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.
Prior to going vegan, making vegan alfredo from scratch was one of my favorite meals to make. It’s always been a comfort food for me. This is the best vegan alfredo recipe I’ve ever had! It really is SO incredibly rich. My omnivorous husband said it was very delicious as well. 🙂 Very easy and quick to make, and it turned out perfect. I served it over fettuccine with pan roasted broccoli. I feel so grateful for this recipe.
Followed to the tee. I can confirm it is ‘spot on’!
This recipe was very good. I did not use onions (I have a sensitivity to them) but used leeks instead. Did a bit more cashews to get it creamy. Also next time would only use 3 garlic bulbs but again it’s probably because I didn’t use the onion. Thanks again!!
What kind of appliance are you using? Because this should be extremely creamy. If you aren’t using a powerful blender, then it won’t fully pulverize the nuts, which will affect the texture. Additionally, make sure you are following the step where it says to start out by only adding the 1/2 cup. It’s very thick/creamy at that point so only add as much broth as you desire to reach the consistency. And yes, leeks will taste very different than regular onion!
I’d like to clarify that olive garden alfredo does not contain eggs … lmao
Actually, yes, they do. My original link to their exact ingredients list above in the post when I wrote this post 7 years ago, included egg yolks. They may have changed their recipe and site since the original posting, but at the time of me posting this recipe, that’s how it was made. Regardless though, it’s definitely full of dairy and nowhere vegan, which is why I created this vegan version. 😃
This was delicious! It was so satisfying & flavorful. We added red pepper flakes to the onions & garlic and loved that it added a little punch. I’ll be making this again for sure.
I have made this several times and it is delicious. I have done it with all cashews, half cashews and half white beans, and all white beans. Obviously, the full cashew one is the richest, but the other two are also great, especially if you’re trying to lose some weight. Excellent over potatoes and roasted veggies, I have not tried it over pasta, but I’m sure it’s great.
That is so wonderful to hear, thank you for sharing Vicki!
I admit, I was skeptical. But WOW this sauce is amazing!!! It’s hard to believe it’s vegan. I had it for lunch over one-ingredient red lentil spaghetti, and I couldn’t be happier. I haven’t been vegan long, and I miss creamy sauces and dishes. This hit the spot!
NOTE: Anyone who hates, or is super sensitive to, onions may not like this. As stated, it’s the onions that really provide the power pack of flavor. The sauce doesn’t taste like onion sauce. The combination of ingredients creates a rich, creamy taste, and the nutritional yeast gives it that Alfredo flair. But if you really hate onions, then you will taste a bit of onion in the sauce and may not like it.
This was amazing and delicious with my vegan pasta! Will definitely come back to this recipe again and again!!
This was excellent! Thank you! Made exactly as instructed and was perfect consistency.
Absolutely YUM! I used some chicken stock that I had in my fridge to make it and a little extra garlic. I mean to use this on some salmon adding sun dried tomatoes. we’ll see how it goes. although, I could eat this with a spoon and be just as happy. I need to thank my mom for sending me this recipe!!
Yay, really glad to hear you loved it, thank you for the review Kyrsten!
All I can say is PHENOMENAL!!! Even my meat eater partner loved it. He’s still talking about it.
I used this recipe for the sauce on a pizza. It worked perfectly for my spinach, mushroom, and white sauce pizza!
amazing! i hardly ever type reviews, but my husband is saying, “you better tell her how awesome this is.”
That is so awesome to hear!!
This is really fantastic! I like it better than dairy-based Alfredo Sauce. I struggle with liking vegan cheese sauces because they either rely heavily on Tofu or nutritional yeast; this one has very little nutritional yeast, so it’s a perfect taste! Thank you so much for this recipe.
This was absolutely perfect! Even better than the milk and cheese alternative!
Yay, love to hear it!
This was unbelievable! First attempt at a vegan alfredo and the positive reviews on yours caught my eye… I’m glad I used your recipe first, I’ll never need another one!
Great Recipe! The whole family loved it
simply amazing
Thank you so much for this recipe. This is a favorite go-to weekday meal! So easy to make and the outcome is delicious. I tried something new this time because I had a jar of garlic confit that I made earlier this month. I threw the roasted garlic in the blender instead of sautéed garlic and it added this extra layer of nuttiness to the sauce. If you roast any garlic, save some for this recipe!
Wow this recipe looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
Just one question: can I replace the lemon with lime, as that is what’s available to me?
Thank you!
You can, just keep in mind lime is more sweet and less sour!
My husband and I have a long-standing joke about the history of my multiple attempts, each an utter failure, to make a good alfredo sauce. That ended today, because this recipe was so good he has already asked for it again. Thank-you so very much 🙂
That’s so wonderful to hear!!
My son just made this for our dinner. Loved it!! Will be a weekly favourite.
Can you freeze the sauce?
Thanks for your wonderful recipes 🙂
Wonderful! Yes, you can freeze it!
This really is the best! I use this recipe so often, and in all different ways. Thank you for it!
I didn’t use any broth cuz I didn’t have any, but it was absolutely delicious regardless. I could barely stop myself from eating. I also used my ninja blender for sauce for the first time and it was so incredibly smooth and creamy. I love it!!
Just made this sauce and its fantastic. I also love how it doesn’t need too many cashews, keeping it cheap! Thanks (: