such so I suggest you at least give it a try! As for us, we will not be purchasing this product again. Sorry Victoria, but this just is not for us. We do certainly appreciate the attempt concern for creating vegan food items. 

The Verdict:

Taste:         6/10

Texture:      4/10

Price:         4/10

Value:         3/10

Score:        45%  

                    F

Vegan Alfredo

Smooth, creamy and savory, this vegan Alfredo sauce will send your tastebuds into a cheesy, buttery frenzy. It is hard to believe it is vegan because it actually tastes better than many non-vegan Alfredo sauces. 

Ingredients:

• 1 c. coconut milk                   ($1.82)
• ½ c. nutritional yeast             ($1.66)
• 1 medium clove of garlic       ($0.26)
• 1 tsp. dried basil                    ($0.05)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• a dash of black pepper

Asparagus pairs very well with this creamy Alfredo sauce.

Preparation:

Peel and mince the garlic. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Heat on medium, stirring frequently until almost boiling. Continue to simmer 5 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken. The longer the sauce boils, the thicker it will become. Pour over your favorite pasta. This quick and easy sauce costs $3.79 and will quickly become a new favorite. 

This recipe came from The Fitchen. They specialize in healthy eating that is "sometimes raw, usually vegan, always organic." 

Experiment with this recipe. Serve with some freshly steamed veggies or use a different herb or spice instead of basil.

Nutritional yeast is the secret ingredient in this recipe. While the coconut milk provides the creamy base, the nutritional yeast adds a fistful of flavor and nutrients like the B-complex vitamins. These vitamins, like Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, and Pyridoxine, are hard to come by with a vegan diet. It is a magical product sent from above. This delicious seasoning can be used in sauces and as a topping for popcorn, potatoes, vegetables, rice, salads, and bread! BRAGG® Nutritional Yeast Seasoning has been around for over 100 years and can be found in most grocery and health food stores.