If you want an easy cashew alfredo sauce, this is the one for you. You only need 5 ingredients to make this creamy, delicious, flavorful sauce that you can ready in just 15 minutes. The best part is, there is no cooking involved either.
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Having a collection of vegan pasta sauces is incredibly useful for anyone following a plant-based diet. My go-to includes this vegan bechamel and creamy spinach pasta sauce. And for vegan pasta dishes, you need to try my vegan mushroom pasta and vegan mac and cheese.
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❤️ Why you’ll love it
I love this cashew sauce recipe for its simplicity and the creamy texture it delivers. It is not just any ordinary sauce; it is a raw vegan alfredo sauce that requires no cooking at all. This makes it an excellent choice for those days when you want a quick, delicious, and nutritious meal.
The secret to its creamy texture lies in the cashew nuts and dairy-free milk, preferably homemade cashew milk. When blended together, they create a velvety smooth sauce that is simply irresistible. Plus, the nutritional yeast adds a cheesy, nutty flavor that makes it the perfect vegan substitute for traditional alfredo sauce.
This recipe is also incredibly versatile. It is not just for pasta dishes, even though that is one of the tastiest ways to use it. You can also use it in your lasagna, vegan pizza to make a delicious garlic alfredo pizza, and even some enchiladas verde. Try it out, and you will understand why it is the best vegan alfredo sauce you can ever try.
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🧾 Key ingredients
Cashew nuts are the star of this recipe, providing a creamy, rich texture without any dairy. There are no other nuts or seeds that bring this kind of perfect texture. Its nutty flavor is also milder compared to other alternatives.
Dairy-free milk adds to the creaminess of the sauce while keeping it vegan-friendly. I recommend going for unsweetened nut milk, oat milk, or soy milk. For the best flavor, go for homemade cashew milk, which will add the best flavor. Store-bought versions are sweet, so I recommend a homemade when possible.
Garlic is an essential ingredient that adds a punch of flavor. It gives the sauce a depth of taste and a hint of spiciness that will keep you coming back for more.
Nutritional yeast is a must-have in any vegan pantry. It gives the sauce a cheesy flavor without any actual cheese, making this alfredo sauce truly vegan.
Nutmeg and white pepper are the key spices in this recipe. Nutmeg adds a sweet, nutty flavor, while white pepper gives a slight heat to the sauce.
🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
🥘 Equipment
To make this simple and delicious vegan alfredo sauce recipe, the most important piece of equipment you will need is a high-power blender. I am a big fan of my Vitamix, as it effortlessly turns the cashew nuts and the rest of the ingredients into a smooth and creamy sauce. Even though you can use other blenders, a high-power one like the Vitamix will guarantee that your sauce has the perfect consistency without any lumps or pieces.
👩🍳 Instructions
Preparing the ingredients
Begin by soaking your cashew nuts in piping-hot water. This can be done overnight, but if you are short on time, simply boil water in a kettle and soak the cashew nuts for about five to ten minutes.
Making the cashew alfredo sauce
STEP 1
Once the cashew nuts have finished soaking, drain and add them to your blender along with the dairy-free milk, garlic, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Blend all of these ingredients together until the mixture is smooth.
STEP 2
Your cashew alfredo sauce is now ready to serve! If you desire a thicker consistency, pour the sauce over pasta and vegetables and heat them together in a frying pan. This will cause the sauce to thicken up nicely. Enjoy your delicious, plant-based meal!
💡 Expert tip
The key to achieving a smooth and creamy consistency in this cashew alfredo sauce recipe lies in using a high-speed blender. If you use a regular blender or a hand blender, the sauce may turn out grainier than expected.
Plus, using homemade cashew milk instead of store-bought variety will give the best-balanced flavor. If you have already made this sauce and it turned out too sweet, the No. 1 reason for that is that unsweetened store-bough milk tastes sweet compared to a homemade one.
🔄 Variations
If you are a fan of spicy food, consider adding some chili flakes to this vegan alfredo sauce recipe. The heat from the chili flakes will give your sauce a kick without overpowering the creamy and nutty flavors of the cashews and nutritional yeast.
For a more vibrant and tangy version of this sauce, try adding some lemon zest. The citrus notes will balance the richness of the cashews and add a refreshing flavor to the sauce. Just remember to add the zest sparingly, as it can be quite potent.
Add depth of flavor with roasted garlic. If you love the flavor of garlic, why not roast it before adding it to your sauce? Roasting the garlic will mellow its pungency and add a sweet, caramelized flavor to the sauce.
🥣 Serving ideas
This cashew alfredo sauce is incredibly versatile and can be used for a variety of dishes. First of all, of course, it is a perfect match for pasta dishes. You can choose any type of vegan pasta, like fettuccine, spaghetti, or penne. Even homemade sweet potato gnocchi if you want something unique to go with this white cream sauce.
You can also add some delicious toppings on top of your vegan alfredo sauce pasta, such as some wilted spinach or kale and sauteed cherry tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, pan-fried oyster mushrooms, roasted asparagus and mushrooms, or some green peas or green beans. Vegan bacon bits also work great.
But there are many other creative ways to serve and use this sauce. Use it for a zoodle salad, some enchiladas verde, on top of a garlic alfredo pizza, and even some spinach artichoke stuffed shells.
❄️ Storing tips
Storing and reheating this cashew alfredo sauce is simple, and the best part is it does not lose its creamy, delicious taste.
To store the leftovers, store it in an airtight container or mason jar and place it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It may thicken a bit, but that is normal. Add a bit of pasta cooking water if you use it to get the desired consistency.
Unfortunately, due to the creamy and delicate nature of this sauce, freezing is not recommended. The texture and consistency of the sauce may change upon thawing, making it less appealing and palatable.
When it is time to reheat the sauce, do so gently on the stovetop over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. This will make sure that the sauce does not separate or become grainy. If you are using a microwave, be sure to stir the sauce every thirty seconds to guarantee even reheating. Always remember to reheat only the amount you plan to consume to maintain the best quality of the sauce.
🤔 FAQs
You can choose any type of vegan pasta, like fettuccine, spaghetti, or penne. If you want something unique to pair with this white cream sauce, try homemade sweet potato gnocchi. However, be aware that pasta and gnocchi are not gluten-free, so choose the right brand for your diet. Alternatively, you could get creative and use zucchini noodles.
You can soak the cashews overnight if you prefer, but if you are in a hurry, boiling water in a kettle and soaking the cashews in hot water for just five to ten minutes will suffice. Soaking the cashews helps to break down the phytic acid and enhance nutrient absorption for better digestion.
I usually use roasted cashews, especially if I cannot find raw cashews at a reasonable price. The sauce is perfect with roasted cashews. Even if you can only find salted ones, do not worry, the salt will be washed off during the soaking process.
I recommend using unsweetened nut milk, oat milk, or soy milk. Sometimes, even store-bought versions taste sweet, so I usually opt for my homemade cashew milk recipe. Using other types of milk, such as coconut milk, may alter the taste too much.
More vegan pasta recipes
We have a collection of more than 30 easy and delicious vegan pasta recipes, or check out the below ones:
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15-Min Cashew Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 + ⅓ cup Cashew nuts
- 1 + ½ cup Dairy-free milk (homemade cashew milk)
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp Nutmeg
- 2 tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp White pepper
Instructions
- Soak cashew nuts in piping hot water for 5-10 minutes. You can do overnight soaking, but if you are in a hurry, boil water in a kettle and soak the cashew nuts for only 5-10 minutes.
- When time is up, fill your blender. Add soaked cashews, dairy-free milk, garlic, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and blend them until smooth.
- You can serve the sauce right away. If you pour it on pasta and veggies and warm them together in a frying pan, the sauce will thicken!
Melissa
This was delicious! Better than alfredo. I used GF red lentil pasta and topped with sautéed grape tomatoes, spinach, and mushrooms. I did not have a mixer so used a food processor. Still came out creamy after I had it on the highest speed for several minutes. Hubby loved it too! Thank you!
Birt
I really like it. I tripled the recipe and it was a bit salty, but not beyond enjoyment.
Sherry
Just made this. Added extra garlic clove and some lemon zest and juice of almost 2 lemons to give a summer vibe. Delicious, I’m eating it with a spoon. Sautéed spinach halved grape tomatoes and portobello mushrooms in a little olive oil. Perfect 👍🏻.
Birt
I did the same, mostly. An eighth tsp garlic powder for each clove keeps the garlic from disturbing my stomach. I cooked the veggies first with tablespoons of veggie broth instead of oil.
Allyson
The overall flavor of the sauce turned out great for me, but I did not get the texture smooth like mentioned. My sauce was really grainy. Any idea what I did wrong? I used a food processor and soaked cashews in boiling water for 5 min.
My Pure Plants
Hi Allyson, to make it super smooth and not grainy, you need a high power blender. Sadly even if you soak overnight and the cashews are super soft, food processor will leave it still grainy.
Tneh Karim
I love the idea of nut-based sauces. The video portrayal is more accurate to what type of texture you will get versus the thumbnail. I’ve tried several different “milk” alternatives and for flavor almond milk wins hands down but coconut milk wins for consistency. Also, maybe it was just my tastebuds, but the nutritional yeast needed to be bumped up and the garlic toned down. The first time I made this my face smelled like garlic for days. Days!! The cashew soaking worked well and I’ve found as I continue to modify this to my particular preference. Happy saucing!
My Pure Plants
Hi, yes in the video we used immersion blender which was not powerful enough to make a smooth sauce. We re-did the recipe after we purchased a Vitamix and took new photos to showcase how smooth the sauce can be if you can use a powerful blender.
Andrea
Thank you for this recipe. The sauce tasted amazing! I did it with tomatoes and spinach as it is at the main photo. I also added baked tofu and chickpeas. So delicious! I will definitely make it again! 🙂
My Pure Plants
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for trying our recipe. Baked tofu and chickpeas sounds like a great addition. The more the merrier.
Beth
What can I substitute for nutritional yeast?
My Pure Plants
I read about white miso paste can also give some cheezy flavor, although I haven’t tried it.
Chelsea
Alternative to cashews? Allergic to nuts!
My Pure Plants
Cashews are hard to change in this particular recipe. Sorry. That is the basis.
Emily
I don’t understand how you get 75.1 mg sodium with 2 tsps of salt. Two tsps is 4600 mg divided by 4 servings would be more like 1150 mg per serving. Was 2 tsps a mistake? Would like to make recipe, but have to be very careful of sodium because of health issues. Thank you
My Pure Plants
Hi Emily, I am sorry. I recalculated the nutritional info and the sodium value should be correct now. If you need to watch your sodium level I recommend blending all ingredients without salt first. Then, you can taste it whether you need to add salt at all or not. Let us know how it goes.
Erica Schwarz
What a delicious recipe! Cashews are magical, aren’t they?
My Pure Plants
Oh, yes. Who knew?
Tisha
This sauce looks like perfection! Great Healthy alternative to canned!
My Pure Plants
Thank you
SHANIKA
I recently made Vegan Alfredo and it’s delish! This recipe looks so creamy and easy to make! Just perfect!
My Pure Plants
We tried to make it simple but tasty. 🙂
Jenn
This is an amazing sauce – it is rich, creamy, indulgent, and VEGAN! Love it! It’s my new go-to whenever I need an Alfredo sauce.
My Pure Plants
Thank you. 🙂
kim
My whole family loved this recipe! It was way easier than I thought it would be and had so much flavor!
My Pure Plants
Aw, it is really good to hear. Thanks for letting us know.
Elaine
I can’t believe you only need five ingredients for this amazing sauce. I am definitely getting them all to try this recipe over the weekend!
My Pure Plants
Yes, it is really great to have recipes with only a few ingredients. Be sure to let us know how you like it.
Laura Stein
So we made this exactly as recipe was written and it was tooooo salty. I was determined to use it as underneath the salt was a super Alfredo base. I added another cup of almond milk and extra mushrooms and yummy. First we had it just over pasta aka vegan style. Second we had it with veggie broth added unsalted of course and last but not least not vegetarian at all-sorry but we are not full vegetarian yet– made it into a Cajun sauce for chicken. Not once did my husband say anything against this lighter version of Alfredo sauce. I will make this again but will blanche the almonds longer and not just add the salt without testing first. Thank you so much.
My Pure Plants
Sorry to hear that it was too salty, but it is good to hear that you tested it in different ways. Let us know how do you like it with almonds.