Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce

If you love creamy pasta, but you’d rather not use heavy cream and loads of Parmesan, this dairy-free alfredo is a satisfying alternative. No store-bought vegan cheese is required, so you may already have most of the ingredients you need in your pantry.

It comes together quickly while you wait for the pasta to cook, so it’s a fast weeknight meal that tastes a lot more decadent than it really is. (Really!)

Whether you’re vegan or not, it’s a delicious recipe to try when you want a luscious sauce that’s higher in fiber, lower in fat, and naturally dairy-free.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Featured Review

“Holy Moly! I don’t think Im going to have any left to put on the pasta! Soooo good!!!” – Laura

Vegan Alfredo Sauce Ingredients

• Cashews. Use unroasted and unsalted cashews for the most mild, neutral flavor. These are softer than other nuts, so they break down into a creamy sauce easily in the blender.
• Onion. Sauteed onion helps boost the flavor and creates a silkier sauce when blended with cashews.
• Garlic. A key flavor in any good Alfredo sauce. I use four medium-sized cloves in my recipe, but you can add more or less to your liking.
• Lemon Juice + Vinegar. The combination of these two tangy ingredients creates a cheese-like flavor without relying on nutritional yeast.
• Salt + Pepper. These two spices are crucial for the perfect flavor.

How to Make Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce

Step 1:

If you plan on serving this sauce with pasta, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Use gluten-free pasta, if you need to. By the time the noodles are done cooking, your vegan cashew alfredo sauce will be ready to use.

Add olive oil or vegan butter to a large skillet over medium heat and saute the onions until they start to soften and look translucent, about 8 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and stir for 1 more minute.

Step 2:

Transfer the cooked veggies to a high-speed blender, then add in the cashews, water, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and black pepper.

Blend until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Keep in mind that it will thicken when you toss it with pasta in a hot pan.

Step 3:

When the pasta is done cooking, drain the noodles, then return them to the large pot. Pour the creamy Alfredo sauce over the top, and toss well. (This can also be served over zucchini noodles, for a veggie-packed option.)

Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. I usually add more salt and black pepper, to make the flavor pop!

Serving Tips

If the sauce still doesn’t taste like Alfredo, you probably haven’t used enough salt. (Parmesan cheese is very salty, so we’re trying to mimic that here.)

Once you’re happy with the flavor, serve warm with any add-ins you love, like roasted broccoli, peas, crispy mushroom bacon, or other vegetables.

Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce Recipe

4.98 from 36 votes

This dairy-free Alfredo sauce is one of the best creamy pasta sauces I've ever made. It tastes remarkably like the real thing, despite not using heavy cream or Parmesan cheese. Instead, it relies on a few common kitchen staples, so you may already have everything you need to make it! Once you taste it, you may never need the traditional version again.

prep10 mins cook10 mins total20 mins

Servings:6

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion , chopped
• 4 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 cup whole cashews (not roasted or salted)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt (I use Real Salt brand)
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and saute the onion until it's soft and translucent. This should take 5 to 8 minutes. Add in the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 more minute. Remove from the heat.
• In a high-speed blender, combine the cashews, water, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed onions and garlic, then blend until very smooth. The sauce should look creamy, without any visible chunks of cashews.
• Serve this alfredo sauce over your favorite cooked pasta, then adjust any seasoning to taste. The noodles will dilute the flavor of the sauce, so you may need to add more salt and pepper, as needed. (This recipe makes enough to coat one pound of pasta.) Leftover sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Video

Notes

Nutrition information is for roughly 1/3 cup of sauce, assuming you get 2 cups of sauce from this recipe. This is automatically calculated and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.

Nutrition

Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 587mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 2mg

Author: Megan Gilmore

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: vegan alfredo sauce

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If you try this Vegan Alfredo Sauce recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like it.