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
- 1/2-3/4 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)
- 1/2-1 tablespoon lemon juice (start with just 1/2 and taste after blended!)
- 2 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 1/2 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.
I’ve made this sauce several times and, as I’m soaking some cashews to make this again tonight, I just had to let you know how much we love it! I’ve been vegan for about 3 years now and the only thing I miss from my “carnivore” days is cheese. I was so thrilled to find this recipe because it doesn’t involve tofu or starches for thickening, like many others do. Those tend to taste a little “off” but this recipe is perfect. The last time I made it I used oven-roasted garlic cloves and WOW that was good. I love this as a pizza sauce and I’ve even used it as a smear on my grilled tomato sandwich. Heh.
Thanks so much for this recipe! It’s in my top 5 favorites. 🙂
We just made this last night and it was incredible. My husband was practically drinking the sauce!
We’ve tried a cauliflower Alfredo but this is definitely more like the real thing.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Haha! Drinking the sauce is a great sign! I’m so glad it was a hit. Thank you so much for letting me know!!
i made this tonight for dinner with chanterelles and zucchini, and roasted buternut squash/garlic over pasta. it was pure bliss. it was perfect. i don’t think i’ve ever had dairy-based garlic alfredo, but this was delish! and my mum said it was the beg veg. cheeze sauce she’s had :D. and she’s not vegan!
a tip for speedy cashew sprouting – add a dash of lemon juice and a pinch of salt when you let the cashew soak, and they will sprout rapidly (it mimics ideal sprouting conditions in soil! akaline + minerals!). usually my cashews soften like that in about an hour or two, and if i’m in a hurry, 30 minutes (i use a food processor to ‘cream them’ and it works well).
Wow, I’m so happy to hear that Nicole! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback, I really appreciate you letting me know!! So glad it was a hit!
Thanks for the great tips, I didn’t know that!! 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! I just made it tonight for my husband who is absolutely in no way a vegan, but it was a hit! He loved it. I forgot the parsley, but added sautéed mushrooms and sundried tomatoes, and soaked my cashews (even though I do own a Vitamix)…we will be having this alfredo sauce again 🙂
Wonderful Sharrae!! I’m so glad to hear even your husband loved it, that is so awesome! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Love this recipe. At the last minute I found out I didn’t have vegetable broth so I used pasta water to thin the sauce in the blender. It was so, so good! I’m sure it will taste even better with the veggie broth. I plan on using this as a base for many pasta dishes. Thanks for coming up with this wonderful recipe.
Thank you so much Kimberly for leaving such wonderful feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it so much!!
This was so good! I modified mine a big (added some tomatoes and carrots as well) and boiled the cashews beforehand. Delish. Thanks!!
That sounds fabulous with the tomatoes and carrots! Thank you so much for the feedback…so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this sauce last night to serve with our mungbean fettuccine and chickpea cutlets and it lent an excellent creamy texture and flavor to the dish. In the future I think I’ll add more spices and maybe some hot sauce or tamari to add just a bit more depth of flavor, but it was a very quick sauce that I whipped up in no time at all.
Only changes: quick soaked my cashews in hot water for just 20 minutes (I have a Vitamix), sauteed my onion and garlic in a teeny bit of olive oil + water when needed instead of broth. Also used half unsweetened plain almond milk + half veg broth for the blender portion. I must have added too much liquid because my sauce was VERY runny so I just added it back to a clean pot over low heat and stirred in a slurry of organic corn starch until it thickened up exactly how I wanted.
What did my family think of it? Well, there are almost no leftovers! 😉
Thanks, Brandi!
Hi Robin, thank you so much for the feedback! I’m so glad everybody loved it! Yes, definitely sounded like you added too much liquid because it should not be runny AT ALL. You are the first person to say that it was runny, so I would definitely make sure to double check the measurements next time because I make it almost weekly and it’s never runny, but nice and creamy/thick. 🙂 Also I would stick to just using the broth to both cook the veggies in and blend up because of all the flavor it has….almond milk has no flavor and will dilute the alfredo flavor. The end product is very flavorful and a strong garlic and slight “cheesiness” from the nutritional yeast. Regardless, I’m glad everybody loved it and thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It was super easy. The only thing I struggled with was the patience to wait for the broth to evaporate from the onions. I did end up adding a little onion powder and garlic powder to the sauce at the end and had to taste it a couple of times to get the salt level just right. Served it over brown rice spaghetti to which I’d added some beautiful asparagus tips and matchstick carrots. I am adding this to our rotation, so many possibilities!
Thank you so much Lisa for the wonderful feedback, so glad you enjoyed it! Haha, yes, that is really the only hard part…waiting for it to finish, although mine cooks in about 10 minutes, so not too long at all. If you like a really strong onion/garlic flavor, then certainly feel free to increase it! I find it just right for my taste, but it’s so easily adaptable. Thanks again 🙂
I used a fresh onion from my mother in law’s garden for this sauce. Wow. I soaked my cashews a couple hours and blended everything for about 7 minutes. It is so good I couldn’t stop liking my spatula! This is an amazing recipe for a unique sauce and I can’t wait to start trying your other recipes!!
Thank you so much Kayla! I love hearing feedback and yours brightened my day. I’m so happy you enjoyed it so much! Please come back and let me know how others turn out, it means the world to me to hear from my readers!
Made this tonight and everyone loved it. Super creamy and delicious. Added it to a primavera with quinoa pasta. The kids loved it – they’ve never had cheesy alfredo sauce but I have and this is so much better, if only for the reason that you don’t feel cruddy after eating it, but also because it is just so good. The teenagers wanted to know if it was easy to make so they could add it to their cooking rotation and I could happily say YES! So easy, so good. Thanks for posting this!
I am not sure how I found your recipe but I am so glad I happened upon it! I made this tonight and it was SO delicious! Thank you for sharing it, I will enjoy this many, many times.
Wonderful Helaine! Thank you so much for coming to leave feedback, I really appreciate it and I’m so glad you loved the recipe so much!
I just made this for the family tonight and they all loved it! Which is saying ALOT because my sister is a picky eater and my Dad is skeptical about anything meatless. I think I am slowly winning them over with my vegan cooking. Definitely will be making this again 🙂
That is so wonderful to hear Grace!! Yay! Thanks so much for making my recipe and coming back to leave feedback, that means so much to me!
I LOVE this sauce! I’ve made many varieties but this is the one! I like that it doesn’t have any added soy or almond milk. Except,( or and!) , I did it exactly as you the first time, the second time I got adventurous and added 1/2 of a roasted red pepper. Both exceptional. Thanks for this keeper!
Aww thanks Susan! So glad to hear this is “the one”!! Thank you so much for letting me know and I love the addition of the red pepper…sounds SO good!! I need to try that myself 🙂
This would be a great dipping sauce for artichokes!! I’ve made a couple different vegan alfredo sauces, but looking forward to trying yours 🙂
Oh goodness, that sounds fabulous to dip artichokes in!! I love artichokes! I hope you enjoy this as much as everybody else has, please let me know!
It was sooooooo good with artichokes! My hubby wouldn’t eat it because he doesn’t like nooch. I feel sorry for him, hehe. Had some for lunch today poured over roasted zuch, tomatoes and mushrooms. Love it!
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that….I definitely need to try that next time…thanks so much for the awesome idea! Yeah….too bad about the hubby not liking nooch…I am so obsessed with it, haha!
Delicious! Even my “meat and potatoes” husband loved it!
Awesome Sarah!! I love hearing that! Thanks so much for the feedback, made my day 🙂
Hello Brandi! This sauce was absolutely delicious! I stumbled upon your site while searching for vegan garlic cashew sauces and I’m so glad I did. I actually used this sauce to make a vegan pasta primavera and I’d like to report that it was truly amazing!! I used sliced mushrooms, sliced zucchini and julienned red peppers (sautéed separately in a bit of olive oil), but any favorite veggie combination will work. Everyone in my family loved it… it was as good as any of those butter and cream laden ones! We were all very happy. I was asked to please keep this recipe and make it often!! What more can I ask? Thanks, Brandi.
Elizabeth, your feedback made my day! Thank you so much for taking the time to come by and leave me such wonderful feedback, I always love hearing it and I really appreciate it. So glad everybody loved it and I agree, just as good as the dairy ones, but SO much healthier!! Thanks again!
I tried this one and loved it so much. Last week I tried you ceasar dressing and this week the alfredo sauce. I had the two for a complete, vegan and oil free dinner. I had a moderate serving of each and felt full and satisfied. I put alfredo sauce over wheat pasta. So yummy!!!!
Next I am going to venture into your desserts.
Wonderful Roxanne!! So glad you enjoyed both the Caesar salad and the garlic alfredo pasta so much! Such a great idea to combine the two! Have fun with the desserts, that’s where my true passion is..you should try the No Bake Nutella Bars, they are super popular. Let me know when you do…thanks again!!
I figured it out! I used 2 1/2 cups broth total because I doubled the recipe! So I guess I only used 1 1/4 total for 1 recipe. It doesn’t matter because it was delicious!!!! Yum! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Oh, awesome!! That makes sense! I’m so glad you loved it so much, thank you so much for making it and leaving feedback! 🙂
Hi there! Just wondering, you listed the Calorie and fat for this recipe, is this including the vegan butter ?
Thank you
Sherry
Hi Sherry! I didn’t include the vegan butter since I personally never use it, I only added it in case somebody wanted a more butter taste, but I don’t believe most people who have made this use it. However, if you want to add a tablespoon to it before you blend it up, the nutrition stats would change as follows per 1/2 cup serving: 145.2 calories, 9.2 g fat
Hope that helps and please let me know how it turns out, thank you!
Omg I found this recipe on Pinterest a couple months ago and I make it at least once a week! I just got a vitamix which makes it even better and more creamy. We are not vegan but just healthy eaters (most of the time) and my husband and I love this way more than traditional Alfredo sauce! Thank you so so so much for coming up with this recipe – it’s the best! I’ll make it for life
Thank you so much Robyn for such wonderful feedback!! I truly appreciate it and so glad to hear you and your husband enjoyed it BETTER than traditional alfredo sauce, yay! 🙂
Scrum-diddly-umptious! I doubled your recipe and jarred the other half for later. Later might just be tomorrow! I made this with yellow onion instead of white, because thats what i had…and it was fabulous!
Thank you so much Kacy! I’m super thrilled to hear how much you love it!