This 5-Minute Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce tastes just like the real thing! Blended with cashews, garlic, white wine, and vegetable bouillon, your guests will have a hard time believing this pasta sauce is vegan. Pour it over fettucini for the very best weeknight dinner!
Make the best vegan fettucini alfredo with this 5-Minute Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce recipe! So garlicky, creamy, and zesty, it’s sure to become a new weeknight go-to.
Trust me when I say that no one will believe this cashew alfredo sauce is vegan. The smooth cashew cream is irresistibly creamy and has a natural cheesy flavor. A little vegan cream cheese, white wine, garlic, and miso work together to give it a brilliant tang and savory flavors. It’s just as garlicky and delicious as my Creamy Garlic Sauce, but tastes just like a classic alfredo recipe.
Better yet, this easy alfredo sauce is also:
- Both kid and adult-friendly
- Naturally gluten free
- Delicious, rich, and creamy
- Made without any dairy, eggs, or coconut milk
- Ready to enjoy in just 5 minutes!
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Regular alfredo sauce vs. vegan alfredo sauce
There’s no denying that regular, dairy-filled alfredo sauce is not a health food. It’s meant to be rich, savory, creamy, and heavy. Instead of being made with heavy cream, milk, butter, and cheese, vegan alfredo is made with much lighter ingredients and a handful of herbs and spices to replicate the same great flavors.
Vegan alfredo sauce ingredients
- Raw cashews - Look for raw, unsalted cashews so the flavor of the sauce is unaffected.
- Plant milk - Unsweetened oat, cashew, almond, or soy milk will work.
- Dry white wine - This will give the sauce a nice bright flavor. If you want to make this recipe without alcohol, swap the wine for lemon juice.
- Vegan cream cheese - For extra creaminess! Tofutti is a delicious brand of vegan cream cheese so is Violife and Daiya or you can try making your own at home.
- White miso - Make sure you pick up white miso and not red miso, as it will have a much stronger, deeper flavor (because it’s been fermented longer than the white).
- Bouillon - Both Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base or No Chicken Soup Base will work.
- Garlic - This alfredo recipe is already garlicky, but you can always blend in an extra 2 or 3 garlic cloves to achieve your desired flavour.
- Herbs and spices - Like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
How to make vegan alfredo sauce with cashews
You couldn’t ask for a more savory, garlicky, and creamy vegan pasta sauce. All it takes is 5 minutes and 2 steps:
- Soak the cashews: Add your cashews to a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak for a few minutes while you add the rest of the ingredients (except the basil) to a blender.
- Blend the sauce: Pour the soaked and drained cashews into the blender. Blend until smooth, then enjoy!
How to make vegan fettucini alfredo
The best way to use your cream sauce is on pasta! Vegan fettucini alfredo is perfect for kid friendly dinners or when you’re in the mood for comfort food. Here’s how it’s done:
- Cook the pasta: Cook your fettucini noodles (regular or gluten free) according to the package instructions. Drain and toss with a little olive oil and set aside.
- Simmer the alfredo sauce: Pour your prepared alfredo sauce and dried basil into a saucepan over medium heat. Bring it up to a simmer to let it thicken slightly. When it’s ready, adjust the flavor with a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, and/or salt and pepper.
- Serve and enjoy: Add some fettucini noodles into individual bowls and pour the alfredo sauce over top. Add vegan parmesan cheese on top and serve!
Tips for success
- Simmering the sauce in a saucepan will help cook out the alcohol in the wine.
- Is the sauce too thick? Thin it out with a splash of dairy free milk or water until it’s to your liking.
- No nutritional yeast, no problem! This sauce is cheesy and creamy enough even without the nooch.
- For added nutrition, stir steamed broccoli, cauliflower, or peas into the fettucini alfredo.
Frequently asked questions
The cashews are necessary for the creamy, smooth texture but if you don’t have any, you can try using white beans or slivered almonds instead. If you have an aversion to nuts, replace the cashews with sunflower seeds. Have not tested these are just suggestions.
Pour the heated sauce over fettucini or any pasta noodle you love. Vegan fettucini alfredo is delicious next to garlic bread and Caesar salad!
The sauce on its own can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days
Yes! Keep the blended sauce in an airtight container or ziplock bag and freeze.
Looking for more vegan pasta sauces?
Enjoy everyone! Happy Day! Please feel free to comment below and give this recipe a rating. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
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5-Minute Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This 5-Minute Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce tastes just like the real thing! Blended with cashews, garlic, white wine, and vegetable bouillon, your guests will have a hard time believing this pasta sauce is vegan. Pour it over fettucini for the very best weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
For Alfredo Sauce:
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- 2 cups unsweetened plant milk, I use oat milk or cashew
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup vegan cream cheese
- 3 teaspoons white miso (Shiro Miso)
- 1 and ½ teaspoons better than bouillon seasoned vegetable base or no chicken soup base
- ¾ teaspoon granulated garlic (powder)
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1 and ½ teaspoons dried basil
Optional:
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced and or small diced onion (see notes!*)
For serving:
- fettuccine or pasta of your choice, gluten free if needed (10-12 oz uncooked)
Instructions
- Cook pasta: Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and toss with a little oil and set aside.
- Make sauce: while pasta is cooking add cashews to a small bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside while you gather other ingredients. Drain cashews and add the to a high speed blender with rest of ingredients -(EXCEPT BASIL)- Blend until smooth- that's it! (if using fresh garlic and onions see notes*)
- Simmer sauce: Pour sauce and dried basil into a heavy bottomed sauce pot/pan. Bring to a good simmer over medium heat, while stirring. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until thickened slightly and to cook out wine a bit. Remove from heat (it will thicken as it cools) Add a teaspoon or two of distilled vinegar and or a squeeze of lemon juice. Add salt and pepper if necessary. If too thick add a little plant milk or water.
- Serve over fettuccine or your favourite pasta.
- Enjoy with a little vegan parmesan a simple side salad or vegan caesar salad , green peas, maybe a slice of no knead artisan bread! mmm!!
Notes
- Garlic: for more garlic flavour fry 2-3 cloves of minced garlic with a little vegan butter or oil. Stir into sauce or add to blender
- Onions: for a sweeter sauce sauté a small diced onion or a couple shallots with a little oil over medium low heat, 10 minutes or so until tender (add in the fresh garlic towards the end if using) Blend with sauce
- To store and freeze: pasta and sauce will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days and sauce freezes well.
- Nutritional chart includes pasta
Originally publisher January 2019 this post has been updated with photos, suggestions and more. The recipe itself is unchanged
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 Minutes
- Category: Mains, 30 minute vegan recipes, sauces & dressings
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian, American, Canadian
Joan
Hi Verna
Made this this evening, used 1/4 cup white wine vinegar instead of wine. I accidentally put 1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger instead of onion . When I discovered this I added the onion powder. Thickened up well. Surprise, i didn’t ruin in.
It was still lovely.
Verna
Glad to worked out for you Joan! thanks for the feedback - really helpful 🙂
Suzanne Bird
I followed the recipe exactly but it did not thicken, any idea why? Otherwise we liked it very much.
Verna
I would suggest simmering sauce a little longer and make sure to drain cashews before blending. Hope that helps Suzanne
Brad
Excellent Alfredo! Actually tastes like I remember. Well done!
Verna
thanks so much!
Suzanne Bird
Wondering why my Alfredo sauce did not thicken???
Rita
This looks like such a good comfort meal !
Verna
It definitely is, enjoy!
Chad
Hi Verna I made your vegan alfredo sauce with coconut milk (canned) as I was out of plant milk. We really enjoyed it!! Next time I will try it with the cashew milk. Thank you for recipe!
Verna
Thanks so much Chad! I will definitely have to try that, thanks for your comment.
Mary
absolutely delicious vegan alfredo sauce!! I served it over roasted cauliflower and other veggies for dinner. So good! didn't realize I was out of pasta. But now I'm glad I was. Really reminded us of real Alfredo wow!
Verna
Oh thank you so much. Thrilled you loved the recipe, sounds super tasty over veggies I'll definitely be doing that next time! Thanks Mary.
Joseph
Tastes just like real Alfredo Sauce we couldn't believe it! WOW! Are kids gobbled it down. So happy we found this recipe. Thanks so much
Verna
Oh so happy to hear you all enjoyed the recipe Joseph. Really appreciate your comment. Have a great day!
LoliNeko
I have never used nutritional yeast before, how much do you need for this recipe? I didn't see it in the ingredients listed thanks! I wanted to try this tonight, looks delicious!
Verna
Hi! that is actually a miss print in the description. The recipe is correct as is. Enjoy !
Piper
Just had to comment and say this Alfredo sauce has become a family favourite. ( I used soy milk ) Last night we enjoyed it with your Ceasar salad recipe and some garlic bread. It was a fabulous meal! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome recipes
Verna
Thank you Piper! you just made my day. Glad your family is enjoying the recipe! and thank you for your comment. I based this recipe on a dairy version I used to make years ago at a restaurant where I worked. Super pleased with it!?
Chantal
I just made this for my family and they love love loved it!!! Thank you for this recipe ♥️
Verna
Oh nice! glad your family enjoyed the recipe Chantal. Thanks so much for your comment!
Georgia
Really tasty I added spinach and mushrooms . My Kids cleaned their plates so it’s a keeper. Thanks oh and I used soy milk. Worked great
Verna
Sounds delicious Georgia, thank you for sharing!
Naomi Benatar
based on your photos, this is the best looking vegan alfredo i've found. However, I really don't like to use/drink alcohol. Is there anything I can substitute in place of the white wine?
Thank you!!!
The Cheeky Chickpea
Hi Naomi, I haven't made my alfredo without wine, it really adds a lot of flavour to this dish and it does burn off. Having said that you could add more plant milk and a tsp or two of white wine vinegar and see if that works for you? Have a great day!
Jenn
Could I use almond milk for this recipe?
The Cheeky Chickpea
Hi Jenn, I haven't made this recipe with almond milk but I'm sure it would work just fine?
Gail
This is a great winter dish. Can't wait to try it out, I used to eat Alfredo before I became plant based. I'm excited, thank you 🙂
The Cheeky Chickpea
Hi Gail ? Thanks so much for your comment. Hope you love it!