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.
Love this recipe (and every other recipe of yours…) but I am really not fond of nutritional yeast. Do you have recommendations for a nooch-less version? Thanks for all your hard work.
You can leave it out but the flavor will be more bland, you could probably add some vegan parmesan cheese or a little miso!
Love this sauce! Is there a way for you to add nutritional info per serving, and what constitutes one serving? Some nutritional info is in the text but there’s no information when one prints the recipe. I track all nutrition info (and like to share recipes) so this would be a big help.
Thanks
This recipe is amazing! I prefer it over Alfredo sauce made with cream, cheese and the likes. It fits into my plant based lifestyle. Thank you for sharing this recipe, my husband and I appreciate it.
So happy to hear this Peggie!
I cannot get enough of this sauce!!! It comes together quickly & so creamy & delicious. I put peas in mine to boost the protein factor.
I found this Garlic Alfredo sauce recipe to be easy and very tasty. It can be used with almost any pasta and veggies on hand. The saute’ing of the onions and garlic with broth makes all the difference.
I’ve tried many different recipes for pasta sauces and this one ranks at the top! Great job!
Delicious! Wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out first time because of “suggested” amounts. However except for adding more broth to the onions while cooking I basically used the minimum amounts you suggested. I can’t wait to take it to my son’s pepperoni/cheese pizza loving family pizza party. I bring my own toppings! While licking the spatula, I knew I would make it again and again. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! This alfredo sauce is delicious. I made the recipe exactly as written, right down to using a gram scale, and I didn’t find it needed any adjustments, for my taste buds anyway. I too found that it only needed half of the second cup of veggie broth. I see in the comments that you said it freezes and reheats very well too. That’s good to know because I usually batch cook, and I only got two 1-cup servings from the recipe. Now that I know it can be stored in the freezer, I’ll likely double or triple the batch next time I cook it.
Thanks for sharing this, Brandi. It’s a real treat. 🙂
I made this tonight and my non-vegan husband ate everything on his plate. I added chickpea linguine and steamed broccoli. Thanks for this recipe!
Absolutely AMAZING! Love, love, love this recipe! Thank you for sharing. I added a little white pepper as well, as my husband and I love that extra peppery kick. I served it with steamed broccoli, brussel sprouts, and sweet potato cubes over a bed of quinoa (not traditional alredo pairings, but simply astounding flavors together!). We also added some crushed red pepper flakes before serving. You have a gift for creating recipes! I will start searching for more dishes from you!
This is such a kind comment, thank you so much Freeda!!
I was so skeptical of this. But I got it all made and husband came over to smell it and he said, I don’t know how, but it smells like regular Alfredo sauce. It was so much better than I had thought it would be. Thank you!
That is wonderful to hear!!
So delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I actually forgot to add the nutritional yeast and it’s still delicious!!
Hi Brandi, I have made this 3 times now and just love it! I use it on almost everything. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I just sent it to my daughter.
That is amazing Anita, thank you for letting me know!
This sauce is so delicious and easy to make! I used fennel instead of onions and truffle oil instead of the garlic because of food intolerances to those original ingredients and it worked perfectly 🙂
Thank you for another great recipe!
I love this sauce!! I hate to cook and it’s sooooo easy. I’m also a picky eater and it’s delicious. I prepared it exactly as she said. I also kept 2 cups of the starchy water from my pasta to use for reheating. It brings the creaminess right back when I microwave it the next day.
My partner said this was one of the best meal I’ve ever made, and I totally agree. I was literally dancing when eating it. Had left overs, and we both ate it for breakfast this morning because we were so obsessed!
And truly enjoyed making it too. For sure about to become a staple for us.
Oh Sarah, your review made my day! Thank you so much for the incredible feedback!!
I love this recipe! I use it as a base for so many other tasty dinners! I usually do mushroom/broccoli roasted with a nutritional yeast tossed/roasted tofu in spaghetti squash bowls with it! Last night I did local, fresh asparagus roasted and fried mushrooms/frozen peas – tossed it all together with the tofu and spaghetti squash and it was by far the best spring version I have made to date. Thanks for creating and sharing this Brandi! <3
Unbelievably Mind Blowing! Made it over Zoodles. This is the first vegan recipe I’ve ever tried and I was very skeptical. Followed the recipe using soaked raw cashews and processed in Vitamix. Was perfect! Thank you Brandi
Very tasty. I added mushrooms afterwards. Thsnk you.
Absolutely delicious sauce! I’ve made it several times. 🤤😋
So happy you love it Diana!!
This is a staple for us! Just curious though, have you had success freezing and thawing batches of it?
Yes, it freezes great, just make sure to reheat on low or it’ll burn and get too thick!
Cant wait to make it but was wondering if i can use raw cashew butter instead of the whole cashews ? if i can what will be the measurements for it ?
Yes, sorry for the delay, just use the same gram weight amount!! Just make sure it is totally raw with no added oil, sugar or salt or it will ruin the flavor.
I used Hoosier Hill Farm’s nutritional yeast as that’s what I had available—I followed the rest of the recipe and added a little bit more lemon & salt. The nooch I used likely is why it’s not as close to Alfredo sauce as I’d expected, but It’s still an amazing sauce and I feel I prefer this over actual Alfredo!
I tried this recipe and absolutely loved it! I was craving creamy pasta and due to a dairy allergy I cannot do so.
WOW! I just made this, and even my husband liked it too! I’ve tried other vegan recipes, but none have tasted this great. Thank you so much for sharing your talent!!
Holy sauce this recipe is delicious! I’m allergic to dairy so alfredo has been missing from my life for YEARS until I found this sauce recipe. Even if I weren’t allergic to dairy, I’m not sure I’d ever go back. This version leaves me feeling so much lighter & more energized after eating than when I’d eat alfredo in the past. My “kitchen sink” (as in, he’ll eat anything but the kitchen sink) boyfriend loves it, too! For other non-vegan folkx, I added sautéed broccoli and pan-seared shrimp to the sauce, served over GF noodles. *Chef’s kiss*