Learn how to make the most delicious 20 Minute Easy Vegan Dairy-free Alfredo that will blow away all your guests, shock them that it is dairy-free and healthy! Rich, creamy, decadent and just 7 ingredients and without any butter or oil!
EASY DAIRY-FREE ALFREDO
Sometimes the most amazing vegan recipes happen as the result of impromptu recipes. This recipe is one of those times. I was planning on making my Best Vegan Garlic Alfredo for dinner one night, but realized I was too low on cashews (gasp!) and out of lemon juice. So, I decided to just throw together some ingredients and wing it with what I had and holy moly, this one turned out just as rich and so amazing. I double dare you to make this for somebody (don’t tell them it’s not full of butter or cream) and tell me they don’t love it. While I love my original (it’s the most popular recipe on the blog).
HOW TO MAKE DAIRY-FREE ALFREDO
First you need to gather the ingredients to make this vegan alfredo:
- raw cashew butter (I make my own here since store-bought tends to be roasted and with added oil, which will not work well)
- vegetable broth
- brown rice flour
- apple cider vinegar
- some dried Italian herbs
- garlic powder
- nutritional yeast
It’s quite different than my original, which uses a lot of cooked onions and garlic, this one does not. But this one with the rice flour makes it so creamy. My husband scarfed it down SO fast and said “this is the best you’ve ever made”. We both debated on me calling it “Restaurant Style Alfredo”. It is just that good.
You will start out by adding the cashew butter, brown rice flour, apple cider vinegar, Italian herbs, nutritional yeast, salt and just blend them up in your blender. I used my Vitamix.
Add them to a pan and it will be very thin (like water), as in the above picture, but after just a few minutes of cooking, it will turn out creamy and fabulous like this.
I’m not kidding that this dairy-free alfredo sauce comes together in 20 minutes. It took exactly 19 minutes to do the pasta from start to finish and only 12-15 minutes for the sauce. You won’t find a more easy vegan alfredo!
This is also perfect for all of you that don’t have high powered blenders needed for raw cashews in so many sauces.
This healthy dairy-free alfredo sauce is so healthy, gluten-free and 100% oil-free. It is also just 8 ingredients (+salt).
MORE VEGAN CREAMY SAUCES
- Vegan White Wine Sauce
- Vegan Lemon Florentine Pasta
- Vegan Pimento Cream Sauce
- Vegan Lemon, Garlic & Thyme Sauce
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Easy Dairy-free Alfredo
Ingredients
FOR THE PASTA
- 14 oz bag pasta of choice
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
ALFREDO SAUCE
- 2 cups (480g) well-flavored low-sodium vegetable broth (SEE NOTE)
- 1/4 cup (64g) RAW cashew butter with NO added oils or salt (I make my own here because it's practically impossible to find a raw oil-free cashew butter in stores.)
- 1-2 teaspoons (5-10g) apple cider vinegar (I find this can really vary depending on brand of broth used, start with none or 1 teaspoon at first.)
- 2 tablespoons (16g) nutritional yeast (Highly recommend the unfortified Sari brand-no weird vitamin taste)
- 2 tablespoons (20g) brown rice flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- optional: any veggies you may want to add
NOTE
- If you would like to use raw cashews (instead of cashew butter) you will just use the same weight amount, which is about a scant 1/2 cup. If you don't have a high-powered blender, then you must soak them overnight in a bowl of water, drain and rinse. Otherwise, your result will be gritty and NOT creamy. A food processor usually works better with soaked cashews versus a blender that isn't very powerful.
UPDATE
- I highly recommend the low-sodium veggie broth by Trader Joe's, if possible or the Pacific brand. Both are so flavorful. If not using nutritional yeast, slightly increase the garlic powder and add a teaspoon of onion powder.
Instructions
- Follow each step closely to have this ready in 20 minutes. You will first need to start your pasta before the sauce. Add 12 cups of very hot water to a large pot and put the lid on (it will come to a boil faster). Turn to high heat and let it come to a boil. Mine took about 10 minutes before it was boiling (yours may be faster). Once it's boiling add the pasta and salt and quickly stir it around to loosen it up. The salt is important because it flavors the pasta. Cook for 9 minutes or until al dente. Yours will vary depending on the pasta used.
- While waiting on the water to boil, add all the "alfredo sauce" ingredients to a blender, starting with just 1 teaspoon of the vinegar. Broth brands greatly vary in flavor and I find depending on the brand used, I may need NO vinegar or only 1 teaspoon. Blend, then taste and decide. Blend until very smooth. It will be very runny, don't worry as it will thicken up a lot when cooking.
- Check your water to see if boiling yet.
- Add the sauce to a large pan over high heat. Once it starts bubbling all over, immediately turn to medium-low heat and whisk continually while letting it cook 3-4 minutes until thickened. You want to continually whisk around the bottom and sides, so the flour doesn't clump. Don't walk away from it! You don't want to overcook because it will thicken up a lot as it cools. Add any veggies if you like. I sometimes add peas and carrots from the freezer and let them cook a minute in the sauce.
- Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse with water to stop the cooking. Brown rice pasta can stick really badly, so I rinse really well and serve immediately. If using regular gluten pasta, you don't need to rinse it. Add to a plate, then add the sauce and garnish with extra dried Italian herbs or red pepper flakes or anything else you like.
I made this for lunch today and we all loved it! Two meat eaters said that it was even better than restaurant Alfredo. In fact I think my grandson has 3 helpings!! 🙂
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Carol! SO happy to hear that, so awesome!
This is the first recipe of yours that I made and it was so delicious! My kid who doesn’t usually like a lot of the vegan things I make loved it! I actually got up early to make it again today. Thank you so much!
I’m so, so happy to hear that Dana!! This would please I think anybody, because you can’t even tell it’s NOT dairy, so I’m so happy to hear your kid loved it too! Thank you for leaving feedback!
You have outdone yourself this time Brandi….FANTASTIC and ever so simple.
Smooth and delicious.
Thank you so, so much Susan! So happy you loved it!!
I made this last night and we really liked it. All your sauces we’ve tried have been delish. This one seemed especially creamy. I’d have to have it side by side with your other Alfredo recipe (with the nuts and lemon juice) I’ve tried because I don’t know how to compare the flavor but the smoothness/creaminess seems to me to be much more so with this recipe. Tasty and filling and (the best part) soooo easy!!! 🙂
Thank you so much RosaLea for the wonderful feedback! The original is delicious, but honestly this one IS better and you are right, MORE creamy! Every reader so far has agreed it’s better and to think it’s even easier and fast to make, haha!
Wow. Wow. Woooowwwww. We are AMAZED. Beyond impressed. No words are sufficient to describe how grateful we are for your recipes, especially THIS recipe. We posted pics of ours on our Facebook page. Facebook.com/theeverydayvegan
Admittedly, we used the roasted cashew butter to save a buck, thus the slightly darker version. We loved it! I am sure it is even that much better with the raw cashew butter, but we did not have it available. Thanks again, Brandi. You are a genius.
Oh Reed, this feedback is glorious and so much appreciated! I’m so ecstatic to hear you all loved this sauce as much as we did! I really appreciate you making it and letting me know! I wasn’t able to see it on your facebook page, is the link correct? Thanks again!
Do you know a sub for nut yeast?
Hi Amber, there isn’t really a sub for nutritional yeast, except maybe a teaspoon of miso. However, I would just recommend leaving it out. You could always add a little extra salt if necessary and a tad of onion powder in it’s place. Honestly, this alfredo is so good and creamy, it will still be delicious without the yeast. I have not tried it without the yeast, but I imagine it would still be darn good. Let me know if you try it!
I was wondering the same thing since I’m food sensitive to nutritional yeast (which I love) but then I remembered that I CAN eat dry aged cheeses, so I think a bit of parmesan will do nicely in this sauce on edamame pasta! Thank you for the inspiration since this is all new to me.
Sorry, I shouldn’t mention cheese on a vegan site! Plus, I’m eating it now and it doesn’t need it at all! The miso works great.
Oh, no it’s ok! Thank you so much Janet, I’m so happy you loved this! Thank you for the feedback!
Just finished eating a plate of this for lunch. Guess what my husband is having for dinner? This is amazing. My cashew butter was made with roasted cashews. Thought I’d give it a try. Delish! Added spinach and mushrooms at the end. Thank you so much. Glad I found you.
I’m so happy to hear you both loved this so much Janet, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!! I made a version with spinach too, SO good! So funny about your hubby, he texted me last night saying “can we have that same stuff for dinner that we had last night”? He NEVER says that, haha! I have a feeling this will be a 2-3 night weekly thing. Thank you so much for making the recipe!
Hi Brandi,
This sauce was a HIT with my family. You were not kidding when you said to continually whisk the sauce once you put it on the stove. I turned around for a second and it began bubbling and lumping pretty quickly but I was able to save it :). I was fortunate to have exactly one cup of raw cashews in my pantry and made my very first batch of cashew butter to use in this recipe with a little leftover.
Thank you for all of your hard work getting out tasty Vegan, GF recipes that I can make for myself and my family. And thank you for being available via FB. You are a gem.
So, so happy to hear this was such a hit Ida!! I loved your beautiful pic on Facebook too, looked so delicious! Yes, like I noted it comes together really fast, haha! Definitely 20 minute alfredo! Thank you so much for making it and your kind words!
Yummy! So creamy, fresh and delicious. Just like everyone else, I love the idea of using cashew butter.
AAAH! This looks sooooooooooooooo delicious Brandi!!! The creaminess looks incredible. Such a great idea to use cashew butter. I love how quick this recipe is. I’m getting so hungry right now looking at it on my screen. I definitely need to make this for my dinner tonight!
Thank you so much Harriet!! It’s not just the cashew butter though that makes it so different than my original, the addition of the rice flour and apple cider vinegar just took it over the top!! I also completely left out all the onions. (unlike the original) I hope you make it!
YUMMMM I most definitely need to try this, I don’t even remember the last time I had Alfredo sauce! 😉 obsessed with this recipe!!!
Just finished making this. It is incredibly creamy and delicious. I am not a huge nutritional yeast fan – too many heavy tasting dishes – but this is a different beast altogether. It is quite subtle. The rice fettucini was a great vehicle for the amazing sauce.
I will be serving this to non-vegan friends without hesitation.
So, so wonderful to hear this feedback Gary! Thank you so much for letting me know, I truly appreciate it and I’m so happy you loved it so much! I agree that the nutritional yeast is such a small amount and so subtle. I used twice as much in my original alfredo, but for this one, just a small amount was perfect. I definitely think this would “fool” any dairy-lover too!
Cashew butter makes perfect sense to sub for the cashews! That’s so funny because I’ve actually been on a cashew butter kick lately too, have been feeding it to Leo in his oatmeal the last few weeks and making different stuff with it. I actually just used it on a sandwich mixed with a few things to replace mayo. It was really good! I’ll have to add this one to my list!
Yes! The cashew butter and the brown rice flour and apple cider vinegar are all what made such a huge difference. I didn’t think my original recipe could be improved upon, but this one is better! It totally reminded me of one I use to order at restaurants. The recipe is pretty different than my original and a completely different process, but one that I’m SO glad happened on a whim, lol! I ate it for both breakfast and lunch today…haha!
It’s always good to have different styles! I love having a few different go to’s because then you don’t get sick of them and it’s great to have slightly different flavors!
Just made this for dinner and it was a BIG hit! Seriously, reminded me of Pasta Carbonara which was a big favorite of mine before going plant based (it was SO good with peas added to the sauce at the end). Your creative ingredient combing is an amazing talent and I am so thankful that you are willing to share your recipes with others!
Wow, so happy to hear this Naomi!! Thank you so, so much for the feedback and making it! So glad to hear you loved it as much as we did and thank you for your kind words. It’s so different from my original alfredo on here and even though it’s faster and totally improvised, it has become our new favorite!
Thanks for making this recipe with no added (refined) oil. My body can’t take it. Too many nuts will do that too. At least my body has to work like heck to get it out of the food rather than having the fats handed over on a silver platter.
You’re welcome Paul! Yes, I don’t like how my body feels after oils either and this alfredo sauce is a fraction of the fat compared to most alfredos out there, but not lacking in that classic creamy, rich texture! You really cannot tell a difference!
Hi this looks amazing!! I can’t wait to make it. Do you think I could sub chickpea flour, or whole wheat flour for the brown rice flour?
Hi Christina! I have only tested it with brown rice flour, so I can’t say, but I’d say give it a shot and report back, so I can know other flours work well too. Let me know!
What brand cashew butter did you use and where did you buy it. since I live in Houston Tx. I should be able to find it pretty easy. Looks so good . Would love to make it real soon and great for a substitute teacher to get dinner done quickly.
Hi Rita! I’m in Houston too! 🙂 I buy mine at Whole Foods or just make it myself, which I included how to make it in the recipe if you want to. Otherwise, I just buy it at Whole Foods. I get one with no added oils/salt. I believe the brand is Artisana. But sometimes they are out and have a section with a machine where you can grind your own, but it’s never 100% smooth, so I just process it more when I get home in my food processor to a really silky smooth texture. Let me know when you make it!
Brandi, I just made this for dinner and it turned out awesome. If it may help someone in the future, I soaked my cashews overnight and ran them through my ninja then transferred them to my black and decker food processor and finished them off. Worked for me. Also made a batch of hour cinnamon ginger almond butter and it came out pretty awesome as well. Will have it on some toast tomorrow. Thanks so much for your yummy food.
Oh I’m so so happy to hear that Rita!! Thank you so much for letting me know! So happy you loved it AND the cinnamon ginger almond butter, thank you so much for the feedback!
Another Houstonian here. I’ve found Cashew Butter at Whole Foods and Sprouts. Sprouts even has the individual serving packages if you don’t want to purchase a whole jar (which can be expensive for raw cashew butter).
So good to know, thank you for sharing about Trader Joes!
Improvised recipes are the best! This one looks just amazing and delicious – could eat the whole bowl maybe with just the sauce, looks so creamy and dreamy. I’ve never expected cashew butter here, but I know it is one ingredient which perfectly fits in this sauce and add some richness and creaminess to the sauce. The way I can make it in just 20 minutes is gorgeous just a timesaver, without soaking cashews for hours.
Thank you so much Florian! Haha, I could eat the whole bowl with just the sauce too!! You are so kind, thank you!
Lady this looks delicious. You basically made an Italian besciamel sauce. They don’t do alfredo in Italy but they do besciamel on lasagne and crespelle (basically stuffed and baked savoury crepes) and I’m betting this sauce would hold it’s own. I’ve never thought to use cashew butter in my besciamel but will have to give it a try now.
Oh wow, really?! I feel so fancy now, haha! I’ve seen Giada talk about that sauce in the past on her tv show…so funny. Thank you so much Nissrine! I’ve truly never had a better alfredo…the cashew butter and rice flour and vinegar combo just blew me away!
NO way! I just made the best alfredo last week! Well the first alfredo I’ve ever made or had in years and years, but it was delish!! I’m seriously crushing on all the pasta dishes right now! Yum!! We need a pasta party 😉
Hello Brandi, what do you think would be a good substitute for the cashew butter?
Hi Krystal, there isn’t a sub, since that is crucial to the flavor and texture. I have only tested as written above, but you can try using 1/2 cup cashew and blend them up with the liquid, which will only work if you have a high powered blender, otherwise you will need to soak them 8-12 hours, drain and rinse and then proceed. It will take longer to blend up the cashews. Let me know if you try it. Please know I have only tested it as written, so 1/2 cup is a guess.
Understood, I think I asked my question wrong ? silly me. I need to sub the cashew altogether because I am allergic. Do you know of anything else that would result in a similar flavor/texture?
Oh, okay! I see. 🙂 I can only suggest to try macadamia nut butter, that is the only closest taste/texture to cashew butter. Any other nut butter I think would ruin it. Again, I haven’t tried it, so let me know if you try it! You aren’t allergic to macadamias are you?
Sunflower seeds might work with no added ingredients
I think sunflower would be way too strong in this, leaving too much of a sunbutter flavor to the alfredo. I’m working on a nut-free version of this already 🙂
cooked white beans, like cannellini
I have never bought Cashew Butter and where I live it will probably cost me $10 to go buy some just for this recipe. Do you think almond or peanut butter would work?
I definitely would not do peanut butter or almond butter, it will ruin the taste and not taste like alfredo. The cashew butter is crucial to that creamy taste and texture of alfredo. Like I suggested to another reader, I have only tested as written above, but you can try using 1/2 cup raw cashews and blend them up with the liquid, which will only work if you have a high powered blender, otherwise you will need to soak them 8-12 hours, drain and rinse and then proceed. It will take longer to blend up the cashews. Let me know if you try it. Please know I have only tested it as written, so 1/2 cup is a guess.
Also, you can make your own cashew butter using raw cashews. Just blend them up in a food processor for several minutes, scraping the sides until it becomes incredibly silky smooth. Will take several minutes, but I’ve made it homemade many times.
I have a high speed blender. Can I substitute soaked cashews for cashew butter?
Thank you!
Hi Barbara! I have only tried it the way I wrote it and it was perfect, so I don’t know how many cashews you would need or if it will affect the texture/taste, but I would guess you would need 1/2 cup cashews, since usually cashews ground up into butter results in about 1/2 of the amount of cashews used. That is a guess though since I didn’t test it. All I can suggest is try it and report back, I’d love to know 🙂
I made this last night and it was delicious! I didn’t have cashew butter. So, I placed 1 cup of cashews in the vitamix high speed blender for about 1 minute (scraping the sides every now and then). It was starting to turn into butter. Then I just blended all the sauce ingredients as per your instructions. Appreciate your efforts to produce fabulous vegan, healthy recipes!
So wonderful to hear Barbara! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback, I really appreciate it!
Mmmmmmm 33° here right now and a big plate of this would be awesome…
I never like how heavy dairy Alfredo is and yours looks perfectly creamy but not gloppy thick ?
I agree Angela! This is so rich and creamy, but doesn’t leave you feeling icky and nasty afterwards like the oil and butter/cream filled ones! It’s truly to die for!
This was not at all what I was expecting for ingredients, but wow! Cashew butter!?! So easy and unexpected! So it’s kinda like making a roux but with cashew butter instead of oil or butter, and brown rice flour as the flour…so way way way healthier. So amazing, this is going to be a big hit for sure because who wants to wait for cashews haha! Gotta love those happy accidents 🙂 This is great Brandi!
Haha, wow you are quick, I just hit publish, lol! I know, it turned out so unbelievable, yet the ingredients are SO BASIC. I’m telling you, the brown rice flour did some serious magic with the cashew butter when heated. And I loved the more authentic taste of the alfredo from the vinegar, versus the lemon juice. I use brown rice flour to make gravy and in my teriyaki sauce, so I literally just decided to throw it in and see what happened since I was just wanting to make something so quick. I never expected these specific ingredients combined to be better than my original (in my opinion)!
I’ve never been so happy to be low on ingredients as I was the day this happened, haha!
AMAZING!!!! I have a milk protein allergy and am pregnant with so many food aversions and diet limitations right now. I’ve been having some cravings for foods that notoriously contain dairy and am so glad I tried your recipe! It was SO DELICIOUS!! My husband, who is rather picky and skeptical of most dairy alternatives thought it was INCREDIBLE and wouldn’t have known it was vegan. Also, it is SO MUCH healthier than any other Alfredo sauces! I agree, the low sodium broth with 3/4 cup salt was perfect! Any more would have been too salty to me. Thank you for giving me hope in the kitchen again!
SORRY!! Meant to say 3/4 tsp salt haha. Definitely didn’t use a cup
yay! So happy you loved this Dorlyne! Thank you very much for leaving this review, I loved reading it! So happy your hubby loved it too!
Brandi, I would love to make this for my large family but I am unsure of the serving size. The only clue I see is where it says “serves 1/4 cup sauce” but I’m not sure I understand what that means. Are you saying that this recipe only makes 1/4 cup of sauce??
I’m confused about the differentiation between cashews and cashew butter. If I start with regular cashews, do I need to soak them? When do I add the cashews? Thanks!
Hi Jamie, I’m giving the option to use either cashew butter OR raw cashews. Some people don’t have a powerful blender like a vitamix, so cashew butter will be much easier. If you have a powerful blender you can just use the regular cashews and no you don’t need to soak them unless you don’t have a powerful one like a Vitamix. Otherwise, your sauce will be gritty. You just add the cashews with all of the ingredients at blending.
I have a Ninja, is that strong enough? Would cashew butter made with roasted cashews turn out alright?
I have never used a Ninja but I do not believe it is strong enough. As far as making the cashew butter, I never use a blender, I always make it first in my food processor as noted above under NOTE. But if you want to skip using cashew butter and just use cashews, just soak the cashews first overnight, drain and then blend up all the ingredients for the sauce. That should work. I wouldn’t use roasted though, that flavor is rather strong and will stand out and will also darken the color of the sauce. Raw is best.
The reason I suggest a food processor for making cashew butter (if you do that) is because there is much more room to go around versus a skinny blender and although it takes a few minutes and scraping the sides, after several minutes it will get dreamy creamy smooth. My Vitamix does not do a good job at all to make nut butters because the container is too skinny.
Hi! I’m one of your biggest fans, now! We have tried the Big Time Mexican Bowls, the alfredo sauce you sent me, the tomato bisque you sent me, and the mexican tortilla bake. My husband and I love them and we want to try more of your recipes! I have questions about the dry and wet mustard, what exactly am I looking for? Thanks and God bless you and your family!
Hi Jamie! Oh, I am so happy to hear how you and your husband have loved all of the recipes I sent you, yay! So glad they have been hits. Dry mustard is just dried mustard powder found in the spice isle and wet mustard just means the condiment (like ketchup) found in the isle with ketchups, barbecue sauce, etc. 🙂
Hello Brandi, Thank you so much for your recipe. I was wondering, I am currently new to being vegan, but I am also on the Clear skin diet for my acne. I am not able to have any nuts or oil. Is there an alternate to using the cashew? It is a nut so not a possibility to my diet regimen. I would greatly appreciate an alternative? Or is it okay to make this sauce without the cashew? I appreciate your feedback.
Hi Rosemary, this recipe needs the cashews in order for it to taste good and turn out right. I do have a cashew/nut-free Alfredo here though. https://thevegan8.com/2016/02/26/nut-free-vegan-garlic-alfredo-sauce/
Wow. Amazing. I sub’ed rice flour for whole wheat flour and it worked fine. Also used garlic seasoning instead of garlic powder. Great recipe(:!
Thank you so much Alex! I’m so very glad this was such a hit, thank you for the awesome feedback!