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.
My family & I all agree that this is by far THE BEST alfredo sauce we’ve ever had. And it’s a testament to The Vegan 8’s recipes that have minimal ingredients yet are full of flavor! It was perfect for our Valentine’s Day dinner & will continue to be a staple at our table.
This is sooo sweet, thank you!!
I am looking forward to trying this tonight! Any idea how many Weight Watcher points this sauce is?
Hi! So sorry I don’t know anything about WW.
This recipe is amazing. I tried it because we eat a very plant based diet and our middle daughter is totally plant based. I made it first for my youngest daughters bday and they said it was the best Alfredo they had EVER eaten. My husband and I totally agree and for Christmas my middle daughter made it for my oldest daughter and husband and our granddaughter. They used spaghetti squash instead of wheat based linguine. Everyone loved it.
We are having it tonite for Valentines. I add two things. Some edamame and corn just because I like lots of veggies. We also have a side dish of homemade sauerkraut for most meals.
Happy Valentines. Look forward to trying more of your creations.
Annette
I’m so happy you loved it, thank you Annette! Sounds wonderful!
I have made this recipe many times and it’s always great! Thank you for such a delicious sauce!
That is awesome!
Can anybody tell me can you freeze this sauce
Yes! Just thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat on low.
Best Alfredo sauce ever!
New variation of this family fave that replaces the fresh onion and garlic with:
1.5 C of miso caramelized onions
1/8 t roasted garlic powder
Blend everything together adjusting nutritional yeast and lemon juice to taste. Can be used as is straight from the blender, but I prefer to heat over medium low and let the sauce sit about 15 minutes for the flavors to marry.
We always make a double batch of the original or miso versions. One to use and one to freeze. Fabulous recipe!
This recipe looks amazing. Can you use raw cashew butter instead of raw cashews?
Yes, just use the same gram weight amount, which equals to almost 5 tablespoons!
Woah!! Incredible recipe. My boyfriend loved this recipe so much and wants me to cook it every week haha 🙂 took no time at all to cook basically and tastes superb.
So happy to hear this Gaia!
When making anything new I always look at a few recipes to get the base ingredients. While I was thumbing through a magazine I came across vegan alfredo sauce. Interesting enough so here I am online looking to compare if you will. Cooking without oil? I have never done. I love the idea of simple. This is a master sauce and I will now make again. I am grateful that you like to be challenged. You are a savoir for someone such as myself.
Hello! I could not find raw cashews anywhere, I bought lightly salted whole cashews. What method do you suggest to make this recipe? Soak, or carry on as normal with a high powered blender? Thank you!
Just carry on as normal and don’t add salt. Blend and taste and add salt if needed.
This is absolutely the best alfredo sauce I’ve had. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. My family absolutely loves it. This recipe is sure to be a staple in our household.
Yayyyy Jerry!
Hi there! Making this for the second time. Amazing! One question: when doubling the recipe, do you need to double the broth that you cook the onions in? I feel as if I may be here all evening waiting for it all to evaporate 😅
Hi Lisa! I wouldn’t double the bright for cooking the onions, no!
Oh man, this is delicious! I couldn’t believe it was so easy. I’m definitely going to make this often with all sorts of veggies and grains or pastas. Wowza. Love it.
That is wonderful to hear Manda!
Not gonna lie I was skeptical about this. Vegan sauces just haven’t done it for me. But darn it, I made it. And I freaking loved it. Doubling the recipe next time!
My family and I have not had Alfredo in over 3yrs. This recipe is Amazing! My daughter uses it over pasta for quick dinner and this sauce was perfect for lasagna roll-ups! Cheers.
Excellent Sauce!
Delicious, perfect recipe!! I ended up using the entire two cups of vegetable stock and some reserved pasta water as well. So much more complex flavor than regular dairy alfredo.
Truly amazing!
I had no expectations for this recipe as this is my first time making any kind of sauce, but this is delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
When I first tried this, I didn’t soak the cashews, so the texture wasn’t the best, but the taste was so freaking gooooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!! 😩 You truly are the queen of food blogging.
I am so glad I found your recipe. I’ve tried others and yours has been the only one that has gotten requests for seconds! It’s very unique yet very simple with lots of good flavor. Thank you for sharing with us!
So flattered, thank you!
Thank you so much! It’s amazing, and definitely spot on!
I made this tonight! Only changes I made were I subbed the onion and garlic for a whole roasted onion and head of garlic. I also subbed citric acid for the lemon juice, only because that’s what I had on hand. Took 2-3 batches of blending since I used a a little Ninja blender but came out SO darn good! Topped with fresh basil, sun dried tomato and crushed red pepper! Better yet, there’s sauce left for another meal later this week!!
I can’t wait to try this – I’ve been craving a white sauce for pasta and pizza and this looks like it will be PERFECTO! Thank you for this recipe.
I made alfredo using this recipe. I followed this recipe exactly as stated. My sauce came out perfect. I loved it and so did my husband. It was quick and easy. Bravo! I will definitely make this again. Next time, I’ll take a picture.
Yay, lovely to hear Erica!