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 husband and son have Not enjoyed my transition to plant based eating – until I found your website recently and made this dish. We all LOVE it!!! They have requested I make this weekly since I first tried it s month ago. THANK YOU! I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Yay! That is awesome to hear Kim, so so wonderful to hear that your whole family loves it, thank you for letting me know!
Brandi, you are a genius. This sauce is incredible. I also made your cinnamon sweet potato muffins this week with the sweet potato caramel, and was blown away. THANK YOU for your recipes. I feel like a whole new world of vegan cooking has opened up. Sincerely, thanks!
Casey, your comment truly made my day, it means so much to hear from my readers! I’m so happy you love this sauce and the muffins so much! What a compliment, so glad you are loving vegan cooking such much now! 🙂
Hey I was just wondering if there is a substitute for the Lemon Juice. I can’t have citrus but the rest of the recipe sounds wonderful!!
Hi Katie! Yes, you can use apple cider vinegar, but I would start with 2 teaspoons and taste it and add more if necessary.
I just made the garlic alfredo sauce tonight and was very disappointed. It was creamy and all that, but the recipe I think called for a tablespoon of lemon juice which just dominated the flavor making it taste like lemon sauce. I tried to fix it by adding more salt and pepper, more broth, etc. but I could not get rid of the overpowering lemon flavor. I will try making it again, but not use lemon or at least not a tablespoon.
Hi Deborah! Wow, that’s very odd, out of over 200 feedbacks, you are the first person to ever say that, and I make this nearly weekly and it’s not overpowering at all in lemon flavor, because 1 tablespoon isn’t much at all. Are you sure you added enough of the broth, it’s nearly impossible for the lemon juice to be too strong with all of the broth that is in this sauce. In fact, the lemon juice is only there to hide the cashew flavor. But if you are extra sensitive to lemon juice, then definitely leave it out, just keep in mind you may taste the cashews then.
I doubled the recipe, but still only used a tablespoon of the lemon juice. If I had had more cashews, I could have fixed it but I didn’t. I saw all the feedback so don’t know why mine came out so lemony. It would have been good if I was making shrimp scampi, but being a vegan of course I don’t cook with shellfish. I will try it again and first leave out the lemon and see how it tastes. Then add it only sparingly if I need to.
Ahhhh ok, that is likely why then because there wasn’t enough cashews for enough body to absorb the flavor. You shouldn’t taste lemon at all, so definitely try it again 🙂 Or, also, this one, my 20 minute Alfredo is probably my #1 recipe right now with readers and it doesn’t use lemon juice and is my personal favorite. So, maybe try that one instead, definitely no lemon flavor 🙂
https://thevegan8.com/2015/11/09/20-minute-vegan-alfredo/
well, now I can’t find my comment to reply to your reply.
This was a really good recipe! However one thing that threw me off was the color. By the pictures, the sauce looks white, however it ends up being an orange color because of the nutritional yeast and veggie broth. With the ingredients to make this, I have no idea how the picture have it as a cream / white coloe
Also I followed the instructions really, really closely and used boxed veggie broth
Hi Beckah! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Ok, that is due to the brand of veggie broth of yeast you used. I used a Trader Joe’s veggie broth one time and it turned my sauce completely orange! Some broths or veggie stocks are much darker than others. Is your broth a clear-ish color or is it pretty colored and orange? That is how you will know. I’ve only ever had that happen with the Trader Joe’s brand. Also, some nutritional yeasts are much more orange then others, which will also affect the color. I use this one by Sari Foods…it is lighter in color, has a much better milder taste and isn’t fortified with synthetic vitamins, so it is a much healthier choice too. Hope this helps! http://amzn.to/1WcXL9U
Brandi,
This sauce is astonishing! There simply aren’t enough accolades to do it justice. I had never understood why people found Alfredo sauce to be that exciting; however this one is blender-licking good. Not only did I try to get every bit out of the Vitamix, had I been alone in the kitchen, I would have been tempted to lick up the few drops that spilled on the counter.
I did have sufficient willpower to stash away enough for tomorrow’s pizza…
Haha, I love this feedback Molly! It made me laugh too! I’m so happy to hear you loved it so much, thank you so much for the feedback!
Tried recipe and was good- BUT I don’t like how you refer to dairy and eggs as unhealthy. If you use good quality dairy and eggs, you’ll feel full on less food. Also, the whole heart healthy thing- the study about which fats were bad for you accidentally grouped saturated and Trans fats together, two totally different fats, one natural one artificial. Same with meats. So the next time you say that animal products are unhealthy…we used to eat lots of them before we (america) became very obese
Hi Lucy, thanks for trying the recipe! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
There are many opinions out there, but for me, I 100% believe animal products are unhealthy, which is why I run a vegan blog, it’s the whole reason I started it. My husband used to live on crutches from severe gout because of the inflammatory effects of meats and dairy (he is now off crutches and med-free). They cause acidity in the body, raise cholesterol and throw off the alkalinity in the body. It isn’t just my opinion, it is what many plant-based doctors have proven through numerous plant-based studies and reversing heart disease, among many others by switching to a plant-based diet. You can find out much more info from Forks Over Knives, just for starters. But the best way to share why we choose to live this way is all laid out here in my story. You will understand more why I say (and believe) why they are unhealthy. Our lives improved drastically when we cut them out.
https://thevegan8.com/2014/09/08/how-my-life-has-changed-since-going-vegan/
I made this tonight and it was perfect!!! Even with a $15.00 blender 🙂 Key point to remember, soak your cashews. My children couldnt tell that it was made with cashews. Thanks for posting this recipe.
So happy to hear that Sonya! Even better when it’s a hit with the kiddos, thank you so much for the feedback!
I’ve been on a whole foods-plant based diet for 30 days now, and while there are a lot of plant based (vegan, etc) recipes online, very few are low oil, so thank you for this site! I made this sauce as written, with the exception of adding a bit more salt. I ended up soaking my cashews for over 24 hours (due to procrastination), and the end result is VERY tasty!
Awesome Betsy!! I’m so happy you loved this recipe so much and yes, you will find all oil-free recipes here 🙂 Thank you so much for the feedback!
I came across this recipe while searching for a vegan alfredo sauce and must say it was truly delicious! I love mushrooms so fried up a few on the side and added them with the pasta at the end. Thank you for such a great recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it Linda, thank you so much for the feedback and for making it!
Wonderful. Made this at Christmas,soaked the cashews and powered through with a Magic Bullet and it was great. Just made it tonight with my new Vitamix…so much easier. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy to hear that Dorothy! The vitamix is pretty amazing, huh?! So glad you love this recipe, thank you for the feedback!
What is the difference between vegetable stock vs broth, and would it be ok to use stock? Also what do you mean when u say “separated”?
Made your creamy red pepper sauce and it was delicious, so looking forward to this one!
Hi Louise! Yes, you could use either! I think stock is a bit thicker, but either should be just fine. Separated just means that you are adding broth at separate times during the recipe, but I have noted exactly how much you need to add and when in the directions, so you won’t have any trouble 🙂
Brilliant, thank you!
Delicious! Made this tonight and I am sooooo keeping this recipe for any time I want Alfredo again. I had soaked cashews left over from a lemon dessert I made and decided to use them for dinner. I was hesitant because it’s the first time I’ve seen your blog, but I thought, the worst that could happen is it won’t taste good. So I went for it and I was not disappointed. Seriously, will not make another Alfredo sauce again. Fast, easy, healthy, and delicious! And true the name!
So wonderful to hear Rita, thank you so much for the awesome feedback, I’m so appreciative!
I made this tonight and it was heavenly! I have tried your 20 minute alfredo as well which was fantastic however I liked this one even more. It was amazing! I will be making it again tomorrow as I am already craving more and it will definitely be one of our weekly recipes. It was approved by my toddler daughters and husband as well and let me tell you, they are a picky crowd haha!
SO wonderful to hear Nicole, thank you so much for such amazing feedback!!
I’m excited to try this recipe, it looks delicious! Would raw cashew butter work instead of whole cashews?
That should work fine, I would use 1/4 cup cashew butter 🙂
Or you can make this one instead, it’s only 20 minutes and is made with cashew butter and I like it even more! https://thevegan8.com/2015/11/09/20-minute-vegan-alfredo/
Hey Brandi!
I’m eager to try this recipe but I just saw in the comments that you wouldn’t recommend using a food processor for it. My sister borrowed my magic bullet so I’m not sure what else to make it with- what would you suggest? I’ve used my processor for vegan cheesecake recipes that called for soaked cashews, but perhaps that would achieve too thick a consistency for this one?
Thanks in advance!
Fiona
If you soak them first overnight and drain them, then it should totally work in a food processor! Just keep running it until it’s totally smooth. It should work fine then 🙂
True confession: I’m not vegan, or even vegetarian, but I wanted to recreate a healthier and less heavy version of my grandpa’s famous fettuccine Alfredo with peas & ham. I made this sauce using roasted & lightly salted cashews from Trader Joe’s, because I had them in the house, so I cut back on the added salt, and I used real Parmesan cheese because I love cheese and I dont really know where to buy nutritional yeast. I also used zucchini noodles instead of traditional. I soaked the cashews for probably six hours and used my Ninja pulse blender, and it turned out great!! I ended up boiling the zoodles quickly with the frozen peas and then adding it back into the pan where I had previously cooked the onion and where I was already frying the chopped up ham in a tiny bit of oil. Added the sauce back in last to reheat & blend.
I’m amazed, really, it didn’t taste like cashews are all. What it did taste like something that should be really bad for me, but it isn’t! I’m in love!
Aww thanks so much Lindsay for such wonderful feedback! I’m so happy to hear this was such a hit! So great to hear this was delicious on zucchini noodles as well, so funny because I just posted a new alfredo (nut-free) sauce yesterday on zucchini noodles! Thanks again for the feedback!
I made this recipe for dinner, although I subbed vegan parmesan cheese instead of nutritional yeast because I couldn’t find anywhere near me, and it was absolutely amazing!! I already recommended it to my family and friends! Mine was also a bit yellow/orange colored due to the vegetable broth I used. I also didn’t have a high quality blender but boiled my cashews instead. I put the 1/2 cup of cashew in a pan with some water, brought it to a boil, put a lid on then turned off the heat and let them sit for a little over an hour and had no trouble! Added some sautéed mushrooms and it was absolutely delicious!! Thanks for this amazing recipe I will be keeping this one for sure!
Yay! Thank you so much Brenna for sharing this wonderful feedback with me! I’m so happy to hear you loved it and thank you for sharing it with others! So glad you were able to boil the cashews and make it work! Yes, I have a trader joes brand of veggie broth that turns everything really yellow/orange, haha, so I know what you mean! Thanks again for the awesome feedback!
As an addict of your fat-free cheese sauce, I already knew I’d love this… but WOW! It’s not just good, it’s great! SO delicious! I add the Italian spice mix, as you suggest, and it really kicks it up a notch. I keep forgetting to buy brown rice linguini noodles so I’ve had this more mac-n-cheese style. I’m pretty sure I could cut up cardboard and pour this sauce on and it would be great. ha ha! Thanks! You hit it out of the ball park on this easy and delicious recipe!
Thank you so so much for such amazing feedback Liz! I really am so happy you loved it! Hahaha, please don’t put it on carboard, lol!
I really enjoyed this recipe! Since I do not have a high powered blender or soaked cashews, I boiled the cashews for 10 minutes and it all blended together really nice. I put it over Zucchini noodles. So good! Thank you for sharing this. Great recipe to make often.
Yay, I’m so happy to hear that Steph! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful feedback, really appreciate it!
I just stumbled on this recipe a few days ago and made it for the first time tonight–it was excellent!
I did make a substitution though. I am allergic to onions so I left out the onions and replaced them with a can of great northern beans (pureed) for bulk. I didn’t use as much broth and added more garlic (okay, I probably at least doubled it, I LOVE garlic) to compensate for the missing flavor. I also added just under an eighth of a teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken it at the beginning.
I served it over gluten-free chickpea pasta. I’m also thinking that next time I make this, I might decorate it a bit with sun-dried tomatoes or broccoli. The brood ate it like it they were starving and I thought it was delicious, so I’m putting this one in the win column.
Hi Lisa! Oh wow, allergic to onions? That’s such a huge part of the recipe, so I’m really glad you were able to make a couple of substitutions and make it work for you, that is wonderful! Thank you so much for the feedback and letting me know, I really appreciate it!
Alrighty, I am officially amazed. I’ve been vegetarian for a while now but have had this overwhelming sense that vegan is the ‘right’ thing to do. So this weekend I decided to try this recipe and see how I went, whether it could really take the place of a diary packed alfredo. Pretty much all my fears about taking the ‘vegan plunge’ have disappeared. I made it in no time at all using a nutri bullet and it was a perfect consistency. Vegan8 just became my bible.
*dairy, I mean
Hi Fray! Oh, I’m so happy reading your feedback. I’m thrilled to hear how much you loved this recipe and even more, how much you are excited about the vegan lifestyle. It is a decision you will never regret. Thank you so much for your kind words!
I just made this for dinner. Excellent recipe. I did add some olive oil bc I like the taste of it and chili flakes for a kick. Definitely something I will make again as it will fill my creamy Italian food craving. (I can’t do dairy).
How long does it last in the fridge? I couldn’t finish all of it at once.
Thanks for posting
I’m so happy you loved it Leonne, thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it!