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.
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I prepared out this evening and my nonvegan boyfriend served himself seconds!! I plan to make it again but add the sauce to a plate of vegan nachos. Thanks again
Oh that sounds awesome on nachos!! Thank you so much for the feedback Eva, I’m so happy you and your non-vegan boyfriend loved it so much, that is wonderful!
This was amazing! My husband continues to be amazed with the vegan recipes I’ve been making. I have quite a bit leftover. Do you think it could be frozen?
Thank you for this great recipe!!
I’m so sorry I just saw this comment Barbara! Yes, I think freezing would be just fine. I haven’t tried it, but there are no weird ingredients in it that I haven’t frozen before, so I think it should be fine. Again, so sorry for the late response…I get so many that sometimes they slip through the cracks. So glad you both loved this!
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I’m eating this recipe over lentil pasta spirals while I post. My wife and three kids loved it! A grand slam that satisfied even the pickiest of eaters – my 2 year old daughter and 5 year old son!
So wonderful to hear Lindsay! Thank you so much! So glad to hear it’s a hit! Thanks for the feedback!
This is so many times my go to dish on Sundays, especially when I know that the first part of me week is going to be crazy. But this has also become one of my new comfort foods. I can’t get over just how close it does taste to real deal and sooo much better for me. Thank you for all your yummy dishes!
Are you on Instagram by chance?
Hi Kim! Thank you so much for such wonderful feedback, I really love hearing it and appreciate it so much! Yes, I’m on Instagram under “thevegan8”! 🙂
Brandi, I’ve been posting your recipes on my IG (@fullyc0nsciousliving) for the past week- so far I’ve tried 5 that have been absolute hits. This garlic alfredo is #2 on my fave list (#1 was the chickpea sweet potato soup!) it was absolutely creamy, and punchful of garlicky flavour! Loved it!
Wow, Michelle! Thank you so much for this awesome feedback! I’m so happy that all five recipes you’ve tried have been such hits and I apologize for just seeing this feedback…I’m in awe that the chickpea soup beat the alfredo sauce, lol! But I absolutely LOVE that soup myself and it’s probably my favorite! Thanks again!
Thanks so much!! I’ll try it asap 🙂
Hi. The recipe sounds amazing and I definitely wanna try it, but I have a bit of a problem with the whole cup thing. I’m from Austria and here we measure everything in grams and ml. Could you probably tell me the conversion “sizes”? For example especiall with the yeast. I have no idea how much that’s supposed to be..
Hi Valerie! I just updated the recipe with the ingredients to grams and mL, hope that helps now! Let me know after you try it! Thank you!
this is a fantastic recipe. just made it for my wife and I; I think I had a little too much broth because I don’t often measure things out exactly, but a little flour made it the perfect consitency, and it totally tasted like the real deal
Thank you so much Brent! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe so much, thank you so much for the feedback!!
Help! I just made this and all I taste is a yeasty thick sauce. I used 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tbsp of nutritional yeast and blended it in the vitamix with everything else. The consistency is good but it really just tastes like yeast to me. I’ve squeezed in a while lemon and added more salt and pepper but still overwhelmingly taste the yeast.
Did I miss a step?
Hi Samuel! Yes, definitely sounds like you missed something, you shouldn’t be tasting just yeast at all. There’s a 100 plus reviews above all with success and nobody has said anything about tasting yeast. When I make it, I don’t even notice the nutritional yeast taste…did you by chance use brewers yeast?? Double check the ingredients…did you leave something out? It’s really hard for me to tell you what happened without being there to troubleshoot…the only thing I can think is you used the wrong yeast.
Used this recipe as the starting point for a very yummy dinner. I added spinach to my portion and my husband had his straight. Definitely have to try this on pizza next. So good.
Awesome Jess, thank you so much! So glad to hear it was a hit and spinach sounds like a wonderful addition!
Made this for dinner tonight. I added peas and “fried” tofurkey slices chopped up to mimic a carbonara. The whole family loved it!! I will admit that I never really liked traditional alfredo, so I was nervous I wouldn’t like this either (hubby loves alfredo though, so wanted to make it for him), but I thought it was great! Therefore, in my opinion, this doesn’t taste “exactly like garlic alfredo sauce”…it’s BETTER!
Thank you so much Jenn for such wonderful feedback!! I’m so happy your whole family loved it, that makes me super happy!! 🙂
I’ve been making this for like over a year now and I still love it sooooooooo much. I do make a few subs (almond milk instead of veg broth) and I add miso (lots of extra flavor depth!) but however you make it, it is amazing. Every dairy loving, meat eating person who has tried this LOVES it. Thank you so much for posting this 🙂 I make this all the time and take it for lunch at work.
Wonderful Kal! I’m so happy to hear you love this sauce so much! Miso sounds great! I wanted to keep this recipe as simple as possible for readers, but miso I’ll definitely try sometime! The veggie broth does add a depth of flavor and saltiness but I’ll try the miso sometimes too, thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Weird. Olive Garden alfredo sauce they make in the restaurant does not have egg yolks in it.
Hmmm, it’s right here on the Olive Garden website, 6 egg yolks. Maybe they’ve changed? Hopefully!
Any substitutes for nutritional yeast that is not parmesan? I can’t find it at all where I live.
Hi there! So sorry I’m just seeing this comment, it just came through for some odd reason…anyways, there isn’t really a substitute for nutritional yeast unfortunately. It is just one of those ingredients that can’t be mimicked. My best suggestion would be to try and replace it with another salty/nutty flavor since that is what nutritional yeast provides. I would try adding a bit of soy sauce and/or worcestershire sauce (Whole Foods sells a vegan one) and maybe a tiny amount of tahini. It’s not going to have the same exact flavor, but you can do your best to adjust and taste as you go.
Found your site yesterday, started with this recipe and couldn’t be happier! I wish I had found your site a year ago! Our 15 yo daughter is a vegetarian, wanting to move more to a vegan diet, and we want to support her as well as provide nutritious meals for her. It’s been very challenging learning a new way to cook, overwhelming at times, with long lists of unfamiliar ingredients. Your approach to 8 or less ingredients is fantastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You are so sweet Kristi, thank you so much for your kind words!! I’m so happy you love the site and recipe, thank you!
I am so grateful for this delicious recipe. I am a lifetime vegetarian who was recently diagnosed as severely intolerant of gluten, dairy and soy. I’m learning a new way of cooking and eating. Cashews and nutritional yeast are high on the list. And this yummy, creamy sauce will becme a satifying staple in my diet.
That is so wonderful Kerry! I’m so happy to hear you loved this recipe so much!
well I was skeptical especially when i’ve never used nutritional yeast and I’m new to cashews but I must say I was very impressed with the outcome. I was always huge fan of real Alfredo sauce but this was really good. mine wasn’t vegan as I used chicken broth but still delicious thank you so much for the recipe!
I’m so happy you loved it so much and it surprised you in a good way! Thank you so much for the feedback, I truly appreciate it!
Omg! I just made this Alfredo and it is AWESOME!! We put ours over blanched zucchini….yum-oh!! My uncle said he could just eat a bowl of this stuff. Thank you!
Delish!! Made this for my family last night and they really liked it…which is saying a lot because my husband doesn’t “believe in my veganism” and “thinks its stupid” ….his words, even tho I’ve lost 100 lbs on this lifestyle. I’m never going back!!! Bit it has made it very hard to afford to be vegan when we have two different grocery lists. Recipes like this will help my wallet, and help me get my family healthier without them freaking out that they are giving up “real” food lol I’m so grateful for your recipes and this one was a winner for us! Thank you for an awesome recipe, it was awesome and we will definitely be eating this again!! >3
This sounds perfect! I hope to make it for my boyfriend for his birthday dinner. Would it be ok to make the sauce the night before and add it to pasta the next day? Also, would this work ok with regular broth (instead of low sodium?) I have Better than Bouillon Vegetable now but if not what kind/brand would you recommend?
Thanks so much for the recipe and sorry for all the questions!
Hi! Yes, absolutely, you can make it the night before. It will thicken up some in the fridge overnight because of the cashews, but you could always add just a tad more broth to thin it out if necessary. Yes, regular broth should work as well, just decrease the salt and taste it and adjust if necessary. Please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Is is necessary to use whole cashews, could you use pieces instead?
Hi Paulette! Cashew pieces should be fine, if you have a scale, just make sure to use the correct weight amount, so you get the right consistency. Since the pieces are smaller, more will fill up the cup and might make it extra thick, so you may need to increase the broth or spices slightly. Let me know how it turns out!