Vegan Alfredo Sauce

This vegan Alfredo sauce is just as good as one made with cheese or butter! Creamy, rich, and flavorful, it's a great recipe for a classy date night in.

Vegan Alfredo Sauce over fettuccine

If you love creamy pasta that 1) tastes great and 2) makes you feel great, then you need this vegan Alfredo sauce in your life. It’s just as silky and rich as the classic kind, but it’s made with 100% plant-based ingredients. Nutritional yeast adds cheesy flavor, and lemon juice brightens it up. And instead of cheese, cream, or butter (or even vegan butter!), a secret ingredient gives it its ultra-creamy texture.

Any guesses?

It’s…cauliflower! If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’re probably not surprised. I love blending this versatile veggie into creamy sauces that are smooth and luscious, but pretty darn good for you, too.

This vegan Alfredo sauce recipe calls for 10 ingredients and comes together in minutes. Whip it up on a weeknight, or serve it for a classy date night in. It’s simple, healthy, and absolutely delicious. Whether you’re vegan or not, I think you’re going to love it.

Vegan Alfredo Sauce recipe ingredients

Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe Ingredients

You only need 10 ingredients to make this vegan Alfredo sauce:

  • Cauliflower – It creates the sauce’s luscious creamy texture.
  • Cashews – Along with cauliflower, they make the sauce thick and creamy without any dairy. Make sure you use unsalted raw cashews in this recipe. Roasted cashews will give it a cashew-y taste.
  • Garlic – For sharp, savory depth of flavor.
  • Nutritional yeast – With its cheesy flavor, it replaces the Parmesan that you’d find in regular Alfredo sauce.
  • Lemon juice – For brightness.
  • Dijon mustard – It gives the sauce a savory, tangy kick.
  • Extra-virgin olive oil – It makes the sauce rich and smooth.
  • And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Cauliflower, cashews, and nutritional yeast in a blender

How to Make Vegan Alfredo Sauce

This vegan Alfredo sauce recipe is super easy to make! Here’s how it goes:

First, cook the cauliflower and the cashews. Yep, you read that right! I like to boil the cashews with the cauliflower so that they’re easy to blend. It has the same effect that soaking the cashews would, but it’s way quicker.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the cauliflower and cashews, and boil for about 8 minutes. When the cauliflower is tender, drain the cashews and cauliflower and place them in a high-speed blender.

Vegan alfredo sauce in a blender

Next, blend! Add the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to the blender. Pour in 1/2 cup water, and blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy.

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Finally, serve! Cook a pound of fettuccine (or any pasta you like) in a large pot of salted boiling water. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, reserving 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.

Transfer the pasta back to the pot, pour in the sauce, and stir to coat. Add the pasta water, as needed, to thin the sauce to a smooth, silky consistency. Season to taste, and enjoy!

Bowl of vegan fettuccine Alfredo with fork

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo Serving Suggestions

I love to serve this vegan fettuccine Alfredo with focaccia or crusty bread. That way, I can mop up any sauce that’s left at the bottom of my bowl! Then, I round out the meal with a salad or vegetable side dish.

To make a simple green salad, toss mixed greens with lemon vinaigrette, Italian dressing, or Greek salad dressing. Otherwise, serve this vegan fettuccine Alfredo with one these salad recipes:

Not in a salad mood? Pair your pasta with sautéed mushrooms, roasted broccoli, or Brussels sprouts instead!

Vegan Alfredo sauce recipe

More Delicious Vegan Pasta Recipes

If you love this recipe, try one of these vegan pastas next:

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Vegan Alfredo Sauce

rate this recipe:
4.87 from 50 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
This vegan fettuccine Alfredo is creamy, rich, and flavorful. It's easy enough to make on a weeknight, but elegant enough for a classy date night in. You'll love it whether you're vegan or not!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cashews and boil until the cauliflower is fork-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a blender. Add the olive oil, water, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, mustard, and several grinds of pepper. Blend until creamy.
  • Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to the package directions, or until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.
  • Transfer the pasta back to the pot, pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water until it’s creamy.
  • Sprinkle with parsley and season to taste.

Notes

*about â…” florets from 1 small cauliflower

81 comments

4.87 from 50 votes (22 ratings without comment)

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Grace
    05.01.2024

    Hi, I’m allergic to cashews and nutritional yeast, what can I use instead of these two items? I’m having such a difficulty finding recipes that don’t have soy, cashews, peppers,
    corn, and nutritional yeast. Thank you so much!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      05.02.2024

      Hi Grace, if you’re not vegan or dairy-free, you might prefer this Alfredo sauce recipe, which uses cauliflower and dairy ingredients. If you are vegan, you could substitute blanched slivered almonds for the cashews. Omit the nutritional yeast and season to taste with more lemon juice, mustard, and/or pinches of garlic and onion powder.

      • Grace
        05.02.2024

        Thank you Phoebe. I will try it with blanched almonds. I can use organic grass fed dairy on occasions too. I appreciate the help!

  2. Melissa
    01.16.2024

    5 stars
    This turned out AMAZING. I was hesitant about the raw garlic but it was absolutely perfect. I served this on edamame noodles (36g of protein per serving) with green peas. Will be making again for sure! I finally found the perfect recipe.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.17.2024

      Hi Melissa, I’m glad you loved it!

  3. ABarnes
    07.15.2023

    5 stars
    This Alfredo sauce is wonder! Thx

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.17.2023

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  4. Lainey
    03.09.2023

    4 stars
    Opted to try the vegan version of Alfredo sauce this time and it was delicious.
    I can’t handle the raw garlic, so as in non-vegan version I cooked the garlic before adding it the blender. Played a bit with the acidity adding a bit more lemon and a bit more nutritional yeast – and whoever suggested the fresh grated nutmeg (thank you) all in all it was GREAT.

    I think making the homemade fettuccine recipe put it over the top. 😉

    So excited for the new cookbook.

    Lainey.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.10.2023

      Hi Lainey, I’m so glad you loved it!

  5. Puja Manek
    11.02.2022

    Can this sauce be frozen if I doubled it ?

    • Phoebe Moore
      11.04.2022

      Hi Puja, we don’t recommend freezing cashew-based sauces like this one.

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.