You only need 15 minutes, simple pantry ingredients, and a blender to make this super creamy and satisfying vegan alfredo sauce! Combine the cashew alfredo sauce with your favorite noodles for a delicious and comforting vegan meal that the whole family will enjoy!
Pasta with alfredo sauce was always one of my favorite meals when I was a kid, and it still is to this day! The recipe has changed quite a bit since then, but it’s so much better now! This dairy free alfredo sauce is super creamy, flavorful, and ready in just 15 minutes. If you want a satisfying and delicious dinner on the table super quick, you’re going to love this pasta!
Related Post: Want more 15-minute meal ideas? Try these vegan quesadillas!
How Do You Make Vegan Alfredo Sauce From Scratch?
Start by soaking the raw cashews, you have two options:
- Soak the cashews in cold water in the for 2-3 hours.
- Cover the cashews in water and boil them for 10 minutes.
It’s important to soak the cashews because it’s easier for your body to digest them. I usually don’t remember to soak the cashews overnight so I tend to boil them right before I need them to make the sauce.
While the cashews are boiling, get a separate pot with water going to cook the pasta in. I like to cook the pasta while I’m making the sauce so everything is ready at the same time.
After you boil the cashews, drain the water and put the cashews into a high-speed blender. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, Italian seasonings, chili flakes, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and unsweetened coconut milk to the blender with the cashews.
Blend all the ingredients together until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
You can pour the garlicky vegan cashew alfredo sauce from the blender directly over the hot noodles (I usually do this because I don’t want to dirty another pan and the noodles are hot enough to warm the sauce) or you can pour the sauce into a small sauce pan and warm it up before you add it to the noodles.
What Goes Well With The Sauce?
You can enjoy the vegan cashew alfredo sauce tossed with pasta just like this, or you could add some extras to take it to the next level!
- I used garlic powder and onion powder because it’s quick and convenient, but if you have a few extra minutes you can substitute roasted or sauteed garlic and onions instead for even more flavor!
- Mix in spinach, kale, arugula, or swiss chard for an extra boost of greens.
- Roast a tray of broccoli or mushrooms and mix it into the pasta for extra fiber. Green peas would be a good choice to add extra plant-based protein.
- Top the pasta with slices of vegan sausages or vegan chicken tenders.
- Drizzle the sauce over roasted baked potatoes that are stuffed with broccoli.
Can You Freeze Leftover Sauce?
Yes, you can freeze the sauce. I recommend freezing the sauce by itself (without noodles) in a freezer-safe container for 3-4 months.
When you’re ready to eat it, remove it from the freezer and let it defrost in the fridge for 24 hours. Then you can heat up the sauce in a large pan. You might need to add additional coconut milk or water to the sauce to thin it out a bit.
Notes & Substitutions
- Gluten-Free: The vegan coconut milk alfredo sauce is naturally gluten-free, but make sure that you use gluten-free noodles if you need to. I recommend these chickpea noodles, they’re delicious!
- Cashew Alternative: The sauce won’t be as creamy and buttery, but you can use sunflower seeds instead of cashews. However, my favorite cashew substitute to use is roasted cauliflower.
- Lemon Juice Substitutes: Fresh lemon juice is the best option, but if you don’t have that, bottled lemon juice or white wine vinegar can be used in its place.
- Coconut Milk Substitutions: Unsweetened coconut milk from a carton is the best creamy option, but you could also use almond milk or cashew milk. I tried making the sauce with unsweetened plain soy milk and it gave it a very strange sweet, vanilla flavor. I do not recommend using soy milk.
Success Tips
- Whatever plant milk variety that you use to make the sauce, make sure it’s unsweetened and not vanilla-flavored.
- If possible, use raw cashews instead of roasted and salted cashews. Roasted and salted nuts can be used but it will change the flavor of the sauce. If you use salted nuts, reduce the amount of salt that you add.
- Reserve 1 cup of the water that the noodles are cooked in case you want to thin the sauce a little bit.
- Store the leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
More Vegan Creamy Cashew Recipes You’ll Love
Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip Stuffed Shells
Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- High-Powered Blender
- Large Pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (Soaked or boiled first)
- 1 tsp Italian Seasonings
- 1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp Chili Flakes
- 4 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk (I used the kind in a refrigerated carton)
- 1-2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/8 tsp Dried Parsley (or fresh parsley)
Instructions
- Put the raw cashews in a small pot and cover them with water. Boil for 10 minutes and then carefully drain the water.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot filled with salted boiling water while you make the cashew sauce. Before you drain the pasta, reserve one cup of the salted water.
- Put the soaked cashews, garlic powder, onion powder, chili flakes, Italian seasonings, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, unsweetened coconut milk, and lemon juice in a high-speed blender and blend it on high until it's smooth and creamy.
- You can warm the sauce up in a small pan or you can pour the sauce directly over the hot noodles and stir to combine. The noodles should be hot enough to warm the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a 1 tbsp at a time of the reserved pasta water. Garnish with dried or fresh parsley.
Notes
- Whatever plant milk variety that you use to make the sauce, make sure it's unsweetened and not vanilla-flavored.
- If possible, use raw cashews instead of roasted and salted cashews. Roasted and salted nuts can be used but it will change the flavor of the sauce. If you use salted nuts, reduce the amount of salt that you add.
- Reserve 1 cup of the water that the noodles are cooked in just in case you want to thin the sauce a little bit.
- Store the leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally shared on 2/17/19, but I updated it with better recipe instructions on 5/15/20.
This is my favorite dairy free alfredo sauce, it’s SO creamy! Even my kids love it! I added the leftover sauce to homemade tomato soup and it made it so rich and creamy! Love, love, love….thank you for the recipe!
Thank you, Danielle! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
What can I substitute for cashews as my daughter is allergic to cashews
Hi Allison. No, I’m sorry but I don’t have a substitute for the cashews.
Ive used boiled ( 10 minutes) sunflower seeds to replace cashews in many plant based cheese recipes, they tend to work well.
One of the photos with blender looks like you added just water, not the coconut milk. Is that a mistake?
Hey, Veronika! No, it’s not water, it’s unsweetened coconut milk (from a carton). It just looks weird because I squeezed the lemon juice on top of the coconut milk and it separated a little bit. You could make it with water instead of coconut milk but it won’t be as creamy. Enjoy!