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.
ive made this twice now, and it’s so delicious! what i do for an added cheesy taste is use about half of the nutritional yeast and half vegan parmesan (the vio-life parmesan wedge is the best in my opinion, but the follow your heart parmesan shaker is also very good). I use this to make fettuccine alfredo with mushrooms + spinach cooked in and it is unbelievably tasty. my friends who eat dairy love it. thank you!!
Wonderful alfredo sauce. Loved it!
Can this be made ahead of time?
yes!
Ummm, THIS IS THE BEST VEGAN ALFREDO SAUCE!!!
I didn’t have raw cashews, only roasted salted ones. But I thought, what the heck, I’ll still eat it if I have any issues with it. It was great! I added less salt because of the salt on the roasted cashews. I only have Braggs Nutritional Yeast and it worked great! Yum yum yum. I just kept tasting it because I was shocked at how good this creamy sauce was.
My husband, a chef, said it was as good if not better than a cheesy Alfredo. It was rich in flavor and the lemon juice added a brightness. He said to add it to the regular menu and he will gladly eat it. 💕 my teenager decided to put pesto on the noodles instead, but on second time around he had the Alfredo sauce and was very impressed.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!!!
This looks yummy! Quick question, I do have a high powered blender, are all of the ingredients blended together or are the cashews blended separate first? The side note threw me off so I didn’t know if I should blend it first or not.
Yes, blended all together! You will need to soak the cashews first if you don’t have a high powered blender.
This is the best Alfredo recipe I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for sharing it.
yay!!
I can’t wait to try this. I’ve purchased Raw Cashews for homemade sour cream. Now I think I will use this recipe.
So good! I make this all the time. Tonight, I subbed a bulb of roasted garlic for the onion & added steamed cauliflower; blended and used as a sauce for sweet potato gnocchi. Delicious
I’ve been making this for a few years now and is probably the one and only recipe I’ll ever review. This is my favorite vegan dish hands-down. I add some extra things to give mine some southern comfort vibes, but Def not needed. Level it up immediately by adding broccoli. I can’t recommend this enough. (Also in a pinch water totally works!)
Makes me so happy to hear, thank you!
I love this recipe and live by it. Have any of you tried it without the onion or been able to sub in anything else for the onion? I find myself without onions sometimes and craving this haha
Wow. I’ve tried so many “high rated” vegan recipes, but many times I am disappointed. This one is AMAZING. Creamy, tasty, guilt-free and SO EASY to make. I would NEVER go back to the traditional Alfredo sauce. Thank you so much for this recipe.
So happy you loved it, thank you for the review!!
This was really delicious and came together quickly. Definitely a keeper!
Any recommendations for veggie broth concentrate?
I’m not sure what you mean?
In your recipe what type of vegetable broth do you recommend?
Oh, sorry! I usually use the Pacific brand low-sodium.
Yum! Loved it! Put it over regular pasta, and added peas. Had mushrooms and TVP I added too. So good!
Made exactly to your specifications. Excellent!!!
Thank you.
Awesome!
Can you freeze? If so any blending required when thawed? How much pasta for the batch?
Yes, you can freeze. A good whisk over low heat on the stove should work fine!
Love, love love this recipe!! It was a big hit among my friends and family!! They said it was almost better than the dairy garlic alfredo recipes they’ve tasted.
So happy to hear that!
I wonder if this would work on pizza to replace tomato sauce
The first time I made this it was according to directions and it was wonderful. The second time I roasted the vegetables along with a little roasted zucchini. This recipe is awesome. Thank you!
Making this recipe for the second time this week. It is so amazing, I could just drink the sauce haha
I could live on it. Devine, thank you so much!!
I love this recipe so much that we eat it weekly! The only variation I make is a half of a teaspoon of Rosemary and a touch of Tumeric! I sometimes make with spinach wilted while mixing w/hot pasta or even sauteed peppers and onions on the side!
Found this recipe by accident. The minute I saw onions and garlic as the main ingredient for this sauce, my oh my…..I said to myself I MUST try this. Coz anything that involves “caramelizing” onions & garlic will always be super fragrant.
I just made this. I was not disappointed. Totally fell in love with this Alfredo sauce. This is going to be my to-go pasta sauce from now on.
Thank you soooo much Brandi.
This recipe needs more publicity. It is so good that non-vegans told me this is the best creamy sauce they EVER had! Thank you so much for your work 🙂
As for changes – I added 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and replaced lemon juice with (vegan) lactic acid – it makes for a very authentic taste.
Great and healthy recipe with moderate calories – the best I ever found 😀
Thank you so much for this recipe! It is perfect. My whole family enjoyed it.
I’m blown away. Well done friend.