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 tasteA 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!
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 CarbonaraDairy Free Mac and CheeseThe Best Vegan Mushroom StroganoffTuscan Vegan Gnocchi
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.
