This vegan Alfredo sauce gets its creamy texture from soaked cashews instead of cream and cheese. Blended smooth with garlic, nutritional yeast, and a little lemon juice, it has the same rich, savory feel as the classic version, with no dairy at all.
Vegan Alfredo Sauce
A dairy free Alfredo sauce made creamy with soaked cashews instead of cream and cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked
- 1 cup unsweetened plain plant milk (oat or soy work well)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water, as needed
Instructions
- Put the cashews in a bowl, cover with hot water, and let them soak for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours for a smoother result. Drain well before using.
- Add the drained cashews, plant milk, nutritional yeast, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a blender.
- Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides and blend again if needed.
- Pour the sauce into a saucepan and warm it over medium low heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
- Thin with reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the consistency you want.
- Taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice, then toss with hot pasta and serve right away.
Notes
No high speed blender? Soak the cashews longer, up to 8 hours or overnight in the fridge, which softens them enough for a regular blender to get a smooth result.
Nutritional yeast is what gives this sauce its cheesy flavor. Do not skip it, there is no good substitute for the flavor it adds.
Why Cashews Work So Well Here
Raw cashews are mild and high in fat, which means they blend into a thick, neutral base that takes on other flavors easily. Once soaked, they break down completely smooth in a blender, with no grit. Nutritional yeast adds the savory, slightly cheesy flavor that plain cashew cream is missing on its own, and lemon juice brightens the whole sauce so it does not taste flat.
Ingredient Swaps
For more on building dairy free sauces in general, see dairy free Alfredo sauce, which covers a slightly different approach using store bought dairy free products instead of cashews.
Tips for the Best Texture
- Use a real blender, not an immersion blender, for the smoothest result.
- Soak the cashews longer if your blender is not very powerful.
- Add pasta water gradually. It is easier to thin the sauce than to thicken it back up.
- Warm the sauce gently. It does not need to simmer hard, just enough to heat through.
Storage
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It will thicken as it chills, so reheat gently and stir in a splash of plant milk or water to loosen it back up.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping the soak. Unsoaked cashews are hard and will not blend fully smooth, even in a strong blender.
- Using sweetened plant milk. Vanilla or sweetened oat milk will throw off the savory flavor of the sauce. Stick to plain, unsweetened versions.
- Skipping the lemon juice. It does more than add tang, it balances the richness of the cashews so the sauce does not taste flat or heavy.
- Boiling the sauce hard once it is in the pan. It only needs to warm through. A hard simmer can make a cashew based sauce separate slightly.
Make It Ahead
This sauce keeps well as a make-ahead component. Blend it up to 2 days in advance and store it in a sealed container in the fridge, unwarmed. When you are ready to eat, warm it gently in a saucepan and toss with freshly cooked pasta, just like you would with a freshly blended batch.
A Note on Nutritional Yeast
Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast sold in flakes or a fine powder, usually found near other baking or health food items at the grocery store. It has a naturally savory, slightly cheesy flavor, which is why it shows up in so many dairy free recipes. It is different from active or brewer’s yeast and will not make a sauce rise or ferment.