Alfredo sauce is a simple pasta sauce made using butter, heavy cream, and cheese. These dairy products give this rich sauce its delicious flavor. The inspiration for Alfredo sauce came to America early in the 20th century after the original sauce, a creation by Alfredo di Lelio in Rome, which he served with linguine.
Are you looking for a creamy and flavorful vegan alfredo sauce to imitate this delicious sauce that surpasses the flavor of a white sauce? You don’t need to look further to learn how to make vegan alfredo sauce.
Creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe
As a vegan, you have several restrictions on the products you can use to recreate some of your favorite recipes. Classically, an alfredo sauce requires dairy, but you don’t need to forfeit a creamy vegan alfredo with this recipe.
Here’s how to make a cooked vegan alfredo sauce that resembles the originals and will please even non-vegan friends and family.
Creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce
The recipe makes enough sauce for 8-10 ounces of pasta of your choice, and you can have it ready in as many minutes as it takes to boil your spaghetti, linguine, or penne.
Ingredients
- 3 T. oil like olive or avocado
- 3 large cloves of minced garlic
- 4 T. all-purpose flour or arrowroot powder (for those preferring gluten-free)
- 1 ¾ – 2 cups plain almond milk (unsweetened)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- ¼ cup vegan parmesan cheese
- 4-6 T. nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Place the oil and garlic in a skillet that you have warmed over medium heat, stirring it quickly to prevent burning.
- Reduce the heat slightly. Whisk in the flour until combined, cooking for about a minute.
- Add the almond milk in ¼ cup at a time, whisking to prevent the sauce from becoming lumpy. You may need up to 2 cups of almond milk to ensure a sauce with the right consistency, but you can also adjust the consistency after the next step. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Transfer the creamy mixture to the blender. Add the salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and vegan parmesan cheese and blend on high, scraping down the sides as needed to get a creamy and smooth sauce.
- Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Return the sauce to the skillet and cook it on medium heat until it bubbles. Reduce the heat, and continue stirring frequently until thickened. Add more milk if the vegan alfredo sauce is too thick or more flour if it’s too thin. You add flour by removing half a cup of the sauce, stirring the flour in that, and then whisking it into the pot.
- Once the sauce reaches the desired consistency, it’s ready to toss into your pasta.
The Best Vegan Alfredo Sauce You’ll Ever Taste
When looking for a vegan recipe for alfredo sauce that surpasses them all, you need a version that doesn’t miss a beat regarding flavor. Brandi, the creator of Vegan8, has worked on a version that qualifies as delicious.
It includes onions simmered until tender, adding their essence to the rest of the ingredients. The recipe includes the rest of the ingredients seen in most recipes for vegan alfredo and the addition of lemon to neutralize the cashew flavor.
Besides knowing how to make a vegan alfredo sauce, it’s also important to note that when you serve it with pasta, you want your dish to look beautiful. Mix some cooked veggies with the best vegan alfredo sauce into your pasta for their added nutrition and color. Peas are a favorite, but broccoli works well too. Garnish your pasta with parsley, lemon rind, or some chili flakes for color.
Quick and Easy Vegan Alfredo Sauce
You can serve vegan alfredo sauce in countless ways. Firstly, it’s delicious with pasta, as we all know. Other ways to serve it are to toss it onto your favorite vegetable spaghetti strands or serve it with steamed or roasted vegetables. Vegan alfredo sauce makes a great base for noodle casseroles like lasagne, and you can also use it on a vegan pizza.
Here’s how to make a vegan alfredo sauce with this Vegan Alfredo Recipe from The Real Food Dieticians. You require only five pantry staples, 30 minutes of soaking time for the cashews, and five minutes of prep time using a high-powered blender. No cooking time!
If you prefer not to use cashews or have none, you can substitute them with any other raw nuts or seeds you prefer. Remember that changing to seeds, especially sunflower seeds, may darken the sauce’s color and taste. You can replace almond milk with another non-dairy milk but always use unsweetened milk.
The pantry staples you need for this quick and easy alfredo sauce are nuts, non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, and salt.
Homemade Vegan Alfredo: A Simple Recipe
Sometimes, you have a few ingredients at home and little time but want to make a substantial dinner for the family. Here’s a simple recipe for a homemade vegan alfredo using soft tofu, nutritional yeast, and steamed cauliflower. Use salt and pepper to season, but use onion powder, garlic powder, or dried herbs like an Italian mix or basil for added flavor.
Ingredients
- 7 oz. soft tofu
- 1 cup steamed cauliflower, thoroughly cooked
- 2 T. nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- While preparing the pasta, blend all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
- Once your pasta is ready, drain it, adjust the seasoning of the vegan alfredo sauce, toss, and serve.
Mastering the Perfect Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Another ingredient that you cannot overlook when you are looking to learn how to make vegan alfredo sauce is cauliflower. Cauliflower provides the deliciously creamy texture in this perfect vegan alfredo sauce.
This recipe, developed by the team from Love & Lemons, uses boiled cauliflower and cashews blended with the rest of the ingredients, perfect to serve with pasta or vegetables. The cauliflower replaces the non-dairy milk, and Dijon mustard gives it a surprising tang. Without a doubt, this is a recipe for a perfect vegan alfredo sauce that’s very easy to master.
Foolproof Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Whether making a cooked or raw vegan alfredo pasta sauce, you don’t need to worry that it won’t work out because most recipes are foolproof. Most people prefer not to mess up their kitchen too much by dirting a pot and blender. If you are one of them, the best option is to try a recipe for a raw vegan alfredo sauce that’s easy and foolproof.
Here’s how to make vegan alfredo sauce that will come out perfect with every batch:
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashew nuts, either soak them in water overnight or boil for 5-10 minutes if you forgot
- 1 cup non-dairy milk of choice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 T lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Use a blender to combine all the ingredients, mixing them on high until creamy. It should take about one minute.
- Pour over warm pasta.
Deliciously Creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe
There’s nothing like a deliciously creamy alfredo vegan sauce to please everyone. If you prefer a recipe without nuts, you will want to learn how to make vegan alfredo sauce without them. In this recipe, vegan parmesan and butter provide flavor and creaminess.
Deliciously Creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce
It takes only 10 minutes to whip up this vegan alfredo sauce for eight ounces of pasta or to use in any other way.
Ingredients for 2 cups
- 2 cups non-dairy milk of choice
- 3 ½ T cornstarch ( if you don’t have you can substitute with 5 tbsp flour
- 2 T vegan butter or use oil
- 6 T vegan parmesan or use the same quantity of nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp salt and some pepper
- 2 t. minced garlic (optional)
Instructions
Use a whisk to mix the cornstarch into the milk in a saucepan until completely dissolved. Add the salt, pepper, oil, and garlic if desired. Bring the pot to a boil slowly over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally and then constantly when it bubbles. Once it thickens, remove it from the heat and stir in cheese or nutritional yeast until it melts. Taste for seasoning and serve.
Vegan Alfredo Sauce: Effortless and Delicious
The above recipes may require different levels of effort to make a vegan alfredo sauce. However, every version is straightforward enough, making it easy to learn how to make a vegan alfredo sauce to serve with your favorite pasta. If you are on a gluten-free diet, you only have to get a packet of gluten-free pasta or serve the vegan alfredo sauce with your favorite veggie meal.
Vegan alfredo sauce is effortless and delicious. Moreover, it keeps well in the refrigerator or freezer. Therefore, follow any of the recipes above to whip up a larger batch. You can use it from the fridge within five days or store it in the freezer. Freeze it in airtight containers, leaving a bit of room for expansion. Defrost the sauce overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat it in a microwave or a small skillet on the stove before serving.
You have limitless variations when serving vegan alfredo sauce, including with pizza. Make your pasta dishes more substantial by adding green vegetables. Finally, sprinkle your vegan alfredo meal with chili flakes, chopped parsley, lemon zest, or grated nutmeg to add color and a flavorful note.
