Vegan Alfredo Sauce

Vegan Alfredo sauce, ready in 20 minutes. It’s cheesy, silky, savory, and so creamy! So delicious and made with 9 ingredients.

I strongly believe comfort foods are one of the best sources of happiness one can find. One of these sources is this vegan Alfredo sauce, an amazing sauce recipe, perfect for a family dinner. It’ll make your pasta meals so rich, flavorful, and creamy that you’ll want to eat it every day!

The traditional Alfredo sauce recipe contains lots of dairy such as cheese, butter, and milk, so it can be too heavy for dinner. This version is lactose-free, 100% plant-based, healthier, and light but still so creamy!

To make this dairy-free Alfredo sauce you need ingredients you can find at any supermarket and it is easily made with a powerful blender. A natural, savory, cheesy, and comforting meal. It tastes just like the original recipe, so you won’t miss the cheese at all!

Ingredient notes

• Vegan butter: I strongly suggest you make our easy vegan butter recipe. However, feel free to use it store-bought. Oil is also a good choice.
• Unsweetened plant milk: any type of unsweetened plant milk is okay. I used almond milk though.
• Nutritional yeast: it gives this recipe the cheesy flavor, so it’s an important ingredient. If you can’t find it, you could also use brewer’s yeast. However, nutritional yeast is the best choice.

Dietary variations

• Make it gluten-free: use gluten-free pasta.
• Make soy-free: use soy-free plant milk and vegan butter.
• Make it oil-free: omit the vegan butter or oil, and sautée the garlic and onion using some vegetable stock or water.

Pro tips

• Any type of pasta will work (also gluten-free), but Alfredo sauce usually goes well with fettuccine, noodles, spaghetti, or any other kind of long pasta.
• If you’d like your Alfredo sauce less creamy, add ¼ more cup of plant milk.

How to make vegan Alfredo sauce

• Soak the cashews in water the night before or in hot water 30 minutes prior to cooking.
• Drain and rinse the cashews, and set them aside.
• Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the vegan butter or oil in a pan, add the onion, and golden brown over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
• Add the garlic and golden brown for 1 or 2 minutes.
• Put the onion and garlic into a high-speed blender with the other sauce ingredients and blend until smooth.
• Transfer the pasta and the vegan Alfredo sauce to a pan, stir until well mixed, and cook for 1 or 2 more minutes.
• Serve your Alfredo pasta immediately.

How to store

• Fridge: keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
• Freezer: freeze the sauce before mixing it with the pasta. Just wait until it’s cold and then put it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
• Reheat: ​​it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. If the sauce is too thick when you reheat it, just add some more plant milk.

Is Alfredo sauce vegan?

The original Alfredo sauce recipe is not vegan, as it is made with dairy products, so it is high in fat and cholesterol.

Serving suggestions

The traditional way of eating it is with pasta and sprinkled vegan Parmesan cheese on top, but if you feel like trying something new, feel free to add it to plenty of other dishes.

You could serve it with seitan, veggies, and even potatoes.

Looking for more easy vegan recipes?

• Vegan Cheese
• Vegan Gravy
• Healthy Ketchup
• Cashew Cheese
• Vegan Buttermilk

Did you make this vegan Alfredo sauce recipe?

Please leave a comment and rate it below. We’d love to hear from you!

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📖 Recipe

Vegan Alfredo Sauce

Vegan Alfredo sauce, ready in 20 minutes. It’s cheesy, silky, savory, and so creamy! So delicious and made with 9 ingredients.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: How to, Sauce

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Vegan

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Author: Iosune

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Ingredients 

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US Customary - Metric

For the vegan Alfredo sauce:

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted raw cashews
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegan butter or oil
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ ½ onion, chopped
• ▢ ¾ cup unsweetened plant milk, I used almond milk
• ▢ ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the pasta:

• ▢ 12 oz pasta

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Instructions

• Soak the cashews in water the night before. You can also soak them in hot water 30 minutes prior to cooking, but I think the sauce gets a better texture if you do it all night long.
• The morning after, drain and rinse the cashews, and set aside.
• Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. 
• Heat the vegan butter or oil in a pan, add the onion, and golden brown over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
• Add the garlic and golden brown for 1 or 2 minutes.
• Put the onion and garlic into a powerful blender with the other sauce ingredients (cashews, plant milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, and pepper) and blend until smooth. 
• Put the pasta and the sauce in a pan, stir until well mixed, and cook for 1 or 2 more minutes.
• Serve it with pasta and sprinkled vegan Parmesan cheese on top, but if you feel like trying something new, feel free to add it to plenty of other dishes, such as seitan, veggies, and even potatoes.
• Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up 1 month (freeze before mixing it with the pasta). Thaw in the fridge overnight. It can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. If the sauce is too thick when you reheat it, just add some more plant milk.

Notes

• Any type of pasta will work (also gluten-free), but Alfredo sauce usually goes with fettuccine or any other kind of long pasta.
• If you’d like your Alfredo sauce less creamy or more liquid, add ¼ more cup of plant milk.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 71.8g | Protein: 16.1g | Fat: 11.2g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Sodium: 327mg | Fiber: 4.2g | Sugar: 3.9g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Update Notes: This post was originally published in March of 2020, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in August of 2022.