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.
This turned out very well especially for how simple it was. Only complaint is it is a bit brother and sweet to me. I could use a different broth and I’m sure that would help but wondering about how to mute the sweetness from the onion?
You could add more lemon or some spices and garlic powder.
I triple this recipe every time I make. I freeze portions in a silicone muffin try and once frozen I pop them out and store in a freezer bag. They freeze well and reheat well. This is the best sauce ever!!
I’m so glad i found this recipe, have made it several times since discovering it. Was never even the biggest fan of ‘traditional’ alfredo/cream based sauces – and this is THE BOMB. I follow the recipe exactly, except I double it every time. Flavours are soo good, it’s company worthy even for non vegans. And I love that you don’t need to use oodles of cashews. 5 STARS. Thank you for this awesome recipe, Brandi – can’t wait to check out more of your stuff
So very happy to hear that Katie, thank you!
Do you soak the cashews first in hot water to soften?
Or just throw in blender as is?
I never soak because I have a Vitamix, but if you don’t have a powerful blender like a vitamix, then you definitely need to soak first.
LOVE this sauce! It is super flavorful and versatile. TY, I have sent many people your way through this copied and pasted link. I WANT you to have credit that is so well deserved! THANK YOU!!!
Yay! Appreciate it!
I love this Alfredo recipe so easy to make. I will make it again.I also added Broccoli to it.
So happy to hear that!
Wow!!! So impressed with this recipe and already craving it again. Thank you so much!
I’m sorry that people do that to you. Rest assured that many of us will share your entire link not copy the recipe and claim it as our own. We appreciate the work that you put into the vegan lifestyle and are grateful that you shared it with us.
I appreciate that so much Virginia!
Can I use a bag of powdered cashews
I believe so, as long as you use the same gram weights listed!
So I did what you said not to do and substituted the cashews. Unfortunately, I’m very allergic to them (insert lots of sobbing and disbelief here). I used raw, unsalted sunflower seeds instead. It came out great! It may not be comparable to cashews (I wouldn’t know…sigh) but my husband and I loved it! Thanks for the recipe.
So wonderful to hear!!
I love giving credit where credit is due and this recipe deserves it! As a newby to vegan cooking, I didn’t have or know anything about nutritional yeast or cooking with cashews but lemme tell you..it is really unbelievably good! I am a forever fan thevegan8!
Awww so glad to read this, thank you Brooke!
I’ve missed alfredo for SOOO LONG!!!!!! We aren’t vegan, but we I cook dairy and egg free (and mostly gluten free) due to food sensitivities so I find myself looking for vegan recipes often and then adding our meats. I LOVE alfredo. So much, that sometimes I would order it when we went out, knowing I would have a host of issues for the day to week following. I couldn’t even tell this didn’t have dairy or egg in it, which I find incredible!!
For any others in my situation, we made chicken broccoli alfredo with this using a Costco rotisserie chicken and some steamed broccoli and my VERY picky, dairy eating, egg eating, alfredo-loving husband said it was good. I found that adding the juice from the rotisserie pan to the sauce helped to add a little more fat, which made it more creamy–obviously it affected the taste as well– but I’d highly recommend that as well if you’re a meat-eating person. I cannot recommend this recipe highly enough. I’ve missed alfredo for SOOO LONG!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Excited to try this and I LOVE that you can freeze it. But what’s the deal with nutritional yeast…I know nothing about it. How does it affect the sauce if it’s not used?
Nutritional yeast adds a cheesiness and a lot of deep flavor to the alfredo. It doesn’t taste good on it’s own, but it enriches sauces. It’s kind of like a parmesan flavor, so it works here. I’ve linked to the one I use. They do sell it in grocery stores, but it’s usually fortified with vitamins, which doesn’t taste as good as the one I’ve linked. You can try skipping it and using a parmesan cheese instead if you like! It will taste different without it, more sweet, less alfredo-like, but still good. You just may need to up the seasoning.
I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times and love it! I had some leftover roasted sweet potatoes that I needed to use so I just added them in and OMG it’s delicious! I can’t wait for my boys to get home for dinner 🙂
Oh that sounds delicious!!
Made tonight and haven’t even made the pasta and my mind is blown!!! This is delicious nothing more is need to be said follow directions exactly!!!!!
Woohoo!!
Am sorry. New to this. How to make vegetable broth as you have mentioned here?
Hi! I don’t make my own broth. I buy it from the store.
This was super delightful! I followed the recipe exactly, except I added a bit more lemon juice to cut the richness/sweetness of the sauce. I served it with chickapea pasta shells and added some peas and parsley. I’ll be making this again! Thanks!
One question. I have a family member that has an aversion to citrus. It’s not that she can’t eat lemon, she just doesn’t like it. Does this taste lemony?
Just start out with 1/2 tablespoon and you shouldn’t taste it. You can always add more. it just helps to enrich the flavor and hide any cashew flavor!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it tonight and was amazed! It was so creamy, so delicious and easy to make. I served it over linguine with sautéed mushrooms, spinach and diced sun-dried tomatoes. I will definitely be making this again and will recommend it to friends and family.
Woohoo!!
So yummy! I had some extra cashew cream, so I used it for this sauce. So easy and delicious. Will definitely make it again.
I was looking for an oil-free, vegan alfredo sauce. This came up first in the search – lucky me!
Really delicious, and pretty easy.
Fettuccini Alfredo is my favorite pasta, but I’ve been having increasing difficulty eating dairy, and I was hoping this would be a good alternative. I did end up adding a LOT more salt than the recipe called for, along with some basil and oregano, and it was delicious!
This was amazing!! I had been craving fettuccine alfredo for so long, but can’t have dairy. I was apprehensive of all the vegan recipes out there because of the “unique” ingredients, but finally bit the bullet and tried this one. The kids had no clue what was in it (shhh!), and ate every bite… and I savored every creamy bit of it! THANK YOU!!
Thank you so much for creating this amazing recipe. This was my first vegan sauce. I love it and the picky eaters in my family also love it.
Have made this many times and it always delivers. Even my none vegan friends and family love it. Super easy and quick to make. Best with zucchini fresh out of the garden.
Amazing recipe! I’ve used this over and over again over the past year!
I’m wondering, can I freeze the sauce for later use?
Tess
Yes! Just thaw overnight and reblend if needed.