Description
A creamy, dairy-free Vegan Alfredo Sauce made with cashews, garlic, and nutritional yeast, perfect for tossing with fettuccine pasta or drizzling over vegetables and baked dishes.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 12 ounces fettuccine pasta (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the fettuccine pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot, covering it to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.
- Soak the cashews: Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and pour the hot water over the cashews in a bowl. Let them soak for 5 minutes to soften.
- Sauté onion and garlic: While the cashews soak, heat olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic, sautéing for 5 minutes until fragrant and the onions become translucent. Remove from heat.
- Blend the sauce: Drain the cashews and discard the soaking water. Add the cashews to a high-powered blender along with the sautéed onion and garlic, unsweetened almond milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy.
- Combine and serve: Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and stir well. If the pasta is still hot, the sauce will heat through without additional cooking. Alternatively, warm the combined pasta and sauce over low heat if needed, thinning with a little water if the sauce becomes too thick. Serve immediately.
Notes
- For gluten-free option, substitute with gluten-free pasta.
- For cashew-free variation, use raw slivered almonds or sunflower seeds; cashews give the best buttery and cheesy flavor.
- You may use water or other unsweetened, unflavored plant milks such as soy, cashew, or coconut instead of almond milk.
- To create a “chicken” Alfredo, add sliced cooked vegan chicken nuggets on top of the pasta.
- The sauce freezes well in small containers; leave room for expansion and reheat on the stove or microwave.
- If you dislike nutritional yeast, it can be omitted, though it adds cheesy flavor.
- Vegan Alfredo sauce is also delicious drizzled on baked potatoes, pizza, spaghetti squash, or cooked vegetables.
- Calories listed are for one-sixth of the sauce only, not including pasta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of sauce
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 400 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
