This is the best Vegan Alfredo Sauce ever! Easy to make with just a handful of ingredients and ready in 15 minutes or less. No one will know it’s vegan!
This vegan cashew Alfredo sauce is ultra creamy and flavorful with NO cheese, heavy cream or butter!
Cashews form the base of this easy vegan Alfredo sauce. Cashews are such a magical vegan ingredient, creating rich and creamy dairy free delights. A few of my all-time favorite recipes using cashews include Vegan Scalloped Potatoes, The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese and 5 Ingredient Vegan Queso.
If you can’t have cashews or nuts, go make this Dairy Free Alfredo Sauce with NO nuts. It’s equally incredible.
You might also like this Instant Pot Vegan Alfredo made from a combination of cauliflower and cashews.
What you need for the best, easy vegan Alfredo sauce
- Raw cashews – They are the base for the delicious creamy sauce. You can try using slivered almonds or sunflower seeds instead, but it won’t quite be the same.
- Olive oil – For sautéing the onions and garlic.
- Onion – Adds incredible flavor!
- Garlic – Again, for that garlicky classic Alfredo flavor.
- Unsweetened almond milk – May also use water or another unsweetened, unflavored plant milk.
- Nutritional yeast – For a cheesy taste. May omit if you don’t like it.
- Lemon juice – To brighten up the flavors a bit.
- Salt, to taste
- A high powered blender for best results – I highly recommend a Vitamix or other powerful blender. A regular blender can possibly be used, but the sauce won’t get as creamy.
How to make vegan alfredo sauce
This is an overview with photos of the process. For the complete, printable recipe, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom.
If you plan on serving the sauce with pasta, cook the noodles now. Drain when cooked and add back to the pot for mixing with the sauce.
Soak the cashews for 5 minutes in hot water. I simply use my tea kettle to boil water, and pour it over the cashews in a glass measuring cup.
Sauté 1/2 an onion and 6 cloves of garlic in a small pan for 5 minutes.
Add the drained cashews, onion/garlic, almond milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt to a high powered blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
Add sauce to pasta, mix and warm if needed. That’s it!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make it without cashews? I recommend you try my Dairy Free Alfredo Sauce, which is nut free. You can also try substituting sunflower seeds or raw slivered almonds for varied results.
- What if I don’t have a high powered blender? It’s possible to make the sauce in a regular blender or food processor, just know it won’t be as creamy as the photos. Try soaking the cashews for a half hour at least in hot water to make them extra soft for blending.
- How long will the sauce keep in the refrigerator? Store in a covered container for 4-5 days.
- Can you freeze vegan Alfredo sauce? Yes, it freezes well. Freeze sauce separate from pasta. Pour into freezer friendly containers, leaving a little room for expansion. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight is possible and rewarm in the microwave or stovetop.
Variations
- “Chicken” Alfredo – I often cook up some vegan chicken or simply Gardein nuggets. Slice and serve with the fettuccine Alfredo.
- Add some heat – I almost always sprinkle a good amount of red chili flakes on my Alfredo pasta. So good!
- Mix in some vegetables – Serve a veggie on the side, or mix them right in! My favorites are steamed or roasted broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cooked kale, green peas or asparagus.
Want more creamy vegan pasta recipes?
- Creamy Vegan Carbonara
- Dairy Free Mac and Cheese
- The Best Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
- Tuscan Vegan Gnocchi
Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fettuccine pasta, optional
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk*
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
Cook the pasta, if using
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain, then add it back to the pot and cover until the sauce is done.
Make the sauce
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil (I use my tea kettle). Pour the hot water over the cashews and let soak for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until fragrant and the onion is translucent. Remove from heat.
- Drain the cashews and discard the soaking water. Add them to a high powered blender along with onions/garlic, unsweetened almond milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt. Blend until very smooth.
Serve
- Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir. If the noodles are still hot, you may not need to cook it any more. If you want, heat the pasta with the alfredo sauce on low heat until warm. If it becomes too thick, add a bit of water to thin out the sauce. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Gluten Free: Use gluten free pasta.
- Cashew Free: Use raw slivered almonds instead of cashews, or even sunflower seeds. Cashews give the sauce the best buttery and cheesy taste though.
- May use water instead of almond milk. Other plant milks work as well – soy, cashew or coconut. Just make sure the milk you use is both unsweetened and unflavored.
- “Chicken” Alfredo: Cook up some vegan chicken nuggets (my favorite is Gardein brand), slice and serve on top of the pasta!
- To Freeze: The sauce freezes well! Freeze in small freezer-friendly containers. Leave an inch or so of room for expansion. Re-heat in the microwave or stove top until warm.
- If you don’t care for nutritional yeast, it is okay to omit it.
- Alfredo sauce is also wonderful drizzled on baked potatoes, on pizza, spaghetti squash, cooked vegetables and more.
- Calories are for 1/6th of the sauce, and does not include pasta.
Nutrition
This recipe was first published in September of 2019. The recipe is the same, but the writing is updated to provide answer to frequent questions and variations/options.
I find it easier and quicker to soak the nuts in the pasta water.
This is delicious but I would never do soy milk again.. made it too sweet. I have used almond milk and it was perfect!
It would definitely be sweet if you used sweetened soy milk, always check the ingredient list for added sweeteners and make sure to use unsweetened, unflavored soy milk, just soybeans and water. That will help! But I’m glad you enjoy it with almond milk, that works just as well. Thanks!
Hi! I’m wondering if using frozen cauliflower would work well?
There is no cauliflower called for in this particular recipe, so I’m not totally sure what you are referring to. 🙂
I think Emma means cauliflower instead of cashews. I think it would negatively impact the texture.
This is a great recipe!!! My only ever so slight disappointment was that the photo shows the sauce super white and my sauce is off white cream colored. I have to say I did not read all the text on this post because it’s a lot, but I wanted to ask if there was a trick to making the sauce super white. I’m thinking maybe it’s the milk. Was the almond milk you used super white?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! My sauce always comes out quite white. The milk I use does tend to be white, though I have used both soy and almond. My other guess is that you aren’t using a high powered blender so the cashews are not able to be blended to a cream? I’m not quite sure what else it could be.
Hi! Looking forward to trying this A just wondering if there is a good substitute for lemon juice? Just found out I’m sensitive to it.
Thanks!
You could leave it out if needed. It will still be good, lemon juice just helps bring out the flavors a bit.
The sauce is very good; I’ve liked every recipe I’ve tried from you. I’ll definitely make it again. I only did 4 stars though because I think it could benefit from a bit of pasta water to bring everything together. I would also recommend adding some herbs and spices. I only did about half the recommended nutritional yeast because I’m a wimp about it and I think that was a good compromise over not adding it at all.
Very good sauce – I love the taste! My blender unfortunately is not good so it was a slightly chunky.
I made this for my vegan son and he liked it.
Terrific, cheesy! Tasty, creamy.
Holy moly. I’ve been disappointed in so many cashew-based sauces that I held out little hope for this one but… Holy cow, is it good. Perfect balance of flavors. Now I can quit feeling sorry for myself because I missing dairy-based Alfredo sauce. Thank you so very much! Absolutely delicious!
Awesome recipe! I did add some almond unsweetened and I used onion powder ( a little) and minced garlic. It came out great!
Is nutritional yeast needed to make the sauce? I can’t have yeast 🙁
You could leave it out, it will still be good.
This was so tasty! I added some pepper flakes for spice and the pasta vanished from the pot
Nomnomnom! Amazing! (But of course, it is; has Nora ever shared a recipe that WASN’T amazing?!)
Thanks so much!!
This is delicious and easy to make!! My whole family loved it. Thank you for sharing.
You’re so welcome!
Is the nutrition include the pasta? Or is it just the sauce nutritional value? I’ve been using chickpea pasta for it and just trying to figure out if it includes the pasta.
This is the best vegan Alfredo I’ve ever had. My boyfriend didn’t know the difference.
It only includes the sauce, not pasta. Hope that helps and I’m so glad you and your boyfriend like it!
AMAZING!!! I’ve tried out MANY other alfredo recipes since going dairy-free and this one BY FAR is THE BEST! SO creamy and delicious! I’m SO HAPPY to have alfredo back in my life!! THANK YOU! It’s honestly so great as-is; I added in 1/8 tsp nutmeg and sprinkled some black pepper on top and it was absolutely perfect. My husband loved it, too! I’ll be making this again this week! 🙂 Now to check out more of your awesome recipes!
I’m so glad you liked it!!
This recipe makes a ton! I’m eating it right now. So delicious.
I love to hear that! Thanks!
Recipe was good and creamy! I haven’t had Alfredo in years so I don’t remember how it is supposed to taste. Mine turned out sweeter than expected despite using unsweetened almond milk so I did add more salt. Maybe I goofed on something (I usually do!). I think my blender made it frothy and a little bubbly. Do you have any tips for that?
You could try using water instead of non-dairy milk, that might help it not taste too sweet. Are you using Vitamix or other high powered blender? It should be creamy and smooth, but it’s okay if it gets a little frothy. A regular blender may have a hard time making the sauce very smooth though. Thanks!
This is the recipe I’ve been looking for for years! I’ve missed alfredo dearly since going vegan, and this is the only vegan alfredo recipe I’ve tried that I’ve loved. I did use a partial can of coconut milk that needed used up in addition to unsweetened soy milk to reach the required milk volume, and it came out SO rich and creamy! Thank you for this recipe!
You’re so welcome! So glad you love it!
I liked it but the almond milk taste is really strong. I’ll have to try a different plant-based milk next time, or maybe broth.
Blue ribbon to you!
Thanks!!
OMG!! OMG!! This is by far the absolutely I mean the absolutely best vegan Alfredo sauce I ever ever tasted. I make it every week. I’m totally hooked on this sauce.
Thank you soooo much for creating this AMAZING sauce!!
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad you love it!
Wonderful recipe!! I have a quick question though! Where is the 48mg of cholesterol coming from on the posted nutrition facts? I thought all vegan food contained absolutely no dietary cholesterol.
Good catch, that should not be there! It’s an online calculator, and it was calculating using an egg pasta. I’ve fixed it now; there is no cholesterol in the dish. So glad you love it!
This was delicious! I sautéed spinach and mixed it in and it was awesome. I wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe. I will be adding this one to my recipe box 🙂
Thanks so much for the comment!
I have tried many vegan Alfredo sauces and this takes the cake! I used a red onion instead of sweet (as I was out) and it worked fine!
I’m so glad you liked it!!
Fantastic! Sauteed some spinach to add in… It was delicious! Great recipe! Thanks!
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed it!