Vegan Alfredo Sauce
553 Comments
Jan 13, 2025
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This vegan Alfredo sauce is the perfect cashew-based, dairy-free alternative to keep in your back pocket. It’s incredibly rich, super creamy, and tastes just like the real thing (if not better). Whether you’re vegan or not, you’re going to love it!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Alfredo Sauce
It’s safe to say this is the most delicious dairy-free Alfredo sauce dupe out there. And even though I’m not vegan or dairy-free, I find myself making this sauce often—tossed with zucchini noodles, drizzled over chicken, and so much more. It’s my favorite way to elevate a simple dinner without heavy dairy ingredients. Here’s what else you’ll love about it:
- The flavor is incredible. It’s rich, savory, tangy, and cheesy-tasting—everything alfredo sauce should be!
- The texture is ultra-creamy. Blended cashews are a magical ingredient that create an irresistibly smooth base, whether it’s in vegan cheesecake, vegan tzatziki, vegan ricotta cheese, or this vegan Alfredo sauce.
- It’s easy and stores well. I’m all for easy recipes, and this sauce just needs a few pantry items and a blender. Plus, you can store it in the fridge or freezer for later use (I have notes in the recipe card).
Vegan Alfredo Sauce Ingredients
- Raw Cashews: Make sure to use raw cashews and not salted or roasted as we’ll add flavors to this sauce.
- Fresh Aromatics: A mix of fresh garlic, lemon juice, and onion adds a fresh, savory, and tangy touch.
- Seasonings: The nutritional yeast is my secret ingredient for that deliciously cheesy undertone, accompanied by dried rosemary, salt, and black pepper for depth of flavor.
How to Make Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Soak the cashews overnight and store them in the fridge or at room temperature. This breaks down the cashews’ structure, making them soft and easier to blend, while removing phytic acid, which can interfere with digestion and nutrient absorption.
Blend the sauce. Add the drained cashews to a high-powered blender along with garlic, lemon juice, onion, nutritional yeast, dried herbs, salt, and black pepper. Blend everything on high until creamy, and you’re done!
How To Use This Sauce
- Use it as a pasta sauce. You can never go wrong with chicken alfredo pasta. For a gluten-free spin, use zucchini noodles or give my parsnip noodle chicken alfredo a try!
- Incorporate this into a casserole. I’ve incorporated this into a Whole30 chicken broccoli casserole. But feel free to use it as the base for any creamy casserole.
- Drizzle over meat and vegetables. I love spooning this over baked chicken breast, and roasted vegetables like roasted broccoli or roasted Brussels sprouts. It’s also great mixed with sauteed mushrooms and spinach—yum!
More Vegan Sauces
- Tahini Sauce: The most deliciously nutty sauce for Mediterranean dishes.
- Marinara Sauce: Nothing beats homemade marinara.
- Basil Pesto: A must-make for basil season!
- Romesco Sauce: The best Spanish sauce with a smoky flavor.
If you make this vegan alfredo sauce recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration and exclusive content, join my free newsletter here.
Best Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Description
Video
Equipment
- Vitamix Blender The one kitchen tool I can't live without for blended recipes!
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- ¾ cup water
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Soak the cashews. Add the cashews to a bowl and cover by about 2 inches of cold water. Soak overnight (or at least 6 hours), then drain and rinse them.
- Blend together. Add the cashews, fresh water, garlic, lemon juice, onion, nutritional yeast, salt, rosemary, and pepper to a high-powered blend, and blend until smooth.
- Use or store. Use this vegan Alfredo sauce immediately (see ideas in the post above!) or store in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer.
Lisa’s Tips
- The water used to soak the cashews is separate from the water used in blending. You’ll discard the water you use for soaking.
- The recipe makes approximately 1 cup of sauce.
- If you’ve never cooked with nutritional yeast before, it’s small little flakes (about the size of large sea salt flakes) of deactivated yeast that provide a nutty, cheese-like flavor.
- To store in the fridge: You can store this sauce in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container. Just keep in mind that the sauce will thicken up as it sits in the fridge and sometimes while you’re cooking with it. If that happens and you want a thinner sauce, just add more water.
- To freeze for later: I recommend freezing it in a silicone ice cube tray, so you can easily thaw individual portions as needed.
Nutrition
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This recipe was originally posted July 2017, but recently updated to include new photos and information for your benefit!
Outstanding! I used Vege-Sal, an organic shallot (instead of onion) and omitted the lemon juice. Truly amazing recipe! Many thanks!!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing those tweaks, Victoria. I’m happy you loved this sauce. :)
Didn’t have the nutritional yeast but did have dried shiitake mushrooms! I added 4 to the 3/4 cup of water to soak. Overall, a pretty tasty sauce!
Oh, wonderful! Glad this worked out with dried shiitake mushrooms instead, Dre.
Wow! Hubby and I were blown away! This sauce is incredible! Thanks so much! I have a helpful hint for those who suffer from mold allergies (as I do). I always soak my raw cashews in a teaspoon of powdered Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) for at least 30 minutes. This process kills the mold that unfortunately cashews and peanuts are loaded with. This does not change the flavor.
Thanks for sharing your little trick for people who suffer from mold allergies, Victoria! Glad you were able to find a way to make this alfredo sauce work for you with great results.
I made this sauce and some grain free gnocchi. After boiling the gnocchi, I added them to a saute pan with a little butter and fresh sage and when the butter started to brown, I turned off the heat and poured the Alfredo sauce over the top. It was amazing!! No one in my family knew the sauce was made from cashews and when I told them, no one believed me. LOL! I had to actually show them the recipe.
Hi Sarina – Wow, the combination with butter and sage sounds delicious! Glad this dish was a hit with your family. And yes, cashew is such a sneaky ingredient that creates such tasty results!
This recipe is really easy to make (as long as you remember to soak the cashews) and very good. The nutritional yeast gives it that nice, cheesy flavor. I added a little chile crisp to give it a kick. The most shocking thing is that my husband liked it a lot! He can usually taste “different” versions of old favorites at 100 paces away.
Lisa comes through again!
Always love to get that hubby seal of approval, haha! So happy you both loved it, Jennifer. :)
I found this recipe in November and I’ve made it multiple times since then. It’s by far the best vegan Alfredo sauce recipe out there. I especially love it with the parsnip noodles. Which I gotta say I never would have thought of.
I’ve tried to love ‘zoodles’ and while they’re fine I can’t get past the texture. My husband loves them though.
I was skeptical when I tried parsnip ‘noodles’ but oh man so delicious.
This Alfredo sauce recipe is amazing!
Parsnip noodles are such a secret winner for a gluten-free noodle option (and one that’s heartier than zoodles for this heavier alfredo sauce). So happy you loved that combo!
The ingredients for homemade alfredo sauce were just too unhealthy for me. I have been searching for a vegan alfredo sauce as a healthy alternative. Found this recipe and it is perfect. My wife also loves it and she in not big into alfredo. So easy to make so there is definitely bang for the buck time wise.
Hi Mark – I’m happy to hear you and your wife are both enjoying my twist on a vegan alfredo sauce! It’s definitely a lighter, healthier option, though still packed with flavor. Enjoy!
I was so surprised how amazing this recipe is. I am a huge creamy pasta fan, but dairy doesn’t make me feel great, so this is such a great substitution. I am following Whole 30 at the moment, and I added some chicken and zucchini to this for a gluten free, dairy free chicken alfredo.
I would love to make this for my family, and not tell them this is dairy free and see if they taste the difference… I don’t think they will.
Hi Claire – I’m happy you loved this vegan alfredo sauce! And I’m sure if you didn’t tell your family they might not know the difference. ;)
This was the most delicious vegan Alfredo sauce I’ve ever had! My vegan daughter and I loved it so much. I used it for angel hair pasta and vegetables for last night’s dinner.
Thank you for such a fantastic recipe that we will use often!
I poured boiling water over the frozen raw cashews that I had in the freezer and let them sit for 10 minutes. I have a fabulous Blendtec blender, and this recipe turned out perfect!
Yum! Happy to hear you and your daughter loved this vegan alfredo sauce for a delicious pasta dinner, Judi.
Hi there! I’ve made this many times and we love it with pasta or your Whole 30 Chicken and Broccoli casserole.
Of all the things I miss, Alfredo sauce is one of the hardest to replicate.
Do you think trying nutmeg instead of rosemary would give that traditional white or bechamel sauce flavor?
Hi Amy – I’m happy to hear you love this vegan alfredo sauce! And yes, I think that’s a great idea with the nutmeg, it should give more of that Bechamel sauce vibe. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
So if there is a cashew allergy in the family, what is the substitute?
Hi Natalie – you’d need to look for a different vegan alfredo sauce that doesn’t use cashews as the base, but instead uses something like coconut cream.
In a pinch, can I use store bought cashew milk instead of the raw cashew and water soaking?
Hi Sharon – Unfortunately not. Store-bought cashew milk will be a different consistency.
Can this sauce be heated up? Some of the sauces I have tried like this are served cold and a cold meal in the winter isn’t appealing to me.
Hi Nancy – Yes, this sauce can be warmed up!
Can’t show you a pic because it’s GONE!!! Delicious, all we added were some red pepper flakes and home made hot sauce. Yum!!! Will def make it again.
Hi Dora – red pepper flakes are a great addition to this alfredo sauce for a little extra kick. Happy you loved it!
I just made the Vegan Alfredo Sauce for the first time and WOW. The flavor is so vibrant, the sauce is so creamy and delicious I just want to eat it on its own with a spoon. If I didn’t already know how amazing the Whole30 Chicken Broccoli Casserole is with store-bought sauce, I might just do that, but now I need to know how it will be in this recipe.
My cashews are about to expire, so I plan to make a couple more recipes of this sauce and freeze them for later! Thank you Lisa!
Happy to hear you’re loving this vegan alfredo sauce, Sherri!
HI Lisa Can you make this using cashew powder ?
Hi there! I have two questions:
1. Can I use 1 cup of raw cashew butter instead of soaking a cup of cashews and then blending?
2. Do I have to bake this, or could I heat it all up in a skillet like a one-pot meal?
Thanks!
I think this is the best imitation of real alfredo sauce I’ve had. Next time I make this, I plan to add fresh dill.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Ellery! And dill would be a great addition.