This Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo is rich, creamy, and absolutely delicious! It’s dairy free, oil free, and so easy! Make the sauce while the pasta is cooking, and you can have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes!
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I absolutely love fettuccine Alfredo! Before I went vegan, I frequently ordered Alfredo pasta when I went out to Italian restaurants. But as much as I loved eating it, my body didn’t love and couldn’t handle the very high level of saturated fat in Alfredo sauce. I left the restaurant feeling so sick!
It’s no wonder I felt so bad! Olive Garden’s fettuccine Alfredo has a whopping 90 grams of fat, and 55 grams of saturated fat!
Since going vegan, I’ve tried a few different dairy free Alfredo sauce recipes, and had vegan fettuccine Alfredo once or twice in restaurants, but I never found one that I really liked.
After a few attempts, I finally figured out the recipe for the best vegan Alfredo sauce! It’s a lightened up version of the original, but full of flavor. It’s oil free, dairy free, and the sauce is gluten free.
This vegan Alfredo sauce is decadent and velvety smooth without any cream, Parmesan cheese, or butter!
It gets its creamy texture from raw cashews. Cashews are like a magical vegan ingredient for creating creamy sauces. If you want more creamy cashew based vegan recipes check out my Vegan Scalloped Potatoes, my Cashew Cheese Sauce, and my Vegan Hollandaise Sauce.
Ingredients
- Dairy free milk – I used soy milk, but other nondairy milks can be substituted – oat milk or almond milk would probably work well.
- Raw cashews – these are what give the sauce the richness and creaminess. If you need a nut free sauce, try using sunflower seeds. The flavor and color will be a little different, but it should work.
- Nutritional yeast – to give the sauce a bit of cheesy flavor.
- Lemon juice – for the tang of cheese. You can use fresh, but bottled works just fine.
- Garlic – a must in Alfredo sauce!
- Dijon mustard – just a bit for flavor.
- White miso – helps give just a bit of fermented flavor.
- Salt and pepper
- Fettuccine pasta – I like to used enriched or whole grain fettuccine pasta. Other shapes are fine, and if you’re gluten free, you can use your preferred gluten free pasta. Zucchini noodles could also be used. For an extra delicious pasta meal, serve this Alfredo sauce over some Homemade Vegan Pasta.
How to make vegan fettuccine Alfredo
Bring a large pot of water to boil. This will be for cooking your pasta.
If you don’t have a high speed blender, soak the cashews by pouring water over them and letting them soak for 30 minutes. It’s not necessary to soak the cashews if you have a high speed blender like a Vitamix.
Add the cashews, water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, miso, salt and pepper to a blender and blend until smooth.
Once the water comes to a boil, cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, pour the contents of the blender into a sauce pan. Heat the sauce over medium heat until it thickens. Be sure to stir constantly to avoid scorching and a lumpy sauce. Taste the cooked sauce and add more lemon juice, salt, or pepper, if desired.
Pour the Alfredo sauce over the cooked pasta and garnish as desired. Serve immediately!
Serving suggestions
Serve over pasta of your choice, and garnish with some Vegan Parmesan Cheese, Vegan Bacon Bits, fresh basil, red pepper flakes, or fresh parsley. Some good add ins are frozen peas, vegan chicken, or fresh steamed broccoli.
Some great sides for vegan fettuccine Alfredo are steamed vegetables, Vegan Caesar Salad, or some sliced bread like my Multigrain Bread.
In addition to serving this creamy sauce over pasta, consider these other ideas:
- Use it as a sauce for grain and veggie bowls.
- Make a pizza with Alfredo sauce instead of red sauce.
- Include it in a lasagna.
- Use it as a dipping sauce for bread or even French Fries.
FAQs
Vegan fettuccine Alfredo is best served immediately after making. If you want to make it ahead, I suggest making the sauce and storing it in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to five days and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove top. It’s best to cook the pasta when you are ready to serve the dish.
Yes. It is best to freeze the vegan Alfredo sauce separate from the pasta. Transfer the cooled sauce to an air tight freezer safe container, leaving a bit of headspace to allow for expansion. Allow the frozen sauce to cool before reheating in the microwave or on the stove top.
You can substitute sunflower seeds or blanched almonds, but the flavor and texture will not be the same.
If you don’t have a blender you can blend this in a food processor, but you will have to blend longer and it still might not come out as smooth and creamy.
Here are more vegan pasta recipes:
- Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Stuffed Shells
- Vegan Ravioli
- Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad
- Vegan Macaroni Salad
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup raw cashews soaked
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon white miso
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 12 ounces dry fettuccine noodles
Instructions
- Cook your pasta according to the package instructions.
- If you don't have a high speed blender, soak the cashews in hot water for at least a half hour, then drain. If you have a high speed blender like a Vitamix, you don't need to soak the cashews.
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the blender contents into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.
- Serve the sauce over the cooked pasta.
Notes
Nutrition
If you want to save this vegan fettuccine Alfredo recipe to make later, pin it!
