This rich and creamy vegan alfredo sauce will satisfy your cravings for indulgence! The cashews and coconut milk pair up for a delicious flavor that is smooth and luxurious. And we’ve found that the recipe is quite forgiving, too. You can adjust the cashews up or down for richness, use lite coconut milk in place of the water and coconut milk, and season to taste, even adding a splash of lemon for zing.
Thanks to Go Dairy Free viewer Kerri for emailing this recipe!
Photo credit: Vegan Yum Yum Feature
Best Ever Creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Kerri
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 Cups Raw Cashews (not roasted or salted)
- 2-1/2 Cups water (fresh)
- 200mL Full-Fat Coconut Milk (about ½ can/package - Such as So Delicious Original Culinary Coconut Milk)
- 1 Vegetable Bouillon Cube [be sure to check the ingredients when allergies or special diets are a concern]
- 3 Cloves Garlic, minced (1-1/2 teaspoons fridge minced garlic)
- Pepper to taste
- Herbamare or Salt to taste
Instructions
- Thoroughly blend all ingredients together. Thin out with more water if desired.
- Heat & serve over pasta, vegetables, or chicken!
- ENJOY!!
Notes
You can soak the cashews in water (enough to cover) overnight, or in boiling water for 1 hr prior to making this if you want (drain water before blending) – we didn’t have time, so made it with just the raw cashews.
Diet type: Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy free, Egg free, Gluten free, Peanut free, Soy free, Wheat free, Sugar free
Diet type: Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy free, Egg free, Gluten free, Peanut free, Soy free, Wheat free, Sugar free
66 Comments
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Alisa, this is delicious! There’s a faint coconut flavor, which I really liked. It paired well with angel hair pasta and spinach with grated nutmeg on top. Reduced the liquid by about a half cup to keep it nice and thick. And I used turkey stock (not vegan, I realize) instead of water and bouillon. My Vitamix soup preset made quick, hot work of this. Thanks for the inspiration!
Oh also – I’m sure tahini(sesame seeds) instead of cashews or sunflowers would work for nut-free.
Great idea Katrina!
I have been making a very similar dish for the last year and LOVE it. Don’t use the cashews or bullion cube but I’m gonna try them in it tonight.
Also – I love adding nutritional yeast (It gives it an extra ‘cheese’ like flavour)
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How big a can of coconut milk? The recipe calls for half, but do the cans come in multiple sizes? Can you make this without the vegetable bouillon cube?
Coconut milk has pretty standard can sizing – 14 to 15 ounces. Thai Kitchen also sells a half-can size, but other than that, they are all pretty much the size of a can of beans.
Would this be thick enough to use it as a pizza sauce?
Karli, reduce the water, adding only as much as you need for a thicker consistency.
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I was looking for a quick and easy Alfredo sauce since I didn’t have all the ingredients for my original. So glad I found this. Thank You!
I made more sauce than I needed is it okay to freeze or refrigerate?
It should keep for a day or two in the refrigerator and freeze just fine. One benefit of many dairy-free foods is that they freeze pretty well.
Can you suggest any substitutes for the vegetable bouillon cube? My son can’t have any yeast.
Barbara, seek out yeast-free brands like Go Bio and Marigold, or season to taste.
Instead of whole cashews, can you substitute cashew butter? My daughter has a newly discovered dairy allergy but she LOVES Alfredo and I want to try this recipe.
Definitely Shannon! 1-1/2 cups cashews is about 7.5oz or 210g – so the equivalent amount of cashew butter (if my math serves me correctly, somewhere around 7/8 cup).
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Alisa, can this recipe be done without the cashews or is there a nut-free substitute? My sister is severly allergic to all nuts but I would love to make this recipe for her.
I can’t say for certain Camila as I haven’t tested it without nuts. If you went all coconut, it would definitely have a more coconut vibe. If nut-safe sunflower seeds work, they make a good swap for cashews – though sunflower seeds are more bitter than cashews, so the seasoning of the recipe may need to be adjusted.
Just changed over to a non-dairy diet and this was one of my first recipes to look up because pasta alfredo is my favorite dish. I’m confused about the cashews and what they add to the sauce. Are they whole or crushed? I love cashews, I just didn’t imagine sauce with big chunks of nut in it.
Hi Bonnie, See the instructions – they’re blended so you shouldn’t have any nut chunks left.
Alisa, my reaction to your Alfredo recipe is, “WOW!” Some time back, when I chose a low-fat diet, I felt very sad believing I would never be able to enjoy Alfredo again, which happens to be one of my favorite sauces. You changed that assumption by providing a very creative and sound alternative.
The coconut milk provides the fat and thickening properties. The cashews add the hint of sweetness that comes from the heavy cream ingredient. And, surprisingly, the recipe does not need the Parmesan cheese.
The only additions I made according to my taste, were to add more garlic and some Country Crock (butter substitute) to make it even more decadently yummy.
When I say “Thank you!” for your fabulous recipe, I mean it sincerely and not as flattery. You made me sooooooooo happy today! : )
Cheers!
So glad you liked it J.J.!
Hi, sounds lovely. Can it be frozen?
I would assume so, but I’ve never tried to freeze it myself. All of the ingredients are ones that freeze well, though.
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i want to try this but my son hates the flavor of coconut. Do it taste like coconut or is there something else to use?
You can try simply omitting it, using cashew creme only. This particular recipe hasn’t been tested this way though.
I just made this for my little girl (18 mos), who is allergic to dairy and soy and she LOVES it!! :). She’s devouring her pasta as I type….so Thank You so much. I had never thought of using coconut milk. This sauce is even better than traditionally-made alfredo. This is a new favorite for our family. I just added a little cornstarch to thicken it a bit. Thanks again for this tasty recipe!
So glad you and your family enjoyed it Courtney!
Would almond milk be a viable substitute for the coconut milk? I just want to make sure because my husband seems to be intolerant of most dairy substitutes, he can really only handle almond.
Also, is there anything that you could sub for cashews? Such as pine nuts?
Perhaps homemade almond milk. Store-bought almond milk wouldn’t be rich enough (it would be too watery) since this recipe uses full-fat canned coconut milk (not a dairy substitute). You can definitely try other nuts – pine nuts just get a bit pricey!