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 have used this recipe so many times over the past couple of years- it is amazing. On pasta, veggies, vegan stuffed shells or ravioli, even spread on toast or sandwhiches… sometimes i dress it up a bit by adding some pine nuts, miyokos mozzarella, a dash of truffle oil or seasoning- i love it and just wanted to express a little gratitude now that i am back on this page for like the 20th or 30th time so i can have it over some almond ricotta tortellini and fresh spinach tonight 😋
That is so wonderful to hear Amanda, thank you so much for sharing!!
Love this sauce! So glad I found this recipe. I’m sensitive to fresh garlic though. Any idea how much garlic powder to replace the fresh garlic?
Hi Birtha! I would start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more to taste. Garlic powder is very potent and can be bitter, so add a little at a time!
Best vegan alfredo sauce for sure!
The cook time for the onions/garlic is 20 minutes for me. Just keep in mind it may take longer to cook out all the liquids.
Ummm, amazing!! I sauté the onion and garlic in vegan butter, and then added half a cup of the broth and let it cook down. Otherwise followed it exactly.
Sounds delicious!
I love this recipe and I have made it over and over again with perfect results. However I made it today, exactly according to recipe, the only difference being I made it at my daughter-in-laws,s and she has the Ninja blender. I soaked my cashews as alway although I apparently didn’t have to. It is gritty and not smooth as other times, I can’t figure why, the high powered blender should have made it better. I just curious why this happened.
Hi! I don’t own a ninja, but a Vitamix, but I’ve heard others having issues with the ninja getting it smooth enough.
I have a Ninja- they can be 500, 700 and 900 or 1000 watts. I think that may make a difference. Mine is 1000 watts and was extremely creamy.
Tried this tonight and I was absolutely blown away. My bf blind tested the sauce and he said the consistency and taste was amazing! Do you happen to have the macros/nutritional facts for this recipe?
So happy it was a hit Stephanie! Yes, it yields about 2 cups sauce, depending on how much broth you used, but if based on 4 servings (1/2 cup sauce each) it would be 145 calories, 5g protein, 13.8 carbs, 8.9g fat, 395mg sodium, 2.2g fiber, 3.4g sugar. This of course is based only on the sauce, so you would have to add whatever pasta you used.
Really yummy!
I made this tonight and wow, it was delish!
Added steamed broccoli and it was the best.
Definitely better than milk based or cauliflower Alfredo.
So very happy you loved it Teresa, thank you!
So yummy. I’ve made it twice now in less than a week and added a nice sized dash of paprika on the second one and omg so satisfying. Add frozen veggies, frozen spinach and mushrooms with favourite pasta then BOOM a bowl of proper comfort food. Thank you for an easy yet impressive recipe, my meat eating husband even enjoyed.
I do not usually comment on recipes. But, this is fabulous. We added mushrooms to sell it to my husband, but he is scraping his plate. Thank you so much.
I made this for my friends tonight and we loved it. It was very easy and my Ninja processor did fine with unsoaked cashews. I will be doing more oil-free in the future.
My husband has made this recipe many times, and we always eat it all up in one sitting. He adds sautéed red pepper, carrots, peas, and mushrooms to make it a primavera. It’s so delicious!
Sounds amazing!
This recipe is a regular in our house!! It’s my husband & kids favorite (we’re plant based) and is always a hit with meat eaters as well! Thank you so much for sharing!! Have you tried to freeze leftover sauce? Sometimes we have leftover sauce and would love to save for later. TIA!
Sorry I missed this Catherine! That is amazing! Yes, you can freeze it, just reheat it on very low so it doesn’t get too thick.
I found your recipe last year in December. I made it for my youngest daughters birthday and her amd her husband said it was the best Alfredo sauce they had ever had I agreed so past the recipe on to my other daughters who were spending Christmas together and they also raved about it. One of them eats plant based where the others love their animal products. I made shrimp , scallops and salmon to accompany it and added veggies to the dish. I have to have my veggies.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. We will be celebrating our family Christmas this weekend and it will be our first family meal.
So happy to hear this Annette!!
Loved it!
How far ahead of time can this be made?
Do you mean hours or days advance? It’s best fresh but if you make it early, reheat on low. Reheating will make it thicken easily so don’t overcook it.
This Alfredo sauce is absolutely delicious! There’s a wonderful depth of flavor to it that I haven’t found in other vegan Alfredo sauce recipes. Thank you for creating a great recipe!
Aww so happy to hear that!
I make this at least once a week! Love it!
Wow so good thank you, I am looking forward to do it again!
Does it matter if the cashews are roasted or not?
I recommend raw for the best flavor!
This is absolutely my families FAV!! We’ve used leftover sauce on pizza. I’m dreaming of white vegetable lasagne. Anyone try to freeze the sauce? I like to make lots it’s soooo good!
This is the best vegan Alfredo hands down. It tops traditional Alfredo sauce . My husband loves it. Bravo, Brandi and thank you!
Yay thank you so much Victoria!
Would recommend making! I didn’t soak my cashews overnight but instead boiled them in the stock, this made them very soft and tender. I started by blending everything in my food processor and finished it off with my emulsion blender wand. That really did the trick to get it extra creamy
This sauce is a game changer.! I make a double batch of this every week. I use 1/2 cup of white beans and 1/2 of raw cashews. That brings the fat down per tablespoon since I try to eat low-fat. This sauce helps me stay on track. I would eat low-fat wfpb at bfast and lunch, then fall off the wagon at dinner. Now I look forward to eating this. Knowing I have this yummy sauce to drizzle on potatoes and greens keeps me on track.
Even my picky husband liked it!
Can this be frozen? Or, will that make it clumpy…
Wow!!! I had given up on ever making a delicious vegan Alfredo after multiple attempts with other recipes that just didn’t quite hit my craving…. Figured I’ll try a new recipe one last time, and I’m so glad I did!! Make this now!! I followed to a T except didn’t have any nutritional yeast on hand so used vegan parm flakes sprinkled in (go veggie brand) and used about 10 regular sized garlic gloves. I also used the low end of all recommended spices. Great recipe and thank you so much!!
Woohoo so happy to hear this Jessica!