Learn how to make absolutely #1 The Best Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce as rated by readers! So easy, dairy-free, oil-free, just 6 ingredients (+salt & pepper) and so incredibly creamy and full of flavor!
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VEGAN GARLIC ALFREDO SAUCE
One of most people’s indulgent comfort foods is alfredo sauce. I admit, I used to love it too, but I didn’t love how after just a few bites, I felt sick. There is such a thing as foods being too rich. Feeling nauseated and in a nasty food coma for hours after eating something isn’t really worth it to me. Enter the best Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce you’ll ever have.
HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGAN ALFREDO SAUCE?
Easy, you just need 6 simple ingredients:
- raw cashews
- onion
- garlic
- lemon juice
- nutritional yeast
- low sodium vegetable broth
First, you will cook your onions low and slow until really tender.
Add the garlic and cook until soft. Add the onion and garlic to a blender with the remaining ingredients. Blend until completely smooth.
Serve over pasta and enjoy the decadent, but healthy, vegan alfredo sauce!
No need to try any further anymore. This one is dairy-free and oil-free. Most vegan versions contain vegan butter or oil, not healthy. This one is made from cashews which make it exceptionally creamy. I wanted a whole food version and oil-free.
WHY VEGAN ALFREDO IS BETTER THAN TRADITIONAL
Traditional garlic alfredo sauce has butter, milk, cream, parmesan cheese (or other cheeses) and garlic in it. Major dairy overload! Bloated, icky feeling. It also does not have onion in it. However, I wanted to give my alfredo sauce that slightly, sweet richness typically reached by cream and butter, so I added cooked onions, lots of them.
Here’s a little side by side nutrition for my alfredo sauce in comparison to Olive Garden’s version:
Mine per 1/2 cup serving which is a hefty serving:
125.2 calories, 7 g fat, 5.6 g protein, 11.3 carbs
and Olive Garden’s: (they use heavy cream, milk, lots of cheese and 6 egg yolks, see here)
460 calories, 43 g fat!!, 9 carbs, 8 grams protein
Wow, what a difference! Hey, so it has a hair less carbs, but who cares when all of my ingredients are quality ingredients and not heavy on the heart. Nothing wrong with indulging occasionally, but you could eat my alfredo sauce weekly with much less guilt.
DOES IT REALLY TASTE LIKE ALFREDO?
I know what you are thinking….does it really taste like garlic alfredo sauce?? Well, my hubby said, “spot on” and then “it really tastes exactly like garlic alfredo sauce”. I was shocked. I’ll let you be the judge. I’d say it is pretty darn close, especially considering it doesn’t have any of the typical ingredients!
Regardless, it is delicious and very creamy and you can eat this alfredo sauce without tons of guilt.
Other Vegan Alfredo Recipes to try:
Sadly, this recipe is my MOST popular weekly and is continuing to be stolen and copied and posted by other sites/blogs without ANY credit. It is very upsetting, so please know that I worked hard to create this recipe years back and it is my original creation. If you like this recipe, please give credit where credit is due.
the Best Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 medium white onion, diced (200g) (MAKE SURE to measure out 1 1/2 cups b/c this is where lots of flavor comes)
- 1-2 cups (240-480g) low sodium vegetable broth, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 x-large (15g) minced garlic cloves
- 1/2 heaping cup (75g) raw unsalted cashews (see NOTE)
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (start with just 1 and taste after blended!)
- 2-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast (I highly recommend this Sari brand, it is non-fortified with much better taste.)
NOTE
- It is not recommended to sub or eliminate any of these ingredients, as I cannot vouch for the results if any are changed. The lemon juice is crucial, as it eliminates any cashew flavor.
NOTE
- If you are using raw cashews and 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.
Instructions
- Add the onion and ONLY 1 cup of the broth to a large pan over medium to medium-high heat. Cook for about 8 minutes until the onion is very tender. (Add a tiny bit more broth if it is cooking too fast or turn the heat down, so the onions don't burn) After 8 minutes, add the garlic and cook a couple of minutes more, stirring often. All of the broth should have evaporated by now. If not, keep letting it cook until the broth is GONE. You don't want any more liquid once it's done cooking, so the end result is thick and creamy.
Add the cooked veggies (the onion and garlic) to a blender. Start out by adding JUST 1/2 cup more of the remaining broth and add the remaining ingredients (salt, pepper, cashews, starting with JUST 1 tablespoon lemon juice, nutritional yeast-starting with just 2 tablespoons yeast). Blend on high for a couple of minutes until very creamy and smooth. Add any more broth to reach desired consistency, if necessary. I did not. If you don't add more broth, you would likely not need any more yeast. Taste and add any more salt & pepper or lemon, if desired.
- Serve over preferred pasta. Note: When preparing your pasta, make sure to salt your water well, so your pasta has flavor and isn't bland, which can affect the end flavor result of the dish. I add around a tablespoon to a large pot of boiling water. Garnish with parsley, lemon zest and salt & pepper, if desired. Add any veggies you like. I like to add broccoli or even peas. Store leftovers in the fridge. The sauce will thicken up even more overnight, which you can thin out a little with a touch of broth when reheating, if necessary.
Ok last comment I swear. I just saw and read your book is sold out everywhere. I literally searched within 100 miles of both mine and my best friends address in Pittsburgh. Good news though, I’m in Houston, so you can just release a smoke signal next time you need taste testing! lol
But seriously, that’s absolutely amazing. Huge kudos, congratulations & all the girl power juju and continued blessings to you!
Haha!! Thank you so much for your kind words Simone!
Hi there-
Just wanted to say THANKS FOR GIVING OUT YOUR RECIPE. This was my first time trying to do a vegan alfredo (my family recently went vegan) I loved this sauce, so did everyone else. So good!!
We loved it! My 15 year old son loves Alfredo but recently has discovered a dairy allergy. I tried this recipe, and he loves it! The flavors are wonderful. Thank you!
That is so wonderful to hear Casey, thank you so much for making it and letting me know! So happy your boy loves it!
Hi, I’m wondering why your Alfredo sauce is a creamy white and mine is a pale yellow color ?
Hi Paige! Mine is actually a very pale yellow, not actually white. But 2 things that can cause your alfredo to be more yellow, the broth you are using or the nutritional yeast. Some broths are very dark. The one I use is not much darker than water and some nutritional yeast are more dark in color.
Hi,
I love this recipe! We add spiralized zucchini
and a little pesto to the pasta for a little added flavor and
color.
Thank you!!
Oh my gosh, this tastes so good you can hardly tell it’s not “the real thing”. I tried this with brown rice fettuccine since I am gluten-free. Even with a low-power blender (came out a little chunkier) it is phenomenal. Thanks so much for sharing!
So wonderful to hear Jennifer, thank you!
I made this last week and my friend told me it was the best thing I’d ever made! I made the sauce start to finish in my Vitamix.I’ll be making this again soon. Thanks for a great recipe
Oh wow, that is so amazing to hear, thank you so much for the feedback!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It was delicious and I will definitely make it again.
So happy to hear that!
Does it have to be white onion? I think I only have sweet and I really don’t want to go back out to the store.
It may make the sauce sweeter but you can always try it.
We have just switched to dairy-free in the past few weeks- so we still remember what traditional garlic alfredo tastes like, ha- and both the man and the picky 6 year old gobbled this up. So good – followed it exactly as written (using the gram measurements) and it came out perfectly without needing a thing. Thank you for such an awesome recipe- this will be in our rotation from now on!
That is amazing to hear, what a testimony! Thank you so much for making it and sharing!!
If I use a vitamix, do I need to soak my cashews? I’m making it for a picky 3 year old and I’m afraid of it being gritty haha
Nope! I never soak when using my vitamix. Just blend until completely creamy!
I tried this tonight. It was good although, I have to add that I have a nut allergy and cannot use the cashews so I substituted with sunflower seeds. It tasted quite nutty, not bad, but didn’t have the Alfredo flavour I was looking for. I split batch and added tomato to make a rose but it was still quite nutty tasting. Next time I will try with raw pumpkin seeds. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Hi Leauna, yes, unfortunately sunflower seeds will not work well here instead of cashews. Cashews are very smooth and creamy tasting and sunflowers are way too strong in flavor. I have a nut-free alfredo sauce that I would try instead: https://thevegan8.com/nut-free-vegan-garlic-alfredo-sauce/
Awesome recipe! My daughter is vegan and I have a hard time finding vegan recipes that everyone likes. This was fantastic! Thank you!
Awesome, thank you Lee!
This is my second time making this sauce , it is amazing the flavor the texture sooo creamy , thank you so much 🥰
Hi,
My 11yr old son and I are trying to be more plant based in our diet and this was absolutely delicious!! I threw in some spinach as well…mmmmmmm!!
Can you freeze the sauce succesafully? Can you recommend a low carb alternative to pasta at all?
Thanks from stuffed and satisfied!!
So happy y’all loved it! Yes, you can freeze it definitely. Just thaw it overnight in fridge and reheat on low over the stove, not a high heat. You could try zucchini noodles for lower carb?
Made this last night. I also fried veggies like steamed broccoli, corn and green peas in some oil and mixed with this sauce. It was absolutely delicious. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Thanks Brandi for sharing this recipe. God bless you.
I made this tonight with broccoli and found it very satisfying. I did not have my usual after dinner cravings. 🙂
Awesome!
I was seriously licking this from the bowl! I’ve tried several vegan alfredo recipes and haven’t found one that I consider top notch, until I tried your recipe! The lemon zest gave it the perfect flavor to add to rhe creamy rich sauce. My non-vegan husband reslly enjoyed it as well! 😊
Yay, that is amazing to hear Kathrine!
Thank you for this really yummy recipe! It will be a regular dish in my house now!
I love it.
We’ve just been trying to go vegan for two weeks now. I’ve made quite a few meals that my family didn’t love. This was a winner for my 8 and 9 year old girls. Daddy hasn’t tried it yet but I would say this was my best vegan dish so far. Thanks so much for sharing! I followed the recipe exactly except I didn’t have raw cashews so I used roasted. Anyway it was great. I.look forward to trying more of your recipes.
That is so amazing to hear Jessica, thank you!
I am definitely going to make this! I made a vegan alfredo sauce a couple of years ago (before I became a vegan) that was really. I have been trying to find a good recipe since. Based on all the positive reviews, I have a very good feeling 🙂
I’m so excited to try this. I only have no salt added vegetable broth at home. Will it be the same or should I add more salt?
No, you will need to add more salt likely. So after blending, I would taste it and more salt if needed.
Yum!! This is the best vegan Alfredo I’ve tried. I’ve tried a couple with Coconut milk in them that I didn’t care for. The slow cooked onions and garlic add a great flavor! Served mine over spaghetti squash and broccoli. Mixed it all up and baked it for a bit. Hubby loves it too!!
I’m so very happy you all loved it Tracy and it was the best you’ve had, yay! Thanks for the review!
I am going to use your recipe for making a spaghetti squash casserole to go with dinner tonight! i have been dairy free for a year, along with mammal meat and by products, due to me contracting Alpha Gal allergy. Giving up mammal meat was not nearly as hard as giving up dairy. This recipe sounds so awesome. my husband has type 2 diabetes which he controls with a keto diet. This sauce is low enough in carbs that he can enjoy it too.
Thank you Brandi for the sauce recipe and you Tracy for the squash idea.
Robin
This is one of my FAVORITE vegan recipes I have found!!! What a treat! I used a half lemon and stuck to the minimums on the yeast and veggie broth. I think I used about 2 table spoons of garlic from a jar. I also sauteed up some portabella mushrooms because I had them on hand and needed to use them up. ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC! Thank you so much for posting!
Sounds incredible!!
This recipe is a family favorite! At my daughters request, we had this sauce for our vegan family Christmas gathering, served on whole wheat linguine with chicken-seasoned soy curls, peas, & sundried tomatoes. I tripled the recipe to assure enough sauce for a crowd & then had a bit left over that I used for a white pizza.
I wonder if leftover sauce could be frozen. Had anyone tried or does anyone have insight about freezing a cashew-based sauce?
So glad to hear that! Yes, you can freeze it! Just thaw it in the fridge and whisk or reblend and heat on low.
How much pasta is this amount of sauce for? Most recipes are based on 8oz pasta but I always use the full box (16oz) so I can have leftovers. Should the pasta and sauce be kept separate or can I throw it all together and refrigerate leftovers?
Hi Stephanie, this makes 2 cups sauce and how much you want on your pasta will vary person to person. It should be plenty for 16 oz. I, personally, would not combine the sauce with the pasta for storing. I never do that since it tends to dry out and dilute the flavor a bit. Also, again depending on how saucy somebody wants their pasta, storing them together I wouldn’t do. I always just store them separately and reheat and add as much sauce as desired.
Is it possible to double or triple the recipe then store in glass jars?
Yes you can try doubling it, but tripling it would be hard because that would be 6 cups of sauce and would be really hard to blend all that up. I’m assuming you mean jars to freeze.
How many serves is this?
Hi there, it is listed that it yields 2 cups of sauce, so it will just depend on how much sauce the individual likes to use on their pasta. I’d say easily 4 though.
This sauce is awesome, even better than classic Alfredo. My daughter is very sensitive to dairy and she loves this sauce…delicious and no stomach aches. Sometimes I add a can of fire roasted tomatoes to the blender. I was very happy to discover your blog and I look forward to trying many of your recipes.
This is insanely delicious! Not only that but my 14 yr old son who pretty much only eats meat and sugar loved it. Of course I only said it was homemade but didn’t tell anyone what was in it. Everyone gobbled it all up!
I am going to share a link also to this recipe in my weight watchers feed as it is a great healthy substitute.
Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe. I just found you and can’t wait to try more as I transition to a vegan lifestyle myself.
xo
I am so blown away!!! It is so creamy! I can’t believe it and my guests were so shocked when I revealed it was vegan. Thank you so much you’re brilliant !!
I wanted to add an extra “oomph” so I doubled the amount of garlic, and I added white miso paste to it! So extremely flavorful!
So happy you and your guests loved it so much! Yes, the cloves I use are always extremely large or if they aren’t that big, I always use extra and it’s always plenty garlicky!
Non-vegan here. I currently eat dairy and meat, but have been trying recipes to see if I can live without dairy. Well, I tried this recipe last night and it was a big hit! I fed it to 6 non-vegan eaters and we all had seconds! I had mine over zoodles and finished my whole plate (and I hate zoodles lol). It’s not quite alfredo, but is seriously good!
Yay, that is the best feedback, wow! Thank you April! Oh and yes, over zoodles will take away from the full alfredo experience, haha, but still tasty. Definitely try it over traditional pasta next time and it’s unbelievably filling and satisfying!
Hello!
Any ideas if you don’t like/can’t use fresh onion?
Would onion powder work or do you have any alternatives?
Thanks so much.
Yes, make this recipe instead! https://thevegan8.com/20-minute-vegan-alfredo/
Thank you for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it tonight on my non-vegan family.
An FYI: If you need to soak cashews, you can do so by adding enough boiling water to cover and soaking for 10 minutes. That way, you do not have to soak overnight.
Can I use an immersion blender with soaked cashews?
I really don’t think an immersion blender would get it totally creamy but you could always try it. Although a food processor would work better with soaked cashews. (If you have one)
Made this tonight for my family! Absolutely delicious!
When will your book be back in stock?
So great! You can actually place an order now on amazon to reserve your copy! Amazon is taking orders now and the distributor is in the process of printing thousands, so they’ve listed it will ship February or so, I don’t have an exact date.
We made this tonight and we love it! How can we make it less thick?
So glad to hear! Please read step 2, it addresses the broth amount, etc.
Wow, wow, wow! My wife and I are on day 5 of a plant-based diet experiment and I stumbled across this recipe. I followed it to the letter, and added sautéed mushrooms at the end when I tossed it in pasta. It was absolutely, positively delicious. As we ate it, we kept saying how fun it would be to fool our friends, who would never guess this recipe is NOT loaded with butter, cream and cheese. Bravo, it’s a new family favorite!
I made this today thtough the recommendation from a friend. Thus is incredible and I absolutely love this the flavor. Wowzers!!!
So wonderful to hear Shawn!!
I made it and did exactly what you said to do and it was fantastic. Thank you!