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.
Hi. This is Allie. Will boiling the cashews fix the gritty problem if one does not have a high power blender or mixer?
Hi Allie! I have heard that it helps, but I have not personally tried it. If you have a food processor, I believe that will work much better for boiled or soaked cashews, versus a standard blender. I make my homemade cream cheese from soaked cashews in my processor and it turns out perfectly smooth. I do soak them for a long time though…not sure how that compares to boiled, but you can give it a shot and see. Just blend in your processor for several minutes until smooth.
I’ve only been vegan three months – vegetarian almost 50 years… I’ve been getting by with my beans and rice and soup dishes but it was time to up my game and use an actual vegan recipe. I found your site and used this recipe first, for a dinner for my husband and me, and a family friend. My husband is a meat eater, btw. This dish was quite appreciated, even though our nutritional yeast here in Germany isn’t quite as tasty as back home. I’ve never thought of grating lemon on top of pasta. Delicious. Oh, and this was the first time in my life that I sauteed onions and garlic without oil, using the broth instead. Any why not? You are a very clever cook and I’m looking forward to trying your other recipes. Thank you.
Thank you so much Shirley for the rave review and your kind words! I’m so glad this dish was such a hit, thank you so much for letting me know!
Wow! This was amazing, I could just dip a spoon in at eat it! I have done other vegan cashew sauces they are good and I enjoyed them but your adding the onions and garlic cooked in the veggie broth brought it to an amazing level!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Yay! That is so wonderful to hear Lisa, thank you very much for the awesome feedback!
Hi, new to your amazing blog. I was wondering if I could cheat and use cashew butter instead? And how much would I need. I am oil free and vegan and am so excited to find you!!! Are you still active? I notice most posts are several years old.
Thank you!!!
Katharina
Hi Katharina! Welcome! Oh yes, extremely active, haha. That is because you are on a post that is from a few years back when I wrote it, BUT it’s the #1 recipe on my blog all these years. I have hundreds and hundreds of recipes and I started blogging in 2012, so that’s why 🙂 Be sure to subscribe to my blog in the red box so you can get my email updates each week. For this recipe I would actually refer you to my more current one that I specifically created using cashew butter and is just as popular. It’s faster too. Here is the alfredo recipe! https://thevegan8.com/2015/11/09/20-minute-vegan-alfredo/
OK so I just wanted to check in again. Just served this to 2 non vegan men with roasted broccoli and it was huge huge success, as always! ❤️❤️❤️. Thank you, thank you.
Thank you so much Estee for the amazing review, makes me so happy to hear!
I just made this and it turned out DELICIOUS! I had leftover homemade cashew milk/cream that I wanted to use, and that worked perfectly. I love the strong garlic flavor! I mixed in some finely chopped steamed broccoli and garnished the dish with some chopped parsley. I actually took a picture but I don’t think I can post it here. So far, 3 out of 4 people in my household love it, and I am the only vegan. The 4th one is at work and will try it later. Thank you for this recipe!
Yay! That is the best feedback, thank you so much Sadiya for sharing!!
I have made this recipe several times now… my kids call it “cheesy noodles” and they really have no idea it is so healthy. I have a Vitamix blender, so this comes together very quickly. I find a little of the sauce goes a long way! And, we add cooked peas to it. Thank you for sharing this!!!
That is so wonderful to hear Mina, thank you so much for letting me know! If you don’t mind star rating it, that would be so awesome too as it really helps me out, thank you!
As I’m getting older, I’m learning that their certain foods that I cannot eat anymore. Sadly dairy is one of them. I have been craving for a dairy free Alfredo sauce and I think I might have just found it. It is so flavorful and I did not leave out any ingredients. Thanks for sharing your awesome recipe!
So very happy to hear you loved this Sunshine, thank you so much for the review!!
I made this and LOVED it! I had been craving something rich and this hit the spot. Thank you for creating such a good recipe!!
This is such a lovely sauce, I realy love it! As a former cheese addict I was realy surprised how close this gets to a creamy cheesy sauce. When I finished my bowl, my cat cleaned it out completly. We can recommend this to both vegans and non vegans, this sauce is tha bomb!
Greetings, Marianne
This Was THEE BEST damn Alfredo sauce EVER. Vegan or otherwise. I’m new to your site … love LOVE love it!
Tank Q
Yay! This made me so happy to read Omega, thank you so much! If you get a chance, would you mind star rating the recipe? It really helps me out so much, thank you!
Thank you for this! I have finally found an Alfredo I can make that doesn’t take weird ingredients, or have an “I want to be Alfredo, but I’m not” taste. This was the real deal — both my husband and son were convinced it was the real deal. My one regret is I had run out of garlic — I think I’ll add more next time!
I am always on the lookout for recipes that align with my specific diet, which has been developed to curb the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS) This recipe fit within the parameters, and surpassed my expectations by a lot! Your alfredo is much yummier than the original alfredo. After the meal was over, I intercepted the blender before my husband could get a chance to wash it; and I licked the last of the alfredo as I used to back when I was a little kid licking cake batter.
Haha! I love hearing that Lisa! I lick the blender too! Thank you so much for the awesome review, so happy you loved this!
We LOVED this dish!!! We’re new to eating less meat – baby steps – and this recipe was soooo good! I made it according to your directions and it turned out perfect! Looking forward to trying more of your creations. Thanks so much!
That is just so wonderful to hear Trisha, thank you so much for the awesome feedback!
Thanks so much!! I’ll try it
This looks so yummy!! I was just wondering how you would think it would be without the nutritional yeast. I have candida and can’t handle it at all. I think I’m going to try it without it though and see. Looks like the real deal and I love onions and garlic
Hi Amy! The nutritional yeast adds some thickening as well as a of flavor, so you will need to add others flavors to it so that it is not too bland. Nutritional yeast is also salty, so you will need to increase the salt. I would add some garlic powder, onion powder, a few Italian herbs and some dry mustard to it. Start out with 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard, as it can be strong, then just adjust to taste! Place back on the heat to thicken it if needed.
Tried your recipe, it was the best alfredo sauce I’ve ever had. Thank YOU!
Yay! I love to hear that Dan, thank you so much for the review!
I love this recipe. I come back to it again and again. But one thing I can’t figure out. Cooking the onions on low for 8 minutes is not nearly enough. I have to saute on med for 20 minutes. Sometimes I’m not patient to wait til the liquid is gone! Love it anyway. Thanks!
Hi Lori! That should be medium..just fixed it. Can’t believe I’ve never noticed that, haha. You can always raise the heat to cook it faster if you like, you just are really wanting to cook them several minutes to really make them super soft and flavorful 🙂 Glad you love the recipe!
This is my favorite thing I’ve made from your blog thus far. Absolutely amazing! It was the perfect amount of sauce for 8 oz. of dry pasta that was then cooked. We added some more ground pepper to the finished product. It was sooo good, I’ll be making this one a lot.
That is so wonderful to hear Tom, thank you so much for the awesome feedback! Made my day!
I just made this and it was just about the most delicious meal I’ve had in a long time. I love alfredo, but never feel very good after eating it. It’s a really heavy meal! This recipe, however, was a dead ringer for creamy garlic alfredo! Just as tasty with none of the digestive discomfort.
I’m eyeing up the leftovers as we speak. I served the sauce over rice fettuccini and lightly steamed broccoli. Husband loved it, too! Lots of “mmmms” as we ate. Thank you for sharing!
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear Kat! Thank you for the wonderful review!
This recipe is so delicious! I have my whole family begging me to make it all the time! Can’t wait for your cookbook!!
That is the best news! Thank you so much Morgan!
Hello –
This recipe sounds great and I can’t wait to try it! However, I’m confused about quantities. The recipe seems to say that it makes 1/2 cup of sauce? So to make enough sauce for five people, I would need to quintuple the quantities? Please advise… (and thanks!)
That just means a serving, it makes about 2 cups of sauce, a lot 🙂 I will fix that!
Can I freeze the sauce? Thanks!
Hi Kel! Yes, you can freeze it! Lots of readers freeze this sauce!
Great, thanks!
Just made the sauce–yum! Can I freeze it? Thanks!
We just tried the Alfredo sauce on spiralized carrots and zucchini instead of noodles. It tasted decadent and delicious. Can you freeze the alfredo sauce?
So glad you loved it Liz! I have not tried freezing it personally since we go through it so fast, but since it’s made up of all whole foods, I would think it would freeze well. I would just thaw it 1-2 days in the fridge before you are ready to eat it again and then reheat very low over the stove.