Vegan Alfredo Sauce

This vegan Alfredo sauce recipe is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner, served with pasta of your choice! Ready in just 20 minutes and packed full of flavour, it is a great dairy-free alternative that everyone is guaranteed to enjoy. Oil-free and gluten-free. 

My relationship with food and diet have evolved a lot over the years for sure. After overcoming anorexia and my fear of calories, weight gain, etc, I started my vegan lifestyle nearly 4 years ago. And even since then, how I eat has been far from static. I went from junk food vegan to a very strict ‘high carb low fat’, whole foods only approach, to finding a happy balance which is where I am now.

These days, I eat whatever I want as long as its vegan, whether that’s a wholesome homemade meal or going out for pizza and chips. I also don’t restrict or fear any food groups, which is great because I’m not sabotaging my health and happiness for the sake of at best disputable health claims.

Back in the day, I probably would have served Alfredo saauce with some sort of low-carb noodle variety and missed out on flavour for the sake of saving a few calories. The recipe I’m sharing today, however, lives up to everything you’d expect from a creamy, flavourful dairy-free sauce!

Vegan Alfredo sauce

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long into my vegan journey to try Alfredo pasta. This recipe has appeared a lot throughout the internet, so I knew I had to give it a go and create my own version. Needless to say, it definitely didn’t disappoint.

Traditional fettuccine Alfredo calls for ingredients such as milk, butter and cheese, but it’s still quite easy to veganise. The secret? Cashews. Cashews + a high speed blender are your golden ticket towards taking your vegan cooking to the next level.

They have a neutral flavour by themselves, but nutritional yeast and tamari work well together to create cheesiness and savoury-ness. When making the pasta base, I also added mushrooms for extra texture and earthy undertones, plus tomatoes for a little bit of colour and variety.

If you like creamy pasta dishes that are ready in around 20 minutes, I would definitely recommend you give this one a go. The sauce is super versatile, and perfect for feeding fussy eaters!

What’s to love about this vegan Alfredo recipe?

It’s…

• Super creamy. Creamy pasta sauces are the key to my heart and I think many of you can relate!
• Rich, flavourful and indulgent.
• Undetectably vegan.
• Gluten-free, as long as you serve it with gluten-free pasta.
• Oil-free and butter-free.
• Ready in just 20 minutes.
• Made with healthy, whole food ingredients. Nothing unusual or difficult to find!
• Perfect for a weeknight dinner.

How to make the best dairy-free Alfredo sauce

STEP 1: Start cooking the pasta you want to serve the sauce with according to packaging instructions. Be sure not to overcook it, however. It’s much better to leave it slightly al dente.

STEP 2: Meanwhile, prepare the Alfredo sauce by adding the cashews, plant based milk, nutritional yeast and tamari to a high speed blender and blend until smooth – this usually takes around 30 seconds.

STEP 3: Add the halved cherry tomatoes to a non-stick frying pan face down and cook for around 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

STEP 5: When the pasta is almost ready, add onion, garlic and mushrooms to a non-stick frying pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the mushrooms soften.

STEP 6: Drain and rinse the pasta, transferring it to the frying pan. Pour in the sauce and toss everything together using kitchen tongs, until all of the pasta is evenly coated. Serve with the cherry tomatoes on top.

Vegan Alfredo Q&A

How do I make the sauce smooth?

The key is to use a high speed blender. I have a Vitamix A2500i, which is amazing and has made a huge difference to my cooking. However, if you don’t have a high speed blender, I would recommend soaking the cashews for as long as you can, ideally overnight, and make sure not to use too much liquid.

How should I serve this sauce?

It’s super versatile! The most obvious serving suggestion is fettuccine Alfredo. You can, however, serve it with any pasta variety of your choice. I also love adding Alfredo sauce to salads, or even using it as a dip.

What’s the best way to store vegan Alfredo?

Store it in an air-tight jar or container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Is this sauce gluten-free?

Yes! This sauce is naturally gluten-free and great for serving with gluten-free pasta.

Tips and modification

• You can add vegetables of your choice to this dish, such as broccoli, zucchini or leafy greens. I love stirring in a handful of kale whenever I make fettuccine Alfredo!
• You can also add various other spices, such as cumin or dried herbs. Add a pinch of turmeric if you want to achieve a golden colour.
• Adjust how much nutritional yeast you use depending on how cheesy you want the dish to be.
• For an extra protein boost, stir in a can of beans or pulses of your choice, tofu, or tempeh. Another great trick is using bean pasta if you don’t want anything to ‘interfere’ with the dish.

Other vegan pasta recipes

• Butternut squash mac and cheese with tofu
• Creamy tofu pasta
• Vegan coconut vegetable and mushroom stir-fry
• Tempeh pasta with roasted cauliflower
• Nut-free creamy pasta with butter beans

Let me know in the comments – what’s your favourite pasta dish? If you give this vegan fettuccine Alfredo recipe a go, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@earthofmariaa) so I can see your creations, and leave your feedback in the comments below!